"Come on, Tom. Let's finish this shit the way we started ..."

Are you familiar with the book series Harry Potter? The fictional character Harry Potter had the deal with a lot of heavy shit long before he was aware that life had pushed a bunch of shit his way. First, his parents are killed in an attack by and egotistical wizard, while Harry was just an infant. Harry was marked for death by this guy but survives. Not being conscious of any of the events which lead to the death of his parents, Harry had to be told by others of the terrible events that clouded his life and of the courageous shit his mother did on his behalf, and of the crazy, egotistical shit-head who killed his parents.

Harry Potter survived to became the talk of the town. Those in the know around Harry began to direct his life. Harry's Aunt and Uncle treats him like shit. His School's Head Master treats him like the son he never had, but has a hidden agenda planned. Harry bonds with two first year classmates who are dealing with shit of their own. One is born to non wizard parents and is looked down upon by the wizard community because of her mixed blood. She works extra hard to prove she is just as good or better than the others. The other friend, although born into a loving family, believes he's happiness is tied to the intangible and seeks materialism to gain social acceptance. He is never really happy with who he is.

Throughout Harry’s school daze, he is reminded of who he is and that his family is gone. We are shown how much love Harry holds for the parents he never knew. In many respects, Harry is not allowed to be present, being consistently reminded about his past by others and holding onto it, himself. Basically Harry Potter does not like his life and longs for something more simple. He really wants to know what love is and would rather not deal with all this shit about saving the world. Harry becomes known as “the chosen one.” This attention is not sought after nor wanted by the young wizard. Celebrity status. He can’t take a shit without something significant happening around him that effects his life and the lives of others. So, was it Harry’s destiny to help/hinder others in a big way? Was the bad shit he had to live through part of his life's journey? In some way, helping him realize the nature of his true self? Or did he, deep down, allow his ego to make him believe he was the shit, and the only person qualified to deal with the bull shit that had marked him from infancy?

Ain't That Some Shit!

Back in the day, football meant everything to me. It was the shit! I attended Junior High and High School during the 70’s, playing football as much as I could and dreamed about being an American League football star. Before band practice, there was football. Before girls, there was football. Before being called in for dinner, there was, football. I dreamed of playing along side Darryl Lamonica and George Blanda of the Oakland Raiders. Beating the shit out of Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris. Delusions of grandeur swirled in my head. When my friends from the neighborhood and I took to the streets, we were the embodiments of our favorite professional football stars. On most days we played touch football in the street, and if some kid was bold enough to allow us to play on their front lawn, we played tackle and usually, tore the lawn to shit. But more often than not, the street was our stadium. Sure, we got the shit knocked out of us on occasion from running into stationary cars, being hit by moving cars or fighting over some stupid shit, but by and large, we had a great time playing for hours after school until dust and on the weekends. However, like I said, even though I loved football, I was not a warrior. So, for me, being a part of the high school football team helped me stay safe in what I viewed as a hostile learning environment. Being a part of a team also helped me grow up.
I remember that I got hit relatively hard the first day we ran through some drills. I laid down on the field and cried. A team mate saw me and said “Hey. Coach, he’s hurt.” He said exactly what I wanted him to say. I could see the coach looking back at me as I laid their crying on the grass. Seconds later. ...“He’ll be OK.” the Coach said and then walked away to begin some more drills. The Coach made this assessment of my situation from ten yards away! He didn’t come over to me and ask what was wrong. Didn't tell me everything was going to be alright. Nothing. I was still crying but remember thinking to myself. “Shit! What’s his problem?”...