I'm politically incorrect

How did I make it this far? By today's "politically correct" standards I should be a total failure.  After all the terrible horrific events in my life it's a miracle that I'm not in prison or living under  bridge as an absolute failure. I'd like to tell you of the horrible events that happened in my life that were definitely not "politically correct".

First of all my parents should have been sent to prison for child endangerment and child abuse. Can you believe my parents actually spanked me? Physical abuse, don't you agree? What's more they should have been brought up on starving me as a child. I mean, after all, I was told, yes dictated to, "you either eat what I've put on your dish or you go without dinner...I don't care if you like vegatables or not". 

At six years old I stole a cap pistol from the local dime store. I mean, I was just distributing the wealth from the "fat cat" that owned the store. And that horrible gargantuan of a father of mine marched me back to the store to return the cap pistol, and humiliated me, scaring me for life by making me apology to the store owner. And if that wasn't enough he took another horrible step; he spanked me when we returned home. Oh the misery of it all!

Growing up I played in a lot of city sponsored baseball and basketball leagues. In 1952, at the age of seventeen, our team won the city championship.  Our team received one, yes, only one trophy that we gave to the local business that sponsored our team.  Through my growing-up years that was the only championship team I was ever on. I never received a trophy for coming in second, third, or even last place. Still don't know how I didn't become a crazed maniacal killer. Can you imagine not receiving a trophy for coming in last place? 

Also, if I were to receive a dollar for every game my parents game to that I participated in, I would be broke. Kind of reminds me that later on in life I managed a Little League team. Instead of thanking me for taking the time to manage their sons in Little League, I would get a call from the parents admonishing me "because Johnny wasn't playing second base",  or getting angry because, "little Stevie was too good to play right field...he should be pitching...and batting clean-up".

Anyway, to continue; things just went downhill from there for me. I got C's and D's in high school, and became emotionally traumatic when I wasn't accepted at a top notch university. This was purely discrimination. Why did the A students get accepted at major universities after graduation, and no one wanted a C and D student? Oh the horror of it all. