Us and Them

I was walking out of a store last week and got blocked by an enormous, testosterone saturated, mass of teenager holding a booklet in his hand. "You wanna support local high-schoo fu'ball?".

When I was a kid I wanted to play baseball. Circumstances as they were, I was encouraged to pursue more available (and free) offerings through my public school. Elementary schools, of course, do not have athletic programs and so I found myself engaged in music and theatre.

Direction is sometimes hard to change. By the time my classmates and I were old enough for after-school athletics the ones on the field already had ability and experience. It's good to stick with what you know... and so the music/theatre vector I was on took me all the way through high school.

There was never much overlap between the muscle-bound athletic department and the music/theatre group, half of whom were in the closet looking for an expressive outlet. It was an "us and them" mentality and they had it all; popularity, cheerleaders, abs, and most of all... money!

I went on to college, shed my peforming arts background after one semester (though I loved it), and got a science degree. I learned the value of a good education while studying in the shadow of a State University's behemoth, and generously funded, football program.

So I looked at this mountainous son of Andre the Giant who was eclipsing my escape route, and I said, "Perhaps if you were raising money to buy microscopes for your science class I'd oblige you. Do you have any idea how disproportionately football is funded? You don't need money... what you need is a thick Chemistry textbook and a membership in the Glee Club."

That's when he picked me up with one hand and stuffed me into my locker.

Actually, what I really said was "no, thank you" and then walked briskly to my car... with one eye over my shoulder.