Comments on: For the Record, I Don’t Like Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:53:57 +0000

To be fair, most of my gym classes weren’t as bad as the ones in middle school. And having now watched the first part of Mr. Woodcock, thankfully none of the coaches were that sadistic. Mainly they were men who had a very narrow view of the world and how kids fit into that world.

Funny thing: eventually my classmates accepted me. All I had to do was get in a fight, win it, and be suspended for fighting. There’s your life lesson!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:04:48 +0000

Stephen,
Have you seen the first few minutes of the movie Mr. Woodcock?

If not, you should…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C3HC1UPRKY

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:55:23 +0000

Oh, my… Stephen and Joyous… bringing back such memories of being the last kid picked. I wasn’t fat either (then) but I wasn’t fast, had little hand-eye coordination and was well known for reading a book while walking home. I didn’t even realize kids were making fun of me for that until my sister clued me in late in elementary school! Wish I’d had the chutzpah of you two. I enjoyed playing the games, even if I wasn’t good. I struggled to fit in for a while, but eventually decided that if I wasn’t wanted on teams, I wasn’t going to push it. I was decent at gymnastics, but that was kind of solitary.

Being a pariah on the sports field, I thanked heaven for swimming when the parents sent us off to summer day camp… may not have been the fastest, but I was a very strong swimmer and had “great form” according to my instructors. Finally, something in sports I could feel good about and didn’t try to avoid at all costs!

Glad you’re focusing on Eli’s fun! Hope he finds something he enjoys as much as I did swimming. It took until he was 14, but my plump and similarly uncoordinated nephew discovered wrestling, lost beaucoup d’pounds and finally found himself a valued member of a “team.” Didn’t hurt that the girls (who went to wrestling for obvious reasons) noticed his new physique either!!

By: abovenyquist

abovenyquist — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:42:34 +0000

I despised gym class. I didn’t actually start developing any self esteem at all until I was no longer required to take it.

By: Joyous

Joyous — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:45:30 +0000

Re: the relay race: I did the exact same thing. Well, except I skipped. And when we played volleyball, if the ball came near me, I’d very deliberately get out of its way. No way I was going to help those rotten kids win a game. (I wasn’t fat. Just uncoordinated and bookish, which was sin enough to my age-mates.)

I really hope Z shows no interest in team ports. Because I still have Issues.