Our school decided to have a record-setting day. The way to set world records is not to challenge existing ones, but to think of things so offbeat, that no one ever thought of making a record of it. One of these was how long a person could stand on a block of ice, barefoot.
Julie and two others each had their block of ice. I had other things to do in the morning, but was able to join Julie after the first two hours. Ice doesn't hurt after the first few minutes, and since it was Hawaii, there was no danger of hypothermia. What a deal! I would have hours next to Julie!
The reality was a little different. We were all cracking jokes, especially this one other guy on the ice, who seemed to be paying special attention to Julie. She was laughing at his jokes! I had a confusing, sinking feeling that I had never experienced before. I didn't know what to make of it.
It wasn't until days later that I recognized what it was. Until that point in my life, I had never been jealous of anything. In anything academic, I had always been among the leaders. I may not have been the smartest kid in the class, but there was plenty of room at the top. Totally secure. In athletics, I was in the bottom third of PE in most sports. But so what? None of my self-worth was bound up in sports. Girls, on the other hand, were an unknown quantity. I was completely inexperienced, and completely insecure.
On that block of ice I had to stay and (no pun intended) be cool; I couldn't escape. That was the true test, not the ice.
Jealousy remains my least-favorite emotion to this day. When I encounter terribly demanding situations now, I always return to the ice, as a reminder of what I can endure.
YOU ARE READING
The Rose Among Mushrooms
Non-FictionThis was not written for public consumption, and will be as boring as someone else's home videos to most. It is a memoir of someone in my past. I wanted to capture the story before the memories faded. Feel free to skip it.
