Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Pimp My High School

Yesterday was an exercise in normalcy. Nothing unusual which is rather startling for a Monday on the job. As it turns out, Rhiannon had a good first day in school – which is always a relief. I remember my first day in high school. Talk about not fitting in. But that was OK, since it was the Bronx High School of Science in New York (as opposed to Nebraska, I guess). At that school, you had a mélange of students from the far corners of the city (and beyond), eager for a good education and willing to ignore the fact that most of them were considered nerds in their previous environments and ostracized for their academic achievements. Getting straight A’s has rarely been considered “cool” (just look at Jamie Lee Curtis in “Halloween”. I thought she was almost hot. But, then again, I went to Bronx Science). It was like a vast sea of strangers who were more or less accepting of diversity in a Star Wars cantina scene sort of fashion. Which was good for me, since it gave me a day to change my clothes. Maybe I should explain.

For the first eight years of my academic life, I attended parochial school. St. Clement Pope in Queens, to be exact. I’m sure you know the drill regarding Catholic school uniforms. These have never looked “cool” (At the risk of sounding perverse – the lone exception was when I lived in Japan – I think you know what I’m getting at.). Anyway, the students at St. Clements talked incessantly regarding all the cool clothes they were going to get at graduation and subsequently wear to their new high schools. I distinctly remember the wonderful ensembles that I hounded my parents into buying for my upcoming debut. Let’s just say that this was the summer of 1970 – not a great year for fashion. We’re talking medallions and white vinyl vests, here. Don’t forget the bell bottoms and psychedelic shirts with the Sister Betrille collars. Now, my mom warned me that these kids would be a) not fashion conscious and b) would be more of the Bob Dylan school of “cool”. I refused to listen. Therefore, on my first day in high school, I looked like I just stepped out of a 70’s disco on my way to a job interview for the position of assistant pimp. Fortunately, we were all dazed (since some, like myself, took over an hour by train and bus just to get there). Next day – jeans and a t-shirt.

Odd side note (Thanks, Cullen):
Your results:
You are Iron Man
























Iron Man
80%
Hulk
75%
Catwoman
75%
Spider-Man
60%
Green Lantern
60%
Supergirl
50%
Robin
45%
Superman
40%
Wonder Woman
40%
The Flash
40%
Batman
30%
Inventor. Businessman. Genius.


Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

2 Comments:

At 6:11 AM, Blogger BeckoningChasm said...

"So come on, kids, line up, sign up, and reenlist today. Because we need more schooling, for more students, for Morse Science High!"

I always think of that when I see a high school with "Science" in its name.

 
At 11:35 AM, Blogger hbrennan said...

I'm a huge fan of Firesign Theater. I was fortunate enough to obtain most of the albums from Napster (back in it's heyday) to replace my long lost albums (one of the many hazards of frequent re-location.

 

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