Hookey?

Yes, I never should have agreed to skip class that one time but it wasn't my idea. There they were, Cheatuh Rivera and the Marionitess, sneaking out the back door and would I please accompany them. And what was the point anyway? It is so easy for these rich people such as Cheatuh Rivera to play hookey from school on a regular basis, being perhaps constrained for mysterious reasons from getting into the Mercedes Benz and driving to school. And where do they find time to buy all those cigarettes? It does not matter whether those people learn anything at school. They have the money and connections to make all of these problems, such as politically controversial Spanish literature curriculum, just disappear. But for me, a kid who rides the bus to school, except for the two times I walked, if I were to skip even one class my entire world would collapse. After all, the only reason that my name regularly appears in the newspaper honor roll lists is that I have an excellent attendance record which is the only thing that means, if I remember correctly. It is not like my GPA would qualify me for extraordinary honors, not that I ever thought that it would anyway. All these people are so eager to find chinks in my armor which is another reason to be very quiet at school. Never give them an opening because they will be like a pack of jackals ripping and tearing at the slightest potentiality or vaguely imagined association even if unsupported by a shred of evidence. So, in summary, it was a very bad idea to skip class that one time, but given that I did and it cannot be undone, there is no reason to pretend that I did attend class when I did not and thus cannot say for sure what happened there on that day.

More About Bad Jokes

Our Spanish lesson for today:

1. Definition of "peca, pecas": freckle, freckles
2. Definition of "peca, pecas": He or she sins, you sin

So just because I have freckles that does not mean that you are the one with sin spots as contrasted with my sun spots and just because I bequeathed to you my freckles, that does not now mean that I am now am stuck with your sin spots as opposed to mine or that you really got my sun spot joke, although I have since forgotten the conversation or how the subject came up in the first place.

Nevertheless, as the Bible says:
"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
 "There is no one righteous, no not one."

So freckles or no freckles, you are not off the hook. You still need a Savior, Jesus Christ the spotless lamb of God who died to provide atonement for your sins and mine.

So this is how these things get more and more complicated. Sin makes the world a very complicated place but if we keep our eyes on Jesus then our lives do not have to be this complicated. Biblical principles are followed so that our lives do not get so complicated.

Speaking Of Bad Jokes

Speaking of bad jokes, yes, certainly the Trojan Times Senior Issue, particularly the seniors' last wills, is full of bad jokes. This is not a tradition that we personally instituted. It was inherited from past years and we were just plugging in the empty space with whatever people turned in. Maybe something else could have been done with the Senior Issue but we were not feeling that creative at the time. We had other things on our minds, such as getting out of there.

It was not our will that those jokes should be taken seriously. The introduction explains that the wills are for entertainment purposes only. And anyway, why would I will my beautiful little freckles to Lorena Tenorio who obviously would not appreciate them. No, it was just a stupid joke, not to be taken seriously. Ok, so if we are going to be technical about this, I vaguely remember having a conversation with someone and saying that, well, I am about as white as they come (more or less, generally speaking), and the reply was that actually no, I am not the whitest person in the school (as if I were boasting about being the whitest person in the school). Lorena Tenorio might have been one of those cited as actually whiter than me although a different shade, more of a creamy white, and no freckles. So maybe she wants a polka-dot sun tan? Ha ha ha! No, not really. Just a stupid joke.

There was no connection, and you are really stretching it, if you imagine that there was any thought of the dramatic play, "Don Juan Tenorio." Am I attributing the blame to her rather than the creepy letcherous womanizer who is the main character of the Spanish literature classic which is the basis for an opera and is based on actually true stories of persons such as the Casanova who actually chronicled his many encounters with innumerable women? Well, Solomon had a thousand wives so who's to say that Casanova was not unlike the rich and powerful potentates of the Orient?

Well, if you want to excuse Casanova then you must be a wealthy Arab potentate or something like that, but that was never the Christian position, Protestant or Catholic. Casanova ended his life doing penitence because, as we all know, he was just wrong wrong wrong. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit and if you don't have self-control then you are just not operating in the Spirit. You are a clueless creep and we are not going to take you that seriously.

And anyway, freckles are not a sign of sinful spots. I could look up the significance of melatonin but, anyway, it does not logically follow that melatonin directly correlates to sinfulness. Are you saying that black people are more sinful people than white people? You psychos! Do not put me on your stupid thinkers list. I am not willing to take your garbage seriously. I have more important things to do than delve into the intricacies of stupid thinking.

Sick Joke

I do not know if I speak for anyone, but I personally do not appreciate the dirty dog Baptist Bells trying to turn my personal faith into some kind of sick joke, and all of this for their own personal glory at my expense. We all know that Bruce Bell was just a backslidden party guy with no brains in his empty head. He probably still wishes that he had kissed Dawn. To each his own.

And Who Is Calling Who A Snake Anyway?

The pot calling the kettle black? Oh, ha ha ha!
Gimme a break, you hideous witch!
Do you think I am the only person in this place who understands the English language?

Farewell To All Of You

Farewell to all of you. These are the words that are spoken in the name of all seniors by the author of the unattributed blurb on the back page of the Senior Issue of the Trojan Times, 1976.

OK, so maybe it is a stretch to assume representation of the entire senior class with all of its hoodlums and slutty witches of whose personal lives I am mostly unaware outside of the classroom. I would not want their judgments raining down upon my head. For example, I have no idea what our lady of ill repute does in her spare time. I would not want to even guess.

But obviously the only thing we were saying was farewell, goodbye, so long, etc. Well, perhaps there are a few of people still there at Escuela Americana still trying to complete high school requirements, still riding the school bus every morning or being driven by their parents or chauffeur to the school facilities where they are greeted at the gate by that guy, and then exit at the circle and make their way to homeroom, stash your lunchbox and books in your locker, etc. etc. etc., still worried about being late for class, etc. You must speak for yourself.

We were not talking about you. We were only talking about ourselves, us, the senior class, those of us who graduated and left and never went back. We were "The Spirit of '76." Er, that is, 1976.

Sure, one or two students might still be there now in the capacity of teacher but never again will we be high school students. After all, high school is only temporary, just a season of life that is far behind us now and there is no reason to make it so complicated.

Complications

P.S. to Men: Don't invite me out for sodas, your sister and me, and drive us to the restaurant and then pretend later, after the check comes, that I should have paid for my soda even though you never said so and you are paying for hers and only a chilly coldness later gives me the impression that I should have paid for my own soda. That makes you a cheapskate. If you invite a couple of high school girls to the restaurant and tell your sister's friend upfront that she will have to pay for her own soda, then that makes you rude. But unfortunately, you cannot have it both ways. You have to be rude upfront if you do not want to pay thus giving your spare tire guest the opportunity to graciously decline your unacceptable offer that is being extended so unwillingly and under false pretenses with the sole purpose of making yourself sound like a gracious host even when you really are not.