my gym teacher's philosophy of life

[saw]

sometimes you have to
shut it all down, man
pull the plug in the tub of consciousness
stop all the status quo dance steps
slam the brakes on cliff dives into missing water

sometimes we need to love our self,
jam the gears at the guilt mill
toss spanner wrenches and flat head screwdrivers
into the cogs of what the world expects,
put yourself at the top of the list

there is nothing more difficult
than doing nothing at all, sitting still, we are guided
by a cult of deceased personalities , we don't know breathing for the sake of nothing else
we are groomed to take our seats on the express bus to heart-attack-city
mom never mentioned meditation

dad never talked about tai chi,
my gym teacher didn't say a word about yoga
just screamed at me during intense exercise in the burning heat
with his four roses breath, veins popping from his neck like purple blood worms
"DRINKS OF WATER ARE FOR PUSSIES !"

[Doreen Peri]

I like the whole poem.... very much.... until the end. No competent gym teacher would tell his students not to drink water while working out. Staying hydrated is extremely important.

[theirishsea]

5 stars on this one.

Have to consider Doreen's point. Probably (but not necessarily) the yell about water is hyperbole.

My question is the word "Pussies". Would that word scratch this poem from a lot of literary journals? The more high-falutin, institutionalized might be reluctant to print the poem because of that. Yeah, I know you don't really care and aren't intending this poem or any others for mass publication BUT it is a damn shame for potential readers that you limit the poem's circulation. This poem would fit in the Loch Raven Review (maybe reconsidering Doreen's point, maybe).

I just think it is a good poem.

[saw]

hey, thanx doreen and dan....to doreen's point, well this is autobiographical, and yes you are quite correct that today that would be not only irresponsible, but child abuse...so we are dealing with incompetence at first glance as you suggest, but more deeply we are dealing with a mindset that was prevalent in the 60's....and this wasn't my only experience...outside of school this toughening up of boys was present in most all independent sport's leagues

presumably this was to harden you for boot camp that was coming for every male that turned 18....I got heat sickness from this episode and I'm sure I was an eyelash from heat stroke...

to Dan, thanks for the praise, and I guess I would consider the language for publication if that were on the horizon, but those words are authentic....that's what he said to me...and yes, you guessed it...that approach did in fact continue in boot camp

I was standing in formation at parade rest where your hands are placed in the small of your back when a crazy lifer caught me smiling from a joke this kid from Yonkers had just spit out.
He walks up inches from my face and says, "Wipe that smile off your face and throw it on the deck "....since it was known to me that this sailor was insane, i felt I better oblige. so i wiped the smile off my face and returned to parade rest....he began with a whisper. " that was good you fucking little maggot, you wiped it off your face but "....at this point he began to scream and convulse as he finished his sentence, YOU STUCK IN YOUR BACK POCKET, NOW TAKE IT OUT OF YOUR POCKET AND THROW IT ON THE DECK !!....so i made the motion of retrieving something from my back pocket and throwing something invisible to the floor....afterwards he screamed even louder...." NOW KILL IT. KILL IT. KILL IT"

well there you have it from gym teacher, to football coach, to first class seaman....for boys this was your initiation into manhood

[theirishsea]

I do remember the army and the last sentence of the poem would fit in basic training----it would be considered realism---because it was. (you were in the navy but crazy people made careers in all the services)

[Doreen Peri]

Wow. ... I'm trying to grasp the concept that any gym teacher, even in the 60's or before, would consider withholding drinking water while working out to be a "toughening up" process.

I mean, these coaches have to at least have a 4-year degree from an accredited university in order to teach gym class. During those years, they have to study exercise physiology, anatomy, and at least the basic way the body works.

Knowing about how serious dehydration can be is nothing new. I grew up in the same era, and we were always told to bring a water bottle with us and were given breaks to go to the water fountain. Of course, we were girls, so maybe we weren't being "toughened up" but the gym teachers knew how important drinking water is, especially if playing soccer or doing some other sport outside during warmer months. Just sayin'... your teacher was not only incompetent but someone could have died....AND he knew it because he went to school to train to become a gym teacher.

Even watching professional sports (football, basketball, etc.) back in the 60s, we saw the athletes drinking lots of water and even pouring it over their heads.

Sorry to hear you experienced that. That teacher either didn't have proper credentials and training or yes, he was a controlling abuser... perhaps even a former drill sergeant.

As for the military training, your story doesn't surprise me a bit. It's all brainwashing from the very beginning of boot camp. "Now kill it! Kill it!" ... "you little maggot" .... it's all mind control brainwashing.

