Friday, January 11, 2008

FLEXING SOME MUSCLE

Last night I was suffering from a major case of couchlock when, during the Order portion of Law and Order, I remembered an incident I had at the Torrance Courthouse in the eighth grade. The episode had a quick shot from the back of the courtroom and I thought how cool it would be to sit in on a case. Then I remembered that I did. For some reason, all eighth grade students took a field trip to the courthouse. We had to wear pants. That was a big deal for me because I NEVER wore pants. Like ever. I had to borrow a pair of Guess overalls (the hick look was in) and covered the top portion with a t-shirt. I wasn't very fashion forward at the time. Anyway, I don't recall anything about the trial, other than it being one of the most boring and slow events of my life. I sat in the back row with two friends. At some point, while some guy is seconds away from a certain guilty conviction, my friends look over at me and are convinced I am flexing my bicep for no one in particular. Keep in mind I was a fat kid with absolutely no muscle whatsoever. Shit, I've never had any muscle. Flexing, especially during the eighth grade, which is just about the most awkward time in anyone's life, was highly unlikely. But that's not what the other two saw. One of the kids I met in the sixth grade after I pulled a chair out from under his ass and the other I knew since kindergarten. They busted into tears and caused the whole room to take notice. There I sat, dumbfounded, wondering what was so funny. I still don't get it. Who the hell knows what I was doing or why they looked over at me. It was one of those times when everything came together to make a situation look like something else to those who get only a snapshot of the moment. They got their snapshot all right. I wish I coulda seen it, but I didn't. I still talk to the friend from kindergarten and he brings this shit up at least once a year. My point to all this? Not sure. Could be that Law and Order makes our criminal justice system much sexier (that's Hollywood for "cool") or that I need to stop typing and go to bed.
EDIT What the fuck? No ampersands allowed?

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