Well, more thoughts relative to this subject continue to pour out of the dusty archives in the far reaches of my brain. Hence, I find the need for Part 3, which is a "sequel to a sequel".

 

I was never interested in playing High School sports. Sometimes the school officials and the coaches encouraged me to try out for various sports teams, which resulted in disastrous results. I now believe they hoped that by exerting myself in sports it would tone down my endless energy and hyperactivity. It never did, of course. I knew I would never be any good at any competitive sport due to my life long "klutziness" and lack of coordination. I finally gave in and tried out for the basketball team at Mr. Feyedelem's prodding. He taught world history and was the basketball coach. The very first day we were all out on the floor shooting baskets and practicing plays under Mr. Feyedelem's direction. He finally got to me and showed me just what he wanted me to do. I was to approach the foul line from the side then suddenly cut left and go straight in down the middle for a layup shot. As he demonstrated the play for me, I eagerly paid attention (for a change) because I really wanted to impress him and the other teammates by doing something correctly. After showing me the play, he gave me the ball and I did it exactly the way he showed me. I proudly looked back and said, "Hey coach, how was that?" He wagged his head back and forth and said that was a great play for football! I then realized in my excitement to impress him and the others that I had forgotten to dribble the ball and just ran through the play and shot the layup. I don't recall if it went through the basket or not. Well, needless to say, I was shortly cut from the team, which was fine with me. I also had other disasters in trying out for football and track. 

 

Mr. Sanders, the biology teacher and football coach, began to nag me about trying out for the football team. I again finally gave in just to get him off my back. Since while trying to run the basketball play and forgetting to dribble, I figured that maybe I could be successful at running the football. However, on the other hand, in trying to impress Mr. Sanders, there was the possibility that I would inadvertently dribble the football running a play. I was not exactly football material. All through my childhood, I was extremely thin. In looking at some of old the pictures wearing my bathing suit, I looked exactly like a poster child for Ethiopia. As a matter of fact, I have a picture at the beach posted below. You can judge for yourself. You can see how dreadfully thin I was as a kid. I was definitely not football material. Nevertheless, Mr. Sanders, talked me into trying out for the High School football team. On the first day of practice, uniforms were issued. All the "veterans" received all the new modern equipment. They issued me baggy tattered gold colored pants and a huge faded green sweatshirt that hung down almost to my knees. They weren't even our school colors, which were orange, and black since our team was called "The Tigers". At least the big baggy pants fit somewhat well, but they were a little loose under my armpits.  They gave me an old helmet that was a leather 1940's type and had 2 white dice painted on the front. The shoulder guards and other stuff were so old that they should have been on display, including the helmet, at the Smithsonian Institution. On the first day of practice, we all lined up on the athletic field in front of the tackling dummy. It hung down on a gallows type hanger and was on a rope and pulleys with a 5 gallon bucket filled with concrete as a counter weight. When the big guys tackled it, the cement-filled bucket went up in the air almost to the top of the pulley. The first time I tried to tackle it, I bounced right off it like a ricochet bullet with the cement filled counterweight bucket not moving off the ground at all. I looked up at Mr. Sanders with an "I told you so look". Well, needless to say, it wasn't long after that that I was politely asked to resign from the team. Once again, that was fine with me.

 

My third and final attempt at being a High School sports star didn't fair any better than the previous two. Mr. Sanders was also the track coach and convinced me I would be perfect to run the mile since my legs were long and gangly. This time I actually made it to our first track meet in Huron without being cut! I found out I was to be in the 440 and not the mile run as I expected and trained for. The 440 was a sprint and you had to run at full speed for ¼ of a mile! Right after the starting gun, I ran as fast as I could until I ran out of steam after about 100 meters or so. I guess my clandestine smoking didn't contribute a whole lot to my endurance. I finally stumbled across the finish line way after the race was over and the participants had left. By this time, another event was in progress and fortunately, no one paid any attention to me since the next event, which was pole vaulting, was well underway in a different area. Well, at least I eventually did finish the race and actually participated in one High School sports event! Of course, after that, I never donned a track outfit again nor went to any more practices or track meets. In essence, I cut myself from the team to avoid any further embarrassment both to the team and to myself. After that third and final disaster, I never tried out for any High School teams again. Even the coaches and teachers stopped trying to talk me into trying out for any more high school sports teams! Peace at last!

 

Well, that sums up my entire illustrious high school sports career.  Ever since then I have turned to intellectual pursuits rather than physical sports related ones. It is apparent that my brain has always been much stronger than my body, although many people would hotly debate that point.

 

In a final postscript, you may be wondering how I ever made it through the rigorous physical challenges of Navy Basic Training. During our final qualifying physical test, the drill instructors would give the individual total point score for each recruit to a recruit clerk who then wrote it down on a form with our name, service number, and company number on it. If you didn't pass with a minimum score, they set you back in Basic Training. Of course, I didn't come anywhere near passing the final physical test in order to graduate. However, for once in my life circumstances worked out in my favor. It just so happened that the recruit clerk who recorded the grades that day was the clerk in my Company (Company 341). He of course "gun decked" me and I "passed" the final test with the minimum points required. The term "Gun decking" is a Navy term, which means to falsify a score or a fitness report to reflect a passing score or glowing report when the person does not merit it. Tim from Philidelphia, I owe you a debt of eternal gratitude!!!! If it had not been for him, they would have certainly kept me in Basic Training until I passed the final physical test in order to graduate. If Tim from Philadelphia had refused to "Gun deck" my final score on the physical test, which would have prevented me to graduate from Basic Training, the scenario at the bottom of the page would have been very likely.

 

Throughout the years, I did, of course, participate in countless endeavors both work related and others that were of a physical nature and all the normal areas that people encounter during the course of life. I always seemed to more or less do fine physically in these areas as long as they were not sports related.

 

Well, I think these 3 stories are sufficient to give the impression that my school days were very interesting indeed and certainly never boring, I saw to that. If I could recall and write about all of my mischievous acts in school, it would surely fill volumes! You need not worry, since as the thoughts pour out, I will no doubt preempt this subject with another one entirely.

 

As referred to above relative to Navy Basic Training, a very likely scenario of what could have happened if "Tim from Philadelphia" had refused to "Gun deck" my final points score which would have prevented me from passing the final physical test in order to graduate from Basic Training:

 

 

2007 Guinness Book of World Records                          Page 13