Getting tortured in school.

[toggleswitch]

Branching off from Venus' "Can I brag" [about Austin]thread

Didn't want to hijack their thread or be inapproporte there..
HERE however...

First the "old" issues

Carol:
Said: Venus-get that boy something "special" for doing such a bang up job!!!
Response: If he gets your daughter as a gift, wouldn't you be afraid he'd continue doing a bang-up job?

Jason:
Said: You know you have it bad when even the NERDS pick on you. I shoulda been one of them, but they outcasted me because of my birth defect.

Response: OMG we have something in common besides this club!
Is that possible? (oh relax you know I hold you in great esteem...)

I got tortured for MY birth defect too. But I call my orientation to the world a "Quirk" instead of a BD. Most people (IMHO) dont seem to like change and want their friends to go from school to school. I was thrilled to get a chance to get away from those cruel people and to start anew.

But G-d forgets no one. My music teacher was so color-blind it was scary. But he could pick out a sour-musical note in a room of 40 musicians (our class). His ear was so good that he had the machine that was used by mere mortals to tune instruments recalibrated. No-one could hear that what the machine said was a perfect musical note was off!. Guess what, IT WAS! Lacking in this....extra in that.

So whatever it is that G-d gave you double doses of, enjoy. (oh, and there is NO NEED to send me a pic of it).

In summary, all i'm saying is all that torture helped strengthen us to be who we are today. If you can embrace it all and realize G-d gives everyone only as much as they can handle.

and now the "new" issues:
So spill it....who got tortured in school and why?

 

[rinso]

I survived Catholic School. Barely. Sister Mary Marquis De Sade was one of our teachers, who implemented corporal punishment at the slightest event. We didn't get our "Loretta Young" nun until I was in the 7th grade. I too was teased by the nerds. I aquired my particular defect in an auto injury, which left me the class bedwetter for years. Impossible to keep that kind of thing secret from your classmates, and I can't even begin to describe the teasing I got.

When we got our first Maytag automatic my mother, being a very supportive and understanding person, showed me how to take care of my bedding myself, and that's partially how I became interested in first washers, and then other appliances.

 

[jasonl]

Toggle: I don't understand why people do this. No offense, but it's spelled GOD, not G-D. I don't get what taking the O out does but to each his own. Well, in my school if you were gay it was a bad deal. The one boy the came out was called "f*g" and everything else that came with it. I heard tell he was beat up daily for his sexual preference.

Well, I had enough to get picked on because of my Moebius Syndrome. Nevermind me being a Christian. That's even more fuel for the fire. It's human nature to want a perfect world without any imperfections. Everyone wants to be skinny and good looking, have a winning smile, lots of money and the right social skills. So anything out of the ordinary especially with kids will attract abuse.

I'm pretty much over the fact that I'm a little different than everyone else. I was able to find a woman, and I was loved by her as if nothing was wrong with me. Everyone is sexy to somebody. And damn if Bri wasn't sexy either. Oh yi yi. Don't let the wheelchair fool ya, she's a tiny little love doll, a laptop.

Rinso: And Sister Mary Elephant de Sade lived up to her name as well. Must've been pent up sexual energy. Because they don't get nun I guess. "Class... class.... Class.. SHUUUUTTTT UPPPPP!!!!!"

 

[mayken4now]

Me was picked on because I was soooooooooooooooo damn GDLK!

NOT!

The Red Hair!

Steve

 

[jdinstl]

YHWH and G-d...

...Jason,

Of course I can't speak for Toggle -- but I can speak as a progressive Episcopalian, as some of my friends use the same convention.

For many, it's simply a form of expressed deference and respect, in the same sentiment as many orthodox Jewish will not utter the word "Yahweh" because the very name is so holy and sacred, hence the YHWH convention we see in Christian publications. Contrast that to the many profane louts yelling "G-- damnit" in every sentence at everything that moves or is stationary. The expression of piety and respect carried with G-d becomes reassurring and refreshing to see.

John

 

[Cybrvanr]

The biggest disadvantage for me was the fact that I was a much smaller kid than everyone else my age...still am as a matter of fact, as I am over 30, and only weight 135 pounds!

