For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?
In January I wrote about: apron, bar, basketball, bed, bicycle, birthday, boat, broom, button, cake, car.
In February: chair, chlorine, church, concert, cookbook, couch, dancing, desk, dessert, dining room table, diploma.
In February: chair, chlorine, church, concert, cookbook, couch, dancing, desk, dessert, dining room table, diploma.
March: divorce, door, dream, emergency room, envelope, eyebrows, first apartment, first job, food, game, garden.
April: I took a break to focus on ARTSPEAK: Happy!
April: I took a break to focus on ARTSPEAK: Happy!
Here are the prompts for May: gloves, great-grandparent, guidebook, gun, gym class, hair, hands, hat, high heels, honeymoon, hood.
GYM
CLASS
I
have never been a sporty gal, so when it came to gym class, I'd
pretty much do anything to get out of it. In elementary school I
managed to skip playing softball by staying in and cleaning the
classroom. This included straightening the book shelves and washing
down the chalk board. With what glee I would look out at my
classmates through the window!
I
also managed to get out of PE in high school. The coach was also in
charge of the bus schedules, and when he saw I was good at
organization, he asked if I might help him. And so I did! I worked on
those bus schedules and didn't have to play basketball even once.
But I didn't get out of gym class every time... my 9th grade year and first year in Alabama, I had to endure the horror of dressing out in the PE “uniform,” which consisted of shorts only in team colors (red, gray, or white) and t-shirts specially designed by the school. I never liked the way I looked in this ensemble, and I remember feeling awkward and uncomfortable.
But I didn't get out of gym class every time... my 9th grade year and first year in Alabama, I had to endure the horror of dressing out in the PE “uniform,” which consisted of shorts only in team colors (red, gray, or white) and t-shirts specially designed by the school. I never liked the way I looked in this ensemble, and I remember feeling awkward and uncomfortable.
The
only positive memory I have of gym class is doing quite well in the
Presidential fitness test. Fitness has always been important to me –
growing up with an obese father will do that to you – and thanks to
Grandma Dykes (and those who came before her) I've got “flexibility”
in my genes.
Oh your gym uniform sounds lovely compared to the white sleeveless one piece uniforms we donned for gym class. I never got out of gym class. My favorite sport was the few weeks of archery each spring. And I abhorred those fitness tests. I managed to excel on just one - the situps!
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