Beth and RCMP battle and 'Pick yourself in this picture!'

I figured that everyone who reads here has been or is in high school (if you are in junior high and are here just for the sex toy reviews…shame on you, use a shower head like the rest of us did! Um if you are guy, just ignore that last statement because I don’t even want to imagine what could be done). I also figured unless we want to feel all glum, we could do with something light, almost fluffy. Since it is sunny (heat intolerant remember), I have no tales of daring do. Nor do I want to talk about Pride except that the Police did NOT have a stall there for the first time (full up on LGBT officers I guess?), and I was told by the representative of the civilian component of the RCMP that people had to disclose medical conditions like “Fibro or Chronic Fatigue.”

I said, “That’s so you can make accommodation for them?”

The woman looked at me like I was nuts, “No, that’s so we can screen them and determined if they can do the eight hour shift every single shift because if they can’t then we won’t hire them.”

“So you want to know their medical information to determine NOT to hire them?”

“Hey, lives of officers are on the line” (She is talking about dispatch)

I said, “How about instead, you just have FOUR hour shifts for them?”

“That wouldn’t be FAIR to the rest of us!” she said.

I actually repeated it, “You don’t hire people with chronic fatigue or fibro because giving them four hour shifts wouldn’t be FAIR?”

“Not to all of us doing eight hour shifts!” She said.

I was a LITTLE pissed by this part and said, “Well, you DO have to make accommodation, or don’t you let Jews have Passover off.”

“We DON’T!” she said, “And I’ve had to work Christmas so it is the same for everyone.”

I was just sort of blown away because growing up I had lost a LOT of jobs because I took from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, Passover and the other Jewish Holy Days off. But this was 2000-something now right, and I am talking to a NATIONAL ORGANIZATION right? One who complies with human rights: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police?

“So you DON’T make accommodation on the basis of disability OR religion??” I asked with disbelief.

“I’m not going to argue with you,” she said, “You KNOW, I GAVE UP my SUNDAY to come down HERE.” (the unspoken “to be with YOU PEOPLE”) was there which told me that if this was the OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE of the RCMP at pride, I guess disability rights, religious rights, and now the hardship of her being with us gays was brought to the fore.

I have tried to reach the official office of the Vancouver Recruiting Department of the RCMP to verify her statements without effect. I did find out on-line that as the RCMP IS a federal employer, they are REQUIRED to actively recruit four quota areas and one is disability. The RCMP actually made a 2006 equity report on how they are going to do that (I want a copy of that report) because the first thing the official RCMP recruiting officer said to me when I asked to join and take the test was, “You aren’t going to qualify.” When I said, “Just GIVE ME THE TEST and let the test decide.” He said, nodding to the wheelchair, “There is no point, you aren’t going to qualify and I’m not here to argue” and he walked away to the other corner of the tent and kept his back to me. (Oddly, the least employed section under the equity quotas for the RCMP Nationally is disability at.........2)

That was actually probably the BEST aspect or time I was most respected at pride. Linda asked me on the way home, “Do you even WANT to be in the RCMP?”

I said, “Gathering massive amounts of data, following paper trails, bringing them together into a single information structure, research, following patterns, that is what I did my Ph.D. in? Yes, I want to be a crime stats researcher for the RCMP. And I don’t know why I have to climb a wall to do it but if that is what I have to do, they should at least give me the test!”

But enough of that and instead I did some post cards today and this post card below just begged the question, Which of these girls were you in High School? (Don’t worry guys, there is one for you later. But hey you can talk about who you DATED or LUSTED after from afar if you wish?).

So we have brown hair on left (serious or aloof, the one saying “Stop it! I’m trying to listen?” or the one who dressed perfect to fit in and went through the day mostly alone? Reading books? Writing Poetry?). And then the red head who either is the perfect student or the devil incarnate (tell me she doesn’t look like she is plotting or planning something?). Maybe she is just nice, or MAYBE she can LOOK like she is nice for the teachers and then be the biggest backstabber, gossip in the school? Dunno. Then we have black hair who seems to be unconfined, uncontrollable. If she is laughing, everyone would know and I think she is easily bored too! Also notice how she has done something to the school tie and replaced it with something else. And the sweater is doing something! I am surprised one of her knee highs isn’t falling down (and she is wearing them with sneakers!).

So you look at these three and which do you identify with? And why? I’ll go first. I would say for fashion or rather the apparent inability to coordinate, I would be black haired, also because while she MAY have ironed her jacket like the other two, I think she stuffed it in her locker at some point (not hung up, stuffed in!), that’s me. Also, she takes up the most body space and I was always growing (6'3" takes some time!) so I was like watching a drunk stork, I had NO idea where my elbows were much less my knees. About the most KIND thing said about me by a parent watching track day was that I looked like a Gazelle running (bound, bound, bound!), while the most COMMON thing said was, “There is NO WAY she is going to finish this race!” (I honestly don’t know what about me had this “Will fall or face plant” written all over me, I did finish 3rd usually).