Because of this, I was a bit of an under-performer in sports and some physical challenges. I hated the traditional "ball and stick" type sports games, and never found any enjoyment in playing them. This was because not only was I couldn't play anywhere near as good as fellow classmates, but also because of the constant teasing and ridicule I received because of this lack of performance. Add to this the total lack of interest I had (and still do) of watching sporting events, I was a real outcast! I perferred to interest myself in electrical and mechanical things, which at the time was not too glamourous. Here I was a kid that could build an electric motor from scratch, write his own Commodore 64 software, rebuild and "hotrod" a wide variety of household appliances, but didnt even know how to hit a baseball. When the subject came of of what a particular sports team had done during a game, I didn't know what the heck others were talking about.

I hated gym class for as long as I was in school, and used to get extreme fits of anxiety with the mere sight of the inside of a gym! The gym classes during my grade-school time really didn't teach much about physical fitness at all. They basically taught the rules and how to play various games, or they were more of a recess period where students were free to play a particular sport, or get tourmented by the other students, of a teacher's choice with limited supervision. I never really learned that physical fitness and excersize is actually fun and enjoyable from any of the county schools, and I was actually taught to avoid it due to their poor teaching method...This was a particular problem considering I have slight amounts of ADD, and physical activity is particularly good for this condition.

It took some persistance and hard work by some good friends I met in college to even get me comfortable with going inside a gym, or even touch a piece of fitness equipment. If I did any excersizing, it was typically done in private, away from anyone else, to avoid the ridicule of others due to my lack of performance. This, of course was not good. I didn't have anyone spotting me while using the equipment, and after learning, I realized that I was frequently doing things wrong...luckily, I never got injured! After going over to the college gym these good friends, I got better about it. They taught me how to properly use the excersize machines, and do it safely. They also taught me that "gym rats" were actually rather nice people that are willing to help you out, and offer good encouragement towards your goals.

Today, however, I believe I've had the last laugh in all of this. I went to my 10 year high school reunion a few years back, and those sports jocks that tourmented me back in school were getting a little chubby and overweight. Many of them had lost their good looks and had been divoiced from their high-school sweethearts (and used riduculed me because I did not date any in high school) . While I don't wish bad things on anyone, the thought that I can now do 12 pullups, and the guys that used to tease me becaue I couldn't do one, probably cannot do any today themselves! The interesting thing about the whole event was these same people who used to make my life a living hell in school have been so totally nice to me since the reunion. The walked up to me, started conversation and seemed genuinely interested in me. I guess they have been humbled by their own trials in life! Still, I still don't see the reason to get all worked up about being an armchair athlete...seems to me a lot of wasted energy.

What I've noticed though is that today, it's cool to be a "geek". I do work in schools, and I have noticed that many kids actually choose to wear glasses becasue of style, but don't even have vision problems necessitating their need. Today, it's cool to be good at video games and know electronics. While there's always a place for sports, it seems like school life today is a bit more friendly to the geek kids!

 

[rickr]

Didn't hate school,hated living at home

School was not a problem for me. I had good friends,and spent lots of time doing what kids did back then. Home was another issue. Lots of yelling,verbal abuse and lots of violence. My father,like many depresson era dads,did without as a child. And had to go off to fight in the war in his teens and ended up suffering from alcoholism.
He had me "clocked" as a queer early on,though nobody else did. He did not like who I was at all. Remember it was the early 70's. I just wanted to leave so bad, that I even tried suicide at 15. The only place that I could find peace was at my mothers parents house,and I stayed there as often as I could. I asked my grandparents if I could live with them on a permanent basis,however they were old and tired and did not want deal with a spirited teen. I found my first boyfriend when I was 17,and still in high school. I moved in with him,and my parents did not try to make me come home. We were careful not to let any of the kids in high school know,and I did not hang out with my friends anymore after that. Our relationship lasted over 4 years,and by that time we both moved in different directions. Strange at it seems,I got along better with my father,although I did not see my parents much for a long time.I managed to finish high school,although it was a struggle for us to get there sometimes. (hence making the deans "other list"). I did better in college,and it was a "pay as you go" for me. We never spoke of the fact that I was gay to my father,although mom and I talked about it some. Mom could never understand why I could not "just be friends" with my boyfriends. However she accepted me for who I was,and we spent lots of time together when I was in my 30's. After my parents got sick with cancer, I was their principle care giver,and was there for them when they passed away. I had told my father on his death bed,"You may not have always done what was right,but you did what you thought was right,and that is almost the same thing" And we hugged each other and cried. So many wasted years for so many people.
It is too bad that some people still think that one has to be white and straight to be a useful member of todays society. And all others do not belong.And there are many that still think that way. It really breaks my heart when I hear of kids today still going through what I did over 30 years ago. That is just one of the reasons that I am proud to be a Liberal.