In a way, your stories sort of explain why I've met so many angry, controlling, abusive men. I just wonder why younger generation boys are also similar. (Sorry, this isn't meant to be male bashing at all. I love men! I've just seen a lot in my life, including boys both then and NOW, who treat girls like shit.)

Anyway, I liked the poem. After reading your boot camp story, I'm thinking it might be interesting to segue into a stanza about boot camp. Then, the whole poem could carry the overtone/theme of abuse and mind control for "training boys to become men".

[theirishsea]

A footnote: at football practice in the late 50's, early 60's they gave guys salt tablets. Didn't want guys drinking water. Salt tablets were the wrong thing----180 degrees wrong. Voodoo medicine.

[Doreen Peri]

That's crazy! Salt tablets?! ... Now I have to look up the history. I guess they thought the salt would help them retain water they were sweating out?

[68degrees]

Salt tablets were indeed all the rage back in the day. So were screaming physical Ed teachers. One of mine threw a kid on the floor in 7th grade and bounced his head off the gym floor all b/c the guy wouldn't bring gym clothes to wear to class. Blood everywhere. We were all scared shitless of the guy.

True story.

68degrees

In a true case of irony, the teacher later drowned. He fell off a dock down in Florida and got caught between a boat and the dock. No one felt all that bad when we heard this.

[saw]

salt tablets were also administered in the military...thanx 68...good to know you also had some experience with nutty gym teachers....that's also when i began to hear derogatory nicknames for people that weren't white....in boot camp this tactic has been used for a long time since it is for the most part unnatural for boys to want to kill people...so in preparation to turn boys into murderers they spread heavy derogatory nicknames about , krauts, gooks, ragheads.....any demeaning tags that make it OK to kill someone that isn't in your army ...because krauts, and gooks, and ragheads really aren't just other boys that got roped into service....that screaming, those insults, that boot camp training turned some pretty nice kids into psychos....Abu Ghraib comes to mind.....My Lai.....so sad

[mnaz]

Yes, gym teachers were sometimes the first military figures encountered face to face by students in those times.

[theirishsea]

The more I think about it, this poem explains a bit of our cultural attitudes. Have things changed? To a degree but that gym teacher is still out there. He is arming the 6th grade.

[Doreen Peri]

Amazing. I never had anything nearly close to this experience.

My gym teachers were kind and supportive. I was a cheerleader in jr. high school (believe it or not) and the coach was a dear! I was on the gymnastic team in both jr. high and high school and went to county and state meets, competing. We had several gymnastic coaches, both male and female. Even the male teachers were supportive and kind.

As I mentioned, I grew up in the same era (or close). I graduated from high school in 1971, so my school years were in the 60s.

And, if I had a life to live again, that's one of the thing I'd want to do... I'd want to be a gym teacher. I earned my Personal Trainer certification late in life, just a couple of years ago when I was in my late 50s.

The confidence and self esteem built by weight lifting training and other physical training is something that can be a great advantage to every human being alive and can help their health throughout their lives.

I never even imagined gym class as anything close to the training and brainwashing of military personnel, where they are demeaned and belittled by their "superiors". On the contrary, our gymnastic team AND our football team in high school were supported by the coaches which positively affected every aspect of their lives.

I guess my perspective on it is from a totally different viewpoint. I never witnessed anything of the sort.

Military? YES! I know it happens. But gym class? No way... not in MY neighborhood. Those coaches gave both the boys and girls such strong self esteem, it impressed me and has affected my life ever since because physical activity and physical strength remain very important to me. Plus, I truly believe, it had an effect on me to give me the confidence to operate my own business for many years.

Gym is my boyfriend. He treats me right. He takes care of me and makes me strong. Speaking of which, I better get off the computer and go see him.

You guys have opened my eyes to a gym world I didn't know existed. Thanks for the education. I'm so VERY glad my classmates and I never experienced anything of the sort. Perhaps it's associated with the area where you grew up? I don't know. But thanks for the conversation.

[columbus]

Also experienced the psychotic "Gym Teacher."

The refusal of water, the running til puking, the forced taking of salt pills.

It was abuse. Pure and simple.

Once looked down at my 12-year-old arms and saw salt encrustations, the salt rejected by my better-knowing body...

The position of "Teacher/Coach" seemed to bring out the sadist in certain men.

I witnessed our high school basketball coach go insane at a game. Had to be "escorted" off the court....

It was a matter of psychotic life or death that his "boys" hadn't played hard enough. Even though they had won...

[mnaz]

For me it wasn't "psychotic," but definitely militaristic.
He got in my face and exposed my physical weaknesses
right away. He didn't waste much time.