[Parallax]

I had to give you a like for that simply for having the courage to post it.

[Joel B]

I had to give you a like for that simply for having the courage to post it.

[monochrome]

At least you didn't have the stovepipe and plume like my kids did. Nice chapeau!

[dansamy]

Not to derail the topic of teenagers, but I wanted to show my true geekness ala 1985:

Sweet get up huh?? Back in my skinny days!!

Wow! Who selected that awesome get up?

[stevebrot]

Who cares about California?! I am the centre of the universe!!

No way! I am in the center (centre?) of the universe and you are clearly not in the room.


Steve

[Jean Poitiers]

I had to give you a like for that simply for having the courage to post it.

Ditto

PS - Nice trumpet, from one (former) player to another ... J

[Joel B]

Wow! Who selected that awesome get up?

Dubuque Colts Drum and Bugle Corp. Pretty cool huh?

[stevebrot]

I usually say it in English first, and when they then pretend not to understand

My friend who wants to move to France (Toulouse) assures me that this sort of thing is a myth. I just roll my eyes.


Steve

[savoche]

No way! I am in the center (centre?) of the universe and you are clearly not in the room.

Yes, centre. And I'm definitely in the room! Just ask my wife. She's never wrong.

[stevebrot]

make it clear that you are Australian rather than English!

...or either of the above rather than American.


Steve

---------- Post added 02-24-14 at 10:49 AM ----------

But the French in Toulouse were very nice, even talking in English.

That is what my friend says. Memo to self...go to Toulouse.


Steve

[Joel B]

Ditto

PS - Nice trumpet, from one (former) player to another ... J

Actually it's a 2 valve soprano bugle in the key of G. Something not used or seen any more! It was a wreck, but played AWESOME!! Sadly all corps switched to 3 valve B flat so they could sell the stuff to bands when they upgraded! Now I miss the good old days!
PS I do have several trumpets. My favorite is a Yamaha from 1982 and a King cleveland from the 50's back when the quality was top notch!! The king has a warm tone, great for honking jazz!!

[stevebrot]

Yeah. It's gonna be a pain in the butt to get my daily ticket today.

Yep. I got an early start, but am already lagging, but that is OK. I already have a ton of 50mm lenses.


Steve

---------- Post added 02-24-14 at 11:00 AM ----------

The good news is that even posts whining about the contest count toward total entries for the day.

I have mostly seen posts of people whining (ranting?) about Pentax. Today seems to have brought out an unusually large number of those.


Steve

---------- Post added 02-24-14 at 11:01 AM ----------

and how many Likes you received.

All I want is for people to "like" me...


Steve

[Racer X 69]

Yeah, me too. Then I realized I was going about Dodge ball all wrong. I was waiting for a 14-year-old 6th Grader named Frank Waldman to throw the ball at me, then try to dodge it.

But I figured out it isn't about evading the force of the bigger guy - no one can ever do that. It's about using whatever superior talent you have to overcome his superior force - because he can't be allowed to rampage through the 6th Grade unchallenged.

The trick is to catch a throw from one of the other weaker people and just wait until Frank is ready to throw at another band geek. Then, deftly calculating vector and force, knowing he will be exposed for a moment immediately after the ball leaves his hand - and looking gleefully at the poor dork he just threw at rather than expecting something to come AT HIM - smack him right in the ear.

You just have to be a good enough actor to convice the Principal it was a totally lucky shot. There's just no way a band geek could ever intentionnally hit Frank Waldman in the ear from 50 feet with a honking big red rubber ball, now is there? Of course it helps to remind her (Miss Kerr, the Principal) how many noses old Frank bloodied with his accidental throws over the years.

The look she gave me was hawk-like. To this day I know she knew.

It was worth every moment of the wait for my father to leave work and come to get me.

Frank and I went at it several more times over the years but I never again backed down.

What a Stud!

I was a wannabe geek. Too uncoordinated and wimpy for the stick and ball games, but born before the Computer Revolution, and not interested in band, I fell somewhere in between.

One day a Jock was teasing me, and I decided that was enough. I drew back my fist and hit him as hard as I could right between the eyes.

He stumbled back a couple steps, and stood there blinking.

The silence in the hallway was deafening.

The between class hustle and bustle came to an abrupt halt.

You could hear the second hand in a nearby classroom, "tick . . . . . tick . . . . . . tick".

Although I fully expected this would be my last moment on Earth, I stood there, staring him square in the eyes. Then I noticed the blood begin to run out of his nose, across his lips, down his chin, dripping onto his letterman jacket.

He slowly turned and walked away.

And from that day on I never had trouble with the jocks.

I won.

And I am sure that hociR is powerless against me too.

[monochrome]

Brilliant!!!!! Absolutely brilliant!!!!

Agreed ... great story. Merci ! J

Well thank you both.

Full Disclosure. In 8th Grade my parents sent me to a different school. I went over to the Dark Side and became an athlete but I always tried to be nice. Serves me very well 40 years later. Not so well then.

[j2photos]

I was a computer geek in high school, but most people didnt mess with me or they would have had to deal with my older brother.