Attached is a photo of me with my parents (dad is behind mom in the photo) at my older brothers wedding,when I was 16. The look on my face speaks 1000 words.

 

[frigilux]

Man. I'm actually getting a little choked up, here. Very few of us get through the first 20 years of life without serious emotional and/or physical issues to deal with and work through. I'm always amazed at how long and how consistently we have to work at healing the emotional damage of childhood. The good news is that we're all still here, feeding, watering and weeding our lives; making sense of what we can and learning to live with the things that make no sense. I raise a toast to each of us!

 

[ironrite]

Why I Never Went to College...

Ah high school, where dreams get smashed. I wanted to draw cars for Detroit since I was a little kid. In short, to be an automobile stylist. I had a wonderful, supportive art teacher in grade school. But in high school, I had a horrible, mean spirited one. My first councilor was marking time to his retirement, so he was no help. The second counselor wanted me to come over to his house to "swim." I was rather clueless at the time.

Nobody suggested scholarships or student loans to help with the $10K/year it would have cost to go to design school and that was in 1973 money. By my senior year I was pretty much done with school, just trying to get through it to get my diploma. I was also workin part time and spent my hard earned money on the latest double knit polyester fashions.

Luckily, I still have my graphic design to play with and my working career turned primarily to the banking field, so it's kept bread on the table and gas in the car.

Now, to give a bit of cheer, find out another reason why I didn't go to college! It helps to have a high speed connection to view the movie.

http://www.videoranch.com/html/sororitygirlsfromhelllarge.html

 

[DADoES]

OMG. I LOVE Lois Bromfield!

Bad time in school ... yup, been there, done that, details not for public consumption.

 

[hoover1060]

Do you remember the kid.....

Who was ALWAYS the last one when teams were picked in gym class?
That was me.
I was picked on unmercifully through grade school and Jr high, high school was easier because it was a large school(2200 students) and I could just lose myself on the crowd. Probably why I to this day hate being in any form of limelight whatsoever.
I was labeled a "fag" early on by the other kids, probably before I knew what it meant. Parents are ok and accept me for who/what I am, but I suspect because of their ages they don't fully understand either. They are in their 80's now, and I will treasure them as long as I have them.

 

[appnut]

Grades 4-6 were torture because I was made fun of because of my eyesight (lack thereof) as well as me wearing a brace and the cerebral palsy. (My dad told me perfect strangerss would come up tomy mother in the grocery store or other public places telling her I should be ihnstitutionalized rather than being raised at home) The other erason was because at this time I was mainstreamed rather than in special education. The teachers kept a close eye on me and were supportive and made sure I was always positioned in class so I could have the best vantage point to see. That too set me up. I too was always the last one picked for any mandatory playground activity. I went back into special ed from jr. high on. I was also called a retard because I rode on a special size bus. HIgh school was much better. I was an almost equal lol. My stature really improved when befriended by two of the major football players (woof). I was never even given the option to go to PE class, which was fine tho. College was when I finally came into my own and had numerous friends. Every summer during college my parents would open the lake house for a 4th of July type party/bar-b-que. They were all my fraternity brothers & sisters. My parents beamed because I finally had genuine friends. Fortunately, I guess, I never was bestowed the adjective fag. I guess I was in a protective mode cuz I saw the ridicule in highschool of a couple of classmates. I didn't need further disdain heaped upon me than what my life had alerady further endured.

 

[westytoploader]

Wow, reading these stories puts everything in perspective on what all of you had to go through. I know I wouldn't have survived and I admire the fact that you kept going and didn't give up.

