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Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Nerdly

Ozma called me this morning to ask me to intervene with her boyfriend on her behalf. She wants to know The Great Relationship Question: Is this moving forward or not? She can't get an answer from him (obviously not a good sign).

She wanted me to talk to him because "everyone loves you, and you can get anyone to talk to you." And you know, that struck me as strange, because when I was growing up, I was hardly Miss Popular. Maybe that's what makes me likeable now: I learned some valuable survival skills.

From kindegarten through 8th grade, I only had one friend. No, not one best friend. One friend. I was The Class Nerd; scrawny with granny glasses and stringy hair, and a large vocabulary. Only one girl (The Class Fat Girl) was willing to hang out with me. "Pele" actually did (and does) have a fantastic mind and a wonderful personality. In our teens and twenties, she was never short of boyfriends. She's now happily married to a great guy.

The two of us were always on the outskirts. While the popular girls giggled and whispered behind their hands, we kept to ourselves and wrote stories, dreamed big, and created worlds of our own.

The popular girls have now grown out of their cheerleader outfits. They live their mediocre lives with little to no ambitions, perhaps because they got everything they wanted at an early age. But Pele and I live our lives to the fullest (in different areas) because we never lost the wonder, and the hunger, that we had in childhood.

When I was young, I thought I was eternally cursed. Now I know that I was eternally blessed.

As for Ozma's boyfriend, I don't know what his plans are. But I suspect that he is simply too young to settle down with Ozma yet, even though he cares about her. Sometimes people are put into our lives for a certain amount of time to enrich us in some way. Even the bad experiences are of value. And I'm certain he'll be a part of our future, in some capacity.

If we're smart, we take what we are given, and make the most of it. That's all anyone can do.

12 comments:

mal said...

on those occasions when I go to the left coast to visit Dad I will run into or hear of old classmates. It surprised me to realize how many have never left the area and never grew beyond what they were in High School. It is sad when someone has reached their personal peak before they are 18.

The stories I like to hear? They are stories like "I have no idea where Janie is. She went to Berkley, joined Disney Japan and no one has seen her since". It tells me that they got life *S*

Ed said...

Your life sounds like mine, only feminine. That is perhaps to this day when I enter a social situation, I usually seek out that person on the outskirts to talk to. I have met some truly interesting and unique individuals. The last event I did that too, I met a man who built a 54 feet sailboat in his backyard in Iowa. He paid to haul it to the Mississippi and sailed it south to Texas. As a boat builder myself, we ended up talking for hours after everyone else had gone home.

Fred said...

As I was reading the beginning of your post, I thought immediately that maybe 20 was too young to settle down. At that age, I always thought I didn't want to get married until I was 30; I got hitched when I was 29. (Well, one week short of 29, anyway.)

Great lesson. Live for what you have, not what you want to have.

Dave said...

Saur,

I left work early today for two reasons: The stream behind my house is a river.

But more importantly, Paris Hilton claims to be happy being single. She obviously hasn't met me. I really feel that I could change her outlook on relationships. I'm going to send her an e-mail now.

Ellen said...

Go Mr. Gator... she'd be a fool not to e-mail you back!

Saur~ I think you have the best outlook about relationships I've seen in a long time. Yes, some people were only meant to touch a certain part in your life in order to enrich it in some way. Then life goes on.... and you meet new "enrichers".

mal said...

Mr Gator, I am sure Paris will see the light when she hears from you

Tim said...

"If we're smart, we take what we are given, and make the most of it. That's all anyone can do."


Wiser words are rarely spoken/written... all too true.

Kristie said...

that last statement is so very true. Its hard to live by it when it looks like that time may be coming to an end, but if we can keep that in mind, it makes it easier.

The Lazy Iguana said...

I was not part of the "in" click either. Maybe that was because I was too bust making fun of them and doing whatever the crap it was I wanted to do. "In" people do not like to be laughed at.

I know one thing - getting "settled down" is not really on my top 10 list of things to do. But then again, my top 10 list of things to do changes almost daily. So who knows. I am not opposed to the idea, it is just not on the radar right now.

This is how us guys work. We are never really looking to settle down, it just kind of happens. Putting pressure on the dude is a good way to make him run.

Miss Cellania said...

Are you my sister? You and I had the same childhood!

Tell Ozma that there is a guy out there who will tell her how he feels. And thats better than a boy toy. Although bopy toys can be fun for a while...

Tyson said...

maybe being a nerd in school is a disguised blessing, but would you wish it on your kid? i hope my kid is a normal kid, not too popular, but not teased and made the butt of jokes. of course, i'm going to teach her to be friends with the nerds as well.

Notsocranky Yankee said...

Ozma's boyfriend is too young to settle down. So much growing up to do in the early 20's!

Thanks for sharing your childhood. I am watching my daughter somewhat anxiously as she tries to figure out where she fits in. Our town is very sports-oriented and she does not like to participate. Luckily, her friends appear to respect her feelings. I just want her to do what she enjoys.