What’s something you’ve forgiven but haven’t forgotten?
I was not immune to going to new schools. By eighth grade, I was going to my seventh or eighth new school. There is always a conundrum of where one sits in the cafeteria.
I carried my lunch and looked for a seat in the crowded cafeteria. I sat down with four other young men who obviously knew each other. And by all means they didn’t like me sitting there. They harassed the living shit out of me. There was no ringleader, but one person named Jim was especially an antagonistic.
There was never anything physical and I was more fit than all of these men.
In retrospect, why does having the acceptance of these for men even matter but in eighth grade that is of Paramount importance?
I didn’t say a word, I ate my smoky burger in peace. I wasn’t clever or confident enough to fight back.. I’m not talking fist fight that’s not my nature.
Somewhere along the line I broke that code. After a while, they accepted me in their circle. The weird thing about the dynamic. is these these four, they were part of the academic minded group in our school.
In later years I would sit in calculus with these four and I became friends with each and every one of them indifferent situations. Some sports teams with me any other words just interesting people.
I have no idea why they harassed me so hard that I never followed up on it. I did run into the ring later Jim as he and his wife were in Seattle for a Penn State football game.
We are all capable of change. One of my deep seated, not proven axioms in life is that first impressions are overrated.
 But not forgotten.
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