4th grade was a BIG change for me due to the fact that I was in a different town and not going to a private school. Not knowing what to expect, I dressed mainly in "uniform" that year and looked like a complete dork. And yes, I got a few remarks about it too. Though you probably wouldn't believe it after the Convention, I'm a VERY shy person and it took quite a bit of adjustment. Although I was very studious the whole time, and by 5th grade I started getting the hang of things and making friends...that year was definitely more fun. 6th grade was the year the kids from the other Intermediate school and our school switched over, and I became friends with even MORE, but let's just say I had a lot of "other" problems. 7th grade improved dramatically (I was inducted into NJHS at the end), and 8th grade was the best out of my Junior High days...and it's worth noting that I finally started using AIM to talk to friends online that year.

High school for me finally rolled around in 2003, (going to a cool, retro, 1970-vintage school no less), and Freshman year we were all pretty close as this was our first year there! Aside from talking to friends online and on the phone, going to Young Life, football/volleyball games and hanging out, becoming fluent in Spanish, and participating in drama and other extracurricular activities, 9th and 10th grade were boring, to say the least. Nothing really eventful happened, except for washing!

This year, my Junior year (11th) has been the best so far. I actually was voted one of the class Student Council representatives for the first time ever (and keep in mind they had StuCo since 5th grade), have been inducted into NHS, and like any other high schooler, started going to parties (LOL). I've always been a "late bloomer", so to speak (didn't go to my first dance until 8th grade), but you could probably say that I have finally become more adjusted and out of the shell after 7 years. Why I didn't do this earlier I will never know and probably missed out on quite a few things, but it's better late than never.

I'm glad I share a fascination with appliances with everyone on this group, and we're all open with emotions here. That says something good right there.

--Austin

 

[jasonl]

Appnut: I would have to say that had I been born sometime in the 50s, I would've probably been put in an institution, because of people being ignorant to my birth defect. Even in 1971, the doctor told me dad that I was going to be "retarded" (yes, 1970s terminology). I proved them wrong.

 

[DADoES]

Jason, I don't know much about what all is involved with Moebius Syndrome, but I would never have equated it with retardation, even before I met you personally. I hope you're having a good laugh on all of "them!"

 

[air-waycharlie]

John thanks for.........

John,

Thanks for your post about why some of us spell G_d the way we do. I was raised in a semi-orthodox Jewish family, (now I am a recovering Jew), and that was the only way I had seen it spelled until I ventured out in the world.

I have a friend who is a retired Espiscopalian minister and we talked about it briefly one time. When I saw Toggle's post, I assumed immediately that he was Jewish and I thought like you, how nice to know that some people still observe those old religious teachings.

Over the years people have asked me about it when I have written things that had the name of G_d in it for one reason or another. In my own searching, I found my mother was of Koyhan descent, (priests of the original Temple) and my father was of Yisroyel descent. No wonder we were spelling G_d the way we were in my parents home!

Back to the subject at hand, yah, I was the school fag, (faggola for the Yiddish inclined), but I drove a hearse and provided lots of beer, (it was the 60's people, the Mary Jane came in college), so they didn't burn me at the steak. My parents had a summer home that we would go to, to partake in all of all kinds of abominations and my twin sister would keep the knuckle dragging dolts from tar and feathering me while I was doing my best Diana Ross and The Supremes imitations. Thank G_d she was a knockout!

So, like so many others that survived it all, now I am a Chief Stewardess earning a living and collecting vintage vacuums, vintage stewardess uniforms and vintage GM lux-o-boats. Works for me!

Charlie

 

[petek]

And Charlie you'd still look fab as a 39 y.o. June bride.

 

[spiralactivator]

High school still gives me nightmares sometimes. It was a small school, in a horrible little community where everybody knew everybody's business. I got tortured for everything, from the fact that my mom drove an old car ('79 LTD) to the fact that I had an orthopedic problem and couldn't walk without crutches for two years. Basically I was the male version of Carrie, without the cool telekinetic powers (and I skipped the prom).

The faculty was even worse. It was like pulling teeth to get them to make any sort of allowances for a person with a disability, laws or no laws. My mother met with the middle-school principle to discuss my options during the time I couldn't walk. "I have nothing to offer you," the principal said. "Do YOU have any suggestions." When Mom said she wasn't there for a fight, the principal asked, "Then what are you here FOR?"

A lot of the time I got teased in class, in front of teachers who made no attempt to stop it; some of them even joined in. (Not to mention the fact that these teachers were dumb as posts. The old bag who taught English pronounced "albeit" as "allbite.") During my senior year of high school I took issue with how it was being treated. The principal and two teachers handled it by getting me into a room and screaming at me as loudly as they could--ie, they were the authority figures and could do as they saw fit, etc. When I started dry heaving, they realized I could sue and backed off. At graduation (2001) I was the only person not hugging everybody and yelling "I love you!" at the school.

