Another Birthday and a Most Embarrassing Moment from Junior High

Written on 9-8-2020.

        Well, I don’t really want to be writing about another birthday celebration for myself, but why not?  I love the attention.  So, it was on this date a year ago that I had a stroke.  I won’t recount the entire ordeal, because I already wrote about what happened, but just know that it would have been devastating if it weren’t for my wife Belinda’s quick actions.  

If it weren’t for her, and the many others who helped me through it all, I would not be able to write this, that’s for sure, and I know my keyboarding has improved drastically as I have continued to practice.  Once again, it is through my reflection in this journal that has helped me put it all into perspective, and it has also helped me to shine a light on the things I am thankful for, the things that make my life worth living.

For example, let me write about what is happening right now, because I am thankful in this moment.  Belinda and I are...

in our living room, and we are writing.  We also have a student, our first student for our Swope Writing Academy.  Two others were expected to come, but we don’t know where they are, so it’s only one student today.  She is getting a lot of individualized attention.  

We have had our first prompt and a mini-lesson on writing, and now we are listening to classical music and writing about whatever we want to write about.  It’s raining outside, and that is a rare thing.  A cold snap has come from the North the day right after Labor Day to remind us that fall is coming and summer will be ending.  Thunder resounds throughout our home, and it even rattled our windows.  I feel cozy and happy in this moment, a moment that might not have come if it weren’t for Belinda. 

Written on 9-10-2020.

Once again, I am using our silent writing time during our Swope Writing Academy to do some writing in here, and this time Hudson and Harper made it.  Yeah!  We have a full class today.  Their mother just forgot last time, and she felt awful about it.  I know that I have never forgotten anything in my life, but we have already forgiven her, and they are here today, so all is forgotten.

We created another list of things to write about, so it would be nearly impossible for them to say, “I don’t know what to write about.”

They are moving their pencils as I type on my keyboard here.  Actually, I now see Hudson has put his pencil across his mouth and has purposely let it fall down to the deck.  It’s back up in his hand and moving again, though.  What are they writing about?  I hope they share.

It happened after one of my basketball practices back in 1981 or 1982.  I was “going steady” with Lisa Batt at the time, and we were  all hanging out outside of the gym waiting for our parents to pick us up.  I chose not to change out of my practice outfit (I was being lazy and it was warm enough outside), so I was wearing the drab gray shorts with two bright yellow stripes that run down both sides and the standard issue gym shirt that was reversible, gray on one side and the same bright yellow as the gym short stripes on the other.  

My mom pulled up in our forest green Ford Galaxy 500, so I gathered up my stuff to go.  I had a lot to gather.  I had to grab my pants, my boots, my school shirt, and all of the books and papers I needed for my homework that night.  I didn’t have a backpack either, so I did my best to carry all of that stuff in my hands and arms.  

At that moment, Paul Smoker thought it would be funny to de-pants me.  That means to pull someone’s shorts down, but not their underwear.  Paul was normally a kind, polite guy, so this surprised me.  With my hands still full, I did my best to back up and get away from him, and that’s when it happened.

Outside the school were low concrete benches for people to sit on.  I backed up right into one of those benches.  My right calf hit it first, and that was enough to send me toppling over backwards.  Everything that was in my arms came flying out.  Books.  Clothes.  My boots.  Papers scattered everywhere.  Fortunately, I did not hit my head.  I landed mostly on my back, so I was okay.  

Nobody helped me pick up my things.  It took me quite a bit of time to snatch up all the pieces of paper.  After they saw that I was all right, they were laughing.  This story still stands out to me as one of my most embarrassing moments in my life.  It happened in front of my mom, my “girlfriend,” and a few basketball friends and teammates.  Besides a scrape on the back of my right calf, I wasn’t hurt.  Only my feelings were hurt, and now it remains a funny and embarrassing story.