Posts
My dad wrote a poem when he was 15 that was published in his school magazine (back in 1960), it pops into my head whenever there's a sports carnival on. The poem is about a cat named Tortoiseshell Tom. It's quite long so I'm just going to share the first verse and the bit that applies here.
Tortoiseshell Tom was a tiresome cat
His head was large and his body was fat
But none of his fellows would stop for a chat
For Tortoiseshell Tom was a tiresome cat
...
At avoiding sport Thomas excelled
To such an extent he was almost expelled
For going home early without permission
Just to study and do some revision.
In Thomas' eyes sport was useless
It rendered you injured and sometimes toothless
And a dental appointment was one good reason
To get out of sport whatever the season.
...
I've always identified very strongly with Thomas (except for the being tiresome bit).
In the morning I will be packing lunch and a thermos, hauling out a folding chair and heading off to watch my kids not run in the cross country. At least there'll be good company, all the parents and grandparents sit around having a picnic day while the kids are tortured.
9 comments:
If they asked me nicely I'd stage a kidknapping to get them out of it. I hated sporting events when I was a kid. :)
Excellent little snippet of poetry though.
I'm so glad my school sport days are behind me...so very very glad. Don't think I'm going to be much good at the pep talks either.
I am giving you all a standing ovation. But I agree... cross country is demanding, difficult, and dangerous.
The poetry was splendid (and funny!). Thanks for including it.
C L A P P I N G !!!!! What a splendid poem! Your dad must be a real hoot.
PS I make mine do the school sports thing, but I bribe them with ice cream for afterwards.
I like Tom, he's a bit like me. My daughter doesn't enjoy sports as well. The fact that she has a balance of a three legged dog and poor hand eye coordination doesn't help, but she tries her best to participate, as the teacher insists she needs sport... I prefer she had a brain than muscle, not like she spends time at home sitting.
This is one of the reasons why wild horses (or a million bucks) could not make me repeat my high school years. (I don't remember being subjected to this in Primary School, when I probably could have done it)
I still hate you Miss LaMotte!! (we used to call her LaMutt, heheheh)
I hated cross country too. Meh.
Funny I seem to get my "period" during All the cross countries during school. You know the ones that make you vomit. Vomiting on queue is a very Awesome talent to have in highschool.
I feel their pain. One of my most painful childhood memories was the annual "Presidential Physical Fitness" test that they do here in the states. Part of the test is doing a timed run for several miles - excruciating.
Post a Comment