 

[drmitch]

It`s how you look at it!

I went to a school with several rough children and over the years I slowly realised after being beaten up every day at school that I was actually helping these poor kids. A type of therapy if you will. I know it hurt me a lot at the time, but it quiet possibly made better citzens out of these childern by improving their social and athletic skills. People in my comunity will probably never know the service that I have provided in the 12 years that I was in school, but I`m very proud to have done my part in helping improve my society. DRM

 

[air-waycharlie]

Moving on

Pete,

Thanks for your kind words. My wedding dress is now wash and wear and I have Jacoby and Myers on the top of the cake.....

Spiral,

No matter what the Neanderthals did to you and your mother, the bottom line is that you are here, alive and well and have found, it seems, a place where you are valued. Many people go through life with challenges. Some rise to the top like cream and some become victims. Many people go through life being heroes and role models and don't even know it. They don't have "hero" or "role model" tacked next to their name. I think you could be, and are probably one of those people.

I graduated in 1969 and have never a attended a high school reunion. My life REALLY started when I got away from high school and all the negative feelings associated with it.

Don't let those four years influence you too much. It is behind you and now do what makes you feel good and productive! You have a lot of living ahead of you.

 

[retromom]

Teasing, Taunting, Torture; All Horrible!

As a mom, my heart is so heavy when I read your posts. I have come to the conclusion that some children will find anything to make fun of. Even if you are "perfect", they will tease you about the colour of your notebook or what you eat for lunch. It's almost a sadistic childhood right of passage. I can only hope that, at some point, they realize how hurtful their tauntings are and how they can affect a person for their entire life.

Lest you think that I slipped in under the radar.....I was teased about my name during elementary and junior high. In seventh grade, I told my Civics teacher that I wanted to change my name to "Ricki". Needless to say, the teasing stopped in 9th grade (maybe kids started to grow up), and I've never had a problem since.

Age is a wonderful thing! You don't have to succumb to peer pressure, try to "belong", or endure taunts. I am at a time in my life where I enjoy being somewhat eccentric and love my name!

I will continue to teach my children to respect others and their right to be themselves without fear of harassment.

All of you are so special!

Venus (AKA "Ricki" LOL)

 

[jasonl]

Prejudice

There is a prejudice against people with disabilities. I've seen it towards my former fiancee' and to me. Like the doctor that thought I was retarded, the lady that told Bob's mom that he should be institutionalized, the teachers at Spiral's school. Nobody likes a freak. Sorry but in their eyes that's what we are. Alot of times people have a hard time understanding me because I don't move my mouth a whole lot when I talk. I can speak clearly but not seeing the movements throws people off. Also alot of people just ignore me now because they don't know or understand, so I get rejected thinking I'm either a) retarded or b) something mentally wrong.

 

[parunner58]

Here's my post. I also was the kid in gym class that was the last to be picked. I was the fat wall flower that was not good in sports and I did not care because i really did not like them nor did I want to really learn them. I had my special interests, I loved appliances and cooking and was very good at them. My other prblem wsa I went to Catholic achool and at the time had an older brother and a younger sister and was always compared to them( i now have three younger sisters) In catholic school in the 60's and 70's you would always take the voice of the nuns and preists as the word of God, and my parents did. I was constantly being told by school and home I was lazy, your not as smart as your brother or sister from the nun's and I would never amount to anything. This continued up into catholic high school, I did get decent grades as I go older but was still picked on becasue of weight and cooking and liking girls stuff. In high school I wanted to go to public school so bad because you could take wood shop and even home ec. In high school you could go half days to a technical school starting sophmore year and I want to go for chef training. The guidance office of priests and nuns told my parents I was too smart to take that and should go to college. Well I was not allowed to go and I did not want to go to college, I really didn't like school anymore Between junior and senior year I lost about 50 pounds and the the first few days of catholic school no one even noticed. the second week of Senior year I was transfered to public school because the high cost of Catholic school that was great??? a big NO, I was the new kid and I tranferred from the schools worst sports rival. I survived senior and went to tech school for computers. I loved it to but really regret not going to chef school. I now have a house , new cars , a great family, a job that is ok and belong to this great group of friends here, and I start chef training in November and plan to finish it in a few years and do early retirment in 7 years and start a Personal Chef business.

