On Top
In 1986, I entered the school spelling bee on a whim (nobody else in my class was interested). I "accidentally" won. When the principal gave a speech extolling the virtues of patience and dedication I had exhibited, and asked me how long I had been studying, I had to admit to the whole school (and a decent sized crowd of parents) that I hadn't studied at all. I didn't even own one of the word books. I lost in the all-city spelling bee with the word "cortisone". How was I to know all the products in the drug store spell it wrong?
My family traded in the family wood-paneled station wagon for the family wood-paneled minivan, and celebrated at Red Lobster. It seemed like such a huge change then.
My family won a trip to Honolulu for a week. I spent whole days lying on the beach or looking at postcards of naked Hawaiian girls in the gift shops. To a 6th grader, this was heaven. I didn't want to go back home.
I thought people were playing a practical joke when they said the space shuttle blew up. I had wanted to be an astronaut for years. At this point I started looking for other career opportunities.
I tried to learn where all my classes were so I wouldn't look too confused the first day of Junior High. I got lost anyway. I still have nightmares about it.
I took a sex-education class at church. When the instructor asked if anyone had read the whole book, I raised my hand thinking she said the "whole assignment." I never lived that one down.
I taught myself how to write music. Junior High stopped feeling so bad, all of a sudden.
I rode the school bus to and from school every day. I learned more on that bus than other people did in all of 7th grade.
I got a real "Members Only" jacket, so I could be like my friends.
I looked forward to my first real lab dissection. It was an earthworm. Somehow I felt cheated.
My friend brought his Nintendo system to my birthday party. For the first time in history, Atari had a rival. Ours showed up the following Christmas.
My family traded in the family wood-paneled station wagon for the family wood-paneled minivan, and celebrated at Red Lobster. It seemed like such a huge change then.
My family won a trip to Honolulu for a week. I spent whole days lying on the beach or looking at postcards of naked Hawaiian girls in the gift shops. To a 6th grader, this was heaven. I didn't want to go back home.
I thought people were playing a practical joke when they said the space shuttle blew up. I had wanted to be an astronaut for years. At this point I started looking for other career opportunities.
I tried to learn where all my classes were so I wouldn't look too confused the first day of Junior High. I got lost anyway. I still have nightmares about it.
I took a sex-education class at church. When the instructor asked if anyone had read the whole book, I raised my hand thinking she said the "whole assignment." I never lived that one down.
I taught myself how to write music. Junior High stopped feeling so bad, all of a sudden.
I rode the school bus to and from school every day. I learned more on that bus than other people did in all of 7th grade.
I got a real "Members Only" jacket, so I could be like my friends.
I looked forward to my first real lab dissection. It was an earthworm. Somehow I felt cheated.
My friend brought his Nintendo system to my birthday party. For the first time in history, Atari had a rival. Ours showed up the following Christmas.