A Nice Moment

[MagnetMan]

I spent my teens in a state institution together with 200 other orphans in St George's Home for Boys, in Johannesburg
There were a few stand out moments for me
during that period of adolescent development
this is one of them

I was the fastest middle-distance runner in the Home
All of us home boys attended a nearby co-ed high school.
One of the teachers was a member of the Southern Transvaal Scottish Caledonian Society.
The bi-annual Scottish Games were being held in the main city stadium.
Since my ancestry is part Scottish, she invited me to run the mile, half mile and quarter mile for her regional group.

It was the first time I had competed outside the home grounds
I was 17yeras old
all the other runners were in their twenties and belonged to professional clubs from the surrounding Provinces.
They all wore their racing silks and spiked track shoes.
I only had a pair of old soccer shorts, no shirt and ran barefoot.

I won all my races, forced by the stiff competition to run much faster than I ever thought I could.
My three wins were the largest contribution to our group
and we won the most points in the meet

During the presentation ceremony the teacher who had invited me to run, insisted that I go forward to receive the trophy.

I had come to the meet dressed like a punk rocker
stove-pipe jeans,
dayglo green socks,
yellow winklepicker shoes
and a pink cowboy shirt.
My hair was greased back into an Elvis Presley ducktail.

Punk rock and rollers did not attend race meets
let alone win them

Among the high and mighty we were held in low esteem
seen as radical teenagers not worth much consideration
yet here was one of them taking away their supreme achievement prize.

As i made my way down from the grandstand
Somebody in that multitude shouted "Joller!"
but not this time with the usual derision
It was shouted with a grudging tone of surprised admiration
It infected the entire crowd
I received the huge silver trophy amidst a standing ovation
not just for winning my races
but also for stirring the general consciousness
in a pleasant moment of self-reflection

It was a nice moment
for everybody

[lavender1]

MM:

it sure must have been a great moment in your life, as it would be in any young person's, especially boys'.
and having a teacher recognize a talent certainly can make or break a life's course.

makes me wonder about sponsoring and mentoring.. (not only in sports, but definitely with a view on both genders getting the support each of us needs from the start!)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYFHAvULvJ0

also, it makes me think of your thread on the masculinisation of the feminine, just as much as many other topics psyche-genetics does raise.

[MagnetMan]

I was on safari in the African bushveld
on July 11th 1969
the day Apollo 11 landed on the moon
actually it was night for us down South

I had a small battery-operated a.m. radio
and listened spell-bound to the commentary describing each moment
I called the native safari bearers over and told them what was happening
the head bearer did the translation

At the moment
as we all stared up at the naked face of the moon
when the Eagle finally landed
and Armstrong put his foot on the surface
and quoted his famous line
the distance between blackman and whiteman
shrank to zero

a man
an Earthman
one of US
walked on another planet

there was no Apartheid
in the days that followed

It was a nice moment
for race relations
priceless
in fact
worth every cent it cost

[lavender1]

it can be translated
not only into other languages
but other scenarios

zitate.net/autoren/wernher%20von%20braun/zitate.html

as well:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQWtuBENx6U

what is it that lets men experience overcoming distance and time?