So to all those people from Saint Jane Francis de Chantel grade school, Notre Dame High School and Wilson High School in Easton PA, that said I was lazy and would never amount to anything I would like to dedicate The song "How do you like me now" by Toby Kieth because I am too much of a gentleman to really tell you what you can do with your comments.

 

[mattywashboy]

heres my two cents

well i may only be 18 guys but believe me i still have had my fair share of school unpleasantries. I was never really very sociable, always shy and somewhat awkward, people never knew how to really talk to me i guess. Then i moved into high school in England and then things really hotted up, everyone took the p**s because i was fat and got upset easily. If i had let them know that i was gay then it would have just added fuel to an already well burning fire. BUT, things got better when i moved to Australia, i met a great group of fuys and gals who really enjoyed my company coz of my accent (it is cute, apparently) and the fact that i am funny and overlly dramatic. School was a joy to attend in australia (apart from the exams *shudder*) because there was always someone who was happy to see you, they don't care if i'm gay or straight or whatever, they like me for me. The only real worry is my parents, they remind me of what it used to be like, they get on me because i am still slightly overweight and the fact that i don't do a lot of excercise. Even now after i have left school i still hang out with the same old group and love every minute, coz i feel accepted, i feel accepted here in the Discuss O Mat because you all can relate to me, my passion for laundry etc. Even tho i don't contribute to the threads as much as i should, i still enjoy reading the conversations you guys have, sometimes wacky, sometimes sad, sometimes serious, sometimes just plain random. Neway, anough of my ramblings
Best wishes to you all!
Matt

 

[jasonl]

Well, back then no one knew what ADD was. I had it and didn't know what it was. Even the psychologists at the time told my parents "He's extremely intelligent, he just doesn't apply himself." Because of my add I can't do an office job very well, as in keeping stuff organized and managing things. Project meetings and stuff, can't do it. I get bored really easily and my mind wanders off too much. I gotta be actively doing something, not just sitting there. Being ADD doesn't bother me now that I know what it does and how it works, I can work around it by keeping active and doing stuff that doesn't drag on and on and get tiresome. But back in the 70s and 80s people didn't know about this so I was the kid that daydreamed and wandered off during class. Hence, I was Lazy and didn't pay attention in school.

Sports. I hated sports. No sport even to this day doesn't do anything for me. I can tolerate baseball. I went to Fenway park once and the Sox won. So that was fun, but football and everything else, especially golf doesn't interest me. I guess cause I was the skinny kid that couldn't catch the ball and got teased for that. I was glad to not be able to choose PE for Junior and Senior years.

And I gotta say what Pa Runner said about "How you like me now?" Most of the idiots that teased me in Chalmette turned into car mechanics, bums, basket pushers at the grocery store, and here I am riding in a New Beetle, played in a rock band, and I can fix computers.

And to all the people that picked on me in Lacoste Elementary, NP Trist Middle and Chalmette high, I have a certain hand gesture for you that involves a middle finger. I'd say it here but there are young'ens here.

In conclusion to all this: School sucked.

 

[toggleswitch]

Yes Jason, it did.

But we who were tried by "fire", I'd say can no longer be hurt by words.

Besides you can't F*** me unless I lie down first.
Hurt me once shame on you.
Hurt me twice and shame on me.

Anyway,
I can now see the love and though their eyes. The trick is to see WHY they hurting and feel the need to torture.

As my parents taught me, I don't have to like you, but I have to say good morning and acknowledge your existance to reaffirm you as a living human being. And in case of need give you a glass of water a bite of food, two dollars and a blanket. Other than than that, we're done.

And the best part of it all is, as others have said above, those of us at at he bottom of the Totem pole often continue to grow day by day. Other have stopped decades ago. We therefore get to the top.

Bottom line is that LOVE is the glue that holds together the universe.

 

[gizmo]

Hi Jason

I had never heard of Moebius Sydrome till I read your post - I looked it up (isn't the net a wonderful thing) - so you've taught me something today.

