Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
19 Nostalgia
1
I remember sitting in my bedroom,
Staring at the wall,
A single third place ribbon,
There wasn’t more, that was all.
2
I was as dumb as a box of rocks,
Nothing good to report,
I wasn’t good in school at all,
And a failure at team sports.
3
My freshmen year in high school,
Chances ebbing day by day,
They put me in the mile run,
The conference meet was a day away.
4
Here is a rule of thumb,
That might make you feel bad,
You are truly standing on the edge,
If the mile run is all you had.
5
The god’s they were smiling,
And the stars rested silently in space,
I charged down the homestretch,
To capture fourth place.
6
Fourth place in the Conference,
The longest race of all,
For me it was everything,
And another ribbon for my wall.
7
So there were two ribbons on my wall now,
It’s grown a lot since then,
And if I ever got the chance,
I’d do it all again.
By 1963 the demon that was haunting my academic progress was losing its grip, but I still wasn't doing well in school. I had a C average I guess, but I was taking only the easiest classes offered. Anyway, I was a poor baseball and basketball player, and Vevay Hight School didn't offer swimming or Wrestling. That left only track, and I wasn't all that fast. But they had the mile run, which required more determination and dedication than pure speed, and I was determined to do something right. It all came to me while staring at a third place ribbon I had earned earlier in the season. I wanted to place and score in the mile run. Finally some success, and that is what today's story is about.
19 Nostalgia
1
I remember sitting in my bedroom,
Staring at the wall,
A single third place ribbon,
There wasn’t more, that was all.
2
I was as dumb as a box of rocks,
Nothing good to report,
I wasn’t good in school at all,
And a failure at team sports.
3
My freshmen year in high school,
Chances ebbing day by day,
They put me in the mile run,
The conference meet was a day away.
4
Here is a rule of thumb,
That might make you feel bad,
You are truly standing on the edge,
If the mile run is all you had.
5
The god’s they were smiling,
And the stars rested silently in space,
I charged down the homestretch,
To capture fourth place.
6
Fourth place in the Conference,
The longest race of all,
For me it was everything,
And another ribbon for my wall.
7
So there were two ribbons on my wall now,
It’s grown a lot since then,
And if I ever got the chance,
I’d do it all again.
By 1963 the demon that was haunting my academic progress was losing its grip, but I still wasn't doing well in school. I had a C average I guess, but I was taking only the easiest classes offered. Anyway, I was a poor baseball and basketball player, and Vevay Hight School didn't offer swimming or Wrestling. That left only track, and I wasn't all that fast. But they had the mile run, which required more determination and dedication than pure speed, and I was determined to do something right. It all came to me while staring at a third place ribbon I had earned earlier in the season. I wanted to place and score in the mile run. Finally some success, and that is what today's story is about.
