VOL. XIX, NO. 3
OCTOBER 21, 1977
Don't You Love It When
Cold Weather Strikes Outdoor Classes
Cold Weather Strikes Outdoor Classes
BY STEVE HINES
Here's a riddle for you. What chatters, shivers, sprints, and is blue all over? A Maine West Warrior coming in from his outdoor physical education class during first, second, or third period.
Running or jogging out of the locker room into that wonderfully fresh, clean, crisp, very cold air, feeling that brisk 20 mile‑an‑hour wind coming straight from the north pole, is a breath‑taking, invigorating experience. That's what the beloved gym instructor says while he is wearing three pairs of long underwear, five or six wool sweaters, and a snowmobile suit.
One of the favorite activities of the staff and other people of extremely poor taste is the mile run. You approach this event with dread and hatred and leave it without your breakfast. It is an experience no one should miss, and very few people in P.E. do.
On your mark, get set, go! Forty young, shivering boys lunge forward in a valiant attempt. One poor soul steps on his shoe laces, slips, and tumbles to the earth. But now you have come to the point of no return. That fateful moment came 10 minutes ago when you changed into your worn out gym suit in the locker room. There is no stopping you now.
In a courageous effort, you pick yourself up and begin sprinting to regain the ground you've lost. You laugh as you think of a popular saying in the locker room: Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow or hail will keep you from running the mile. Not even that last puddle that came up to your ankle, drenching your gym socks will stop you.
Here's a riddle for you. What chatters, shivers, sprints, and is blue all over? A Maine West Warrior coming in from his outdoor physical education class during first, second, or third period.
Running or jogging out of the locker room into that wonderfully fresh, clean, crisp, very cold air, feeling that brisk 20 mile‑an‑hour wind coming straight from the north pole, is a breath‑taking, invigorating experience. That's what the beloved gym instructor says while he is wearing three pairs of long underwear, five or six wool sweaters, and a snowmobile suit.
One of the favorite activities of the staff and other people of extremely poor taste is the mile run. You approach this event with dread and hatred and leave it without your breakfast. It is an experience no one should miss, and very few people in P.E. do.
On your mark, get set, go! Forty young, shivering boys lunge forward in a valiant attempt. One poor soul steps on his shoe laces, slips, and tumbles to the earth. But now you have come to the point of no return. That fateful moment came 10 minutes ago when you changed into your worn out gym suit in the locker room. There is no stopping you now.
In a courageous effort, you pick yourself up and begin sprinting to regain the ground you've lost. You laugh as you think of a popular saying in the locker room: Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow or hail will keep you from running the mile. Not even that last puddle that came up to your ankle, drenching your gym socks will stop you.
You are out of that final return and into the homestretch. You're oblivious to your frostbite, cramps, earache, or the ice cold air that now has engulfed your lungs. What a triumph; you've made it across the finish line!
There are two activities in which you spend most of your time and getting most of the bruises, cuts, scars, and other assorted injuries. They are football and soccer.
Football, which takes up one half of your time in gym class, is a game where two boys run down the field. Two players from the opposite team pursue them. The usual result is all four of them go skidding across the frost‑covered grass, while the quarterback throws the perfect pass. The result is four boys who lie stunned on the cold grass and an enraged quarterback.
Soccer is a game of teamwork, according to our instructors. The teacher enjoys himself greatly while watching the students collide, slide, become blue from the cold, except, of course, where the soccer ball hits you. In that area you are now bright red.
What is the moral of my story? It's this - enjoy outdoor gym classes. The next person may not be able to enjoy that fresh breeze.
There are two activities in which you spend most of your time and getting most of the bruises, cuts, scars, and other assorted injuries. They are football and soccer.
Football, which takes up one half of your time in gym class, is a game where two boys run down the field. Two players from the opposite team pursue them. The usual result is all four of them go skidding across the frost‑covered grass, while the quarterback throws the perfect pass. The result is four boys who lie stunned on the cold grass and an enraged quarterback.
Soccer is a game of teamwork, according to our instructors. The teacher enjoys himself greatly while watching the students collide, slide, become blue from the cold, except, of course, where the soccer ball hits you. In that area you are now bright red.
What is the moral of my story? It's this - enjoy outdoor gym classes. The next person may not be able to enjoy that fresh breeze.