What you said about not moving your mouth much when you talk - it sounds so "Australian". When I was in high school in the late seventies we had an English teacher from the former Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe (??). She sounded very very British to us, with a hint of South African sound, and constantly berated us for how appallingly Australians speak (in her not-so-humble opinion). We Aussies pronounce the word "drawing" with a soft "r" in the middle, sort of "draw-ring." She would go red in the face saying, "why do you do it, there's no R, it's "draw-ing, draw-ing" which sounded weird to us, like "droing, droing."
Anyway speaking without moving the face is very characteristic of the more remote parts of Australia, the hot outback and huge farms called "stations". The outback, whilst very beautiful in an arid way, has vast numbers of flies which are very persistant, they try to crawl up your nose, in your eyes, ears and mouth. It is often pondered that perhaps the characteristic way of speaking whilst barely moving the lips is due to people having to talk but not open the mouth enough to let the flies in.
So over here, if your face doesn't move much when you talk, people would probably just assume you are from "the bush".

When I was in USA in 81/82 as an exchange student, I had some interesting times getting myself understood. One time my host brother's car had a couple of bad tyres, as I knew more about cars than him I phoned Sears to organise new ones. I asked the switch operator for the Tyre (Ok TIRE) department, I got put through to the toy department...
My host brother had been to my school the year before, he warned me that what we called "rubbers" were called "erasers" and I had better be careful... one day in Spanish class I forgot and asked the girl next to me if she had a rubber I could use... She said, "ewww, you're disgusting" and even when I tried to explain, I don't think she was really convinced...

Best Wishes

Chris

 

[toggleswitch]

....and when I say "you", of course I meant nasty mean hurful people..

 

[Kevinpreston3]

Interesting and moving thread

Quote:

"Here's my post. I also was the kid in gym class that was the last to be picked. I was the fat wall flower that was not good in sports and I did not care because i really did not like them nor did I want to really learn them. I had my special interests, I loved appliances and cooking and was very good at them"

Boy, substitute fat with skinny and cooking with hobbies and you have me in Jr/Sr high!

I went to an all-white, upper middle class, huge high school that had everything but a swimming pool. And it was a nightmare. If you were not into playing sports, you better be on the sidelines "supporting" the team, or else you were "wierd". Sports never, ever interested me, even today. People come up to me in business and ask what I thought of the "game" last night, and I have no idea what sport they are even talking about.

I used to be amazed that "the game" was even the "game" in PE class! God forbid you didn't get the goal in 7th period gym, they would not let you forget it. However, on one of the rare times I did do good, got alot of high fives during the day for how good I did in "the game". Man, talk about pathetic.

There is little room in some schools for people with different interests. Or society for that matter. My local park allows R/C flying, but you better go during the week. Every damn weekend the parks here are jammed with "soccer kids". Is it fair that they get the parks all weekends and those with other interests can go pound sand somewhere? Typical. If you are not IN, you're OUT.

Almost all my problems went away the summer I "got tall". Funny how no one picks on you if they have a chance of being really clobbered. Goes to show you what these bullies are made out of, and I felt pretty good discovering that.

Here is a good story I think you all might like. This is absolutely true.

My wife was a little chubby when she was in Junior High and the first two years of HS. In college you would not recognize her. Her metabolism changed and she exercised more. Suddenly, she was the one in demand for dates. But that is a side story.

When she was in school, there was a group of kids that always picked on her. One girl was the worst, and was always calling her a fat pig. On free period, this girl and her cronies would literally follow her around and call her fatty, oink at her, etc. Finally, my wife had enough and went over to the girl and clocked her one, and knocked her on her butt. She said the girl's look was "I can't believe you did that" and she started to cry.

Next class, my wife got a note to see the principal. Both her mom and the other girl and the other girl's mom were there. They asked her to apologize. When they did, my mother in law went nuts and started yelling how this group had bothered her for the entire school year. The mom of the other girl knew nothing, but realized this was the truth--and made the girl apologize. My wife was not suspended, and that girl left her alone after that. The girl's mom explained that she was nervous about her daughter getting hurt because she was starting to get into TV.

The girl that my wife belted was Molly Ringwald.

I can't see a picture of that creepy woman without wanting to punch in her little butt-y face myself. Glad my wife did it. One for our side.

 

[frontaloadotmy]

I'm Sure The Evility Police

Will cuff me; But what a great story about Molly Ringworm!!!