I've come to realize that SuperHumann was right all those years ago when she said, "just because something is a classic doesn't mean it's any good." Even though she was referring to the Grapes of Wrath I think it still applies in this situation.
Not that I doubted her wisdom. I've always taken her words to heart.
Even when she's throwing markers at my head.
Though, to be fair, I did deserve it.
"What's unique about the word 'equal'?"
*absolute silence* *raise hand*
"It has a q in it."
*red marker flies past my head and hits the wall behind me*
Good thing her aim is lacking.
Or was at that moment.
That woman got me through high school and then some, which was no easy task, believe me.
Going to a dorm school when you're used to living with your parents back home isn't exactly paradise. It was more like homesick central. I mean, I'd met the other kids before at school events, but that didn't prepare me to live with them on a daily basis with no escape.
So I'd talk to her. About pretty much everything. Looking back I don't know how she put up with all my crap. But she was patient. She was kind. And she wrote me a five page letter front and back that we labeled "The Safety Net." I carried it around every day in my back pocket for years until it started to fall apart. Now it resides in my wallet and I've read through it a few times in the past few years.
Frayed around the edges it still gives me the strength to keep me on the road I'm on.
She's the reason I majored in English in the first place. So really, you can kind of blame my profession on her as well.
Well, her and the Library Goddess.
Both very strong and independent people, watching out for me. I've been lucky that way, always having someone watching out for me.
Ironically, some of those inspirational words she quoted actually came from her teacher...my uncle.
My favorite of course being:
Say One Thing
Mean Another
Write A Third
Expect A Fourth
If It's Simple, Complicate It
It It's Complicated Draw A Picture
If It's On The Test Don't Talk About It
In true Everts fashion.
And I still frequent the phrase "comments? questions? snide remarks?" at most of the meetings I lead.
So Dead Poet's Society, yes, horribly horribly depressing and not at all what I was expecting. Which sometimes is a good thing, but in this situation was not so cool.
Scale of Awesome says 4/10.
In order to sway from the depression of the moment I began to write out skits for camp while still watching. Giving it my full attention was too much.
Why is Red Foreman always Red Foreman?
Seriously, does he ever play the good guy?
Typecasting.
Which amusingly enough is yet another high school thing involving SuperHumann. In drama productions I was always the dumb girlfriend. Or the evil queen. Maybe they were trying to tell me something.
In one instance I actually had to sing something on stage - in a non-musical - and the script listed something boring so we decided to go our own way. During a sophomore World History class she pulled out a boombox and "forced" us to listen to "Istanbul" by They Might Be Giants. I say "forced" as the other kids were like, what the crap? But I was totally into it. Which led to me singing it onstage during a One Act performance whilst being photographed by my current boyfriend though he was not at the time.
I had this horrible habit of dating my fellow actors which drove SuperHumann nuts. And it made it awkward when you're playing the dumb girlfriend. Because for some reason I was never dating the one that I was paired with onstage. Like in Candid, the one where I was walking around with headphones and singing "Istanbul" I had to play my current boyfriend's girlfriend, but at the time I was dating the guy who played one of his best friends.
Awkward.
I still remember SuperHumann telling me about an interesting reaction, apparently I put my hand on my current boyfriend's leg and the boyfriend at that time shot straight up in his seat.
Woops.
Then, senior year when we did Arsenic and Old Lace I was engaged to that straight shooter on stage whilst actually dating my current boyfriend who played Jonathan's henchman, Dr. Einstein. "My how I've changed!"
See, now, if I'd been anything other than the dumb girlfriend that wouldn't have been so awkward.
But apparently they liked making me sit on the windowseat and watching me re-apply my makeup for eight pages straight.
I've got the photos to prove it.
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It took two people to get me into that dress.And running across the stage in those heels while trying not to make noise was more difficult than you'd imagine.
Especially as I was not so good in heels. Cause I didn't wear them.
Don't wear them.
I loved high school drama.
I mean, the stage kind.
The living drama I could do without.
We'd have so much fun in practice that I'd look forward to it all day.
That's the boyfriend on the far left.
Doesn't he look focused.
This dress was a bit more manageable.
And comfortable.
But for some reason I stuck with the silver heels throughout the whole thing.
Though that's probably a good thing, I was having trouble navigating that pair already, you didn't have to throw in another to make it worse.
Plus my roommate loved giving me crap about them.
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That coat was massively itchy man.
The freshman playing Jonathan said it was a bit intimidating to play against a bunch of seniors.
But he pulled his weight pretty well.
Oh yeah, such a hard worker.
Actually pretty sure that was our first read-through/block-out for Arsenic and Old Lace.
I miss the good 'ole days. "Arsenic and Old Lace", "Candid", "Pecos Bill & Slue Foot Sue Meet the Dirty Dan Gang", "Briar Rose", though my all time favorite is still "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown". The boyfriend playing Charlie Brown with bleach blonde hair. That was interesting. I'll leave that picture out of the bunch, though it is on Facebook.
I probably should have joined drama in college, but really I was just looking to get out of their as fast as possible. As much as I loved high school, that was as much I hated college.
Most of the people were great, but four years seemed like a century. So glad to be out and in the real world.
Drama-central, seriously. It was like, sharing a hymnal with someone at chapel meant you were engaged and off the market. Even if you didn't know their name, people assumed you were an item and backed off.
Memories.
Speaking of.
As I'm on a roll with them, Random Quote Book entry: Let's try Freshman Year.
"What do you think of this dress?"
"Stick two candles in it and make a wish?"
"We never really had problems."
"Then why'd you break up?"
"I cheated on him...I guess that's kind of a problem."
"Any job skills?"
"I'm a snake-wrangler."
"Did you bat your eyes?"
"I batted everything that wasn't nailed down."
"Can you vacuum the rugs?"
"Can't you shake them out?"
"I'd have to pick up the house."
"Oh, you meant the carpet."
"My mind is like cheesecake, whatever cheesecake is. Fluff. I don't know, ask me later." that was my mother.
"Herod really had his undies in a bunch."
"Did he really just say that?"
"Send your parents a report card: 3 A's and a baby."
"I like him, but he's a pimp!"
"I'm sick of talking about boy problems. Remember in the beginning of the year when we never talked about boys? Let's do that again."
*silence*
"What did we used to talk about?"
Okay, overload. Music Rec and I'm out.
"Istanbul"
fantastic. remind me a bit of some guys i went to high school with.
Now SuperHumann and I sing this for karaoke.
It's highly amusing.
Woops, tomorrow's Word of the Day: "Rhathymia: the state of being cheerful, merry, and optimistic. It comes from a Greek word meaning 'to take a vacation, be idle'."
Gonna have to do a lot of that tomorrow, it is Summer Reading afterall.