As for facial expression, I think I WANTED to be the red head and just fit in, and teachers were always accusing me of things, one used to yell, “Stop thinking!” at me. But I was the one on the right again, whatever crossed my mind came out on my face. If I thought the teacher was a total bore, my face told everyone. In 8th and 9th grade I did some group magazine work (light modeling) and people were talking about I was going to be great in acting. Then they realized that EVERYTHING I thought came on my face, and I just can’t hide my expressions. So if the director is like, “This time make it happy, and you are just loving this!” and I think, “What a total dork!” that is what shows up (they tried to help me with “controlling my expressions” but that just looked fake.) I showed my night care worker last night, and went from the smiling me to thinking ‘bout the stupid director, and she burst out laughing and said that yes, she could see that wouldn’t work for me.

So I WANTED to be cool and aloof but often I was the unwanted center of attention. Seriously, the amount of times I have just been SITTING there and had teachers yell, “And do YOU have something you want to add!” at me. Wow, how did they know I thought they were teaching this all wrong?! So, wanted to be red hair but am the black hair, the brown haired girl on the left was my nemesis because she WAS the one who was going, “Excuse Mr. Johnstone, I really WANTED to hear what you were saying before we got OFF TRACK” (death glare at me!). Or the one who hated me because I pointed out that technically both A and B COULD be correct on the multiple choice test so he had to announce that question didn’t count (and since she was ALWAYS a top student, that these other dull headed should get free what SHE paid for…..ohhhh!).

So that is me. What about you?

Now for guys I really scoured the male anime pictures but at my school we actually tried to STOP guys going around in Mecha suits and with giant guns or swords so I had to go to my stack of…um…boy/boy love postcards. So guys, please just try to look past the somewhat femme faces. First off, where you THIS GUY? Believe me, every school, geez, almost every grade had at least one. They might be suck ups, they might be super polite and go to church a lot, they might plan to have a career in politics or a minister (who PLANS to have a career in politics in the 10th grade?). But like the bow-tie phase is a tip off, as is the pressed clothes and the ‘oh so polite’ manner. While this person might have carried with them and read and reread a copy of The Fountainhead or another Ayn Rand book, they would never STOOP to swearing, at least not in front of the ‘lesser folk’ (or they read Nietzsche a lot, or they were just the first to volunteer to hand out papers for the teacher).

Okay another pictures and YES, they are all guys. Like I said, try to ignore the femme look. I will focus on the first three. Mr. Blond seems to be the natural athlete, not great in grades, doesn’t talk a lot, or is kind of reserved, and seems in THIS picture to be eyeing up the little guy to see how well his head will fit into a toilet in the guy’s change room during gym class. Of course if you WERE a jock, please give us your own interpretation. Linda said the little guy with brown hair might grow up to be a lawyer. I thought this is a guy who probably talks about stuff other guys don’t talk about, like hopes or emotions or he writes poetry or does other things that seem like he is just walking vulnerability and how long until someone stomps on him or his dreams. Black haired guy is like a prep. Maybe does singing club or journalism, seems to be older than his age in high school, almost “adult” because they listen and don’t talk much. He sort of reminds me not of anyone in my class but like some guys in the year above who seemed… “mature” (remember this is like a 16 year old thinking a 17 old is mature!). But I dunno, maybe they hung out with their friends and made fun of others. Often two or three, they seemed to walk around a lot during lunch (male peacocks?)

The guy in the back actually reminds me of several guys in our class, because they WERE sort of background, the struggled with grades, I tutored one or two, they sat there and didn’t say anything brilliant, were average in sports so not made fun of but not admired either. I don’t even know thinking back where they ate lunch.

I DID have the yellowed haired guy in my class and HE WAS notorious for sending guys out of the locker room naked or doing other disgusting things that guys do in locker rooms (God knows they never….CHANGE! I dunno!). He was a natural athlete and thought people who were not natural athletes were “asking for it” and weaklings. Of course, no matter HOW bad a guy is at sports, particularly track (even Mr. Sensitive there), they would KILL themselves to make sure they finished in front of a GIRL, if we were sharing track.

So for the guys, which are you? Or for the girls which did you date? (Ewwww, but okay, tell all!)

I have to say I never quite understood why the vice principal ALWAYS had me tutoring people, ALWAYS! I mean, I did my homework not overnight but while they said, “Pass up your homework” (look at the page, fill in the answers, get an A-, yeah, that was me, yeah, I know you hate me!). I think the Vice P. was convinced that deep down, if I helped others, I would develop study habits myself. Or maybe it was because I actually showed up and tutored people, and they kept using me, I don’t know. So if you were tutored, it was probably by me in Math, English or Social Studies – Biology I hated and was too busy memorizing with flash cards to help anyone but me. I also edited the school paper (gee, what a shocker, eh!). So, no, don’t want to go back there but that was me. So dish, which were you in these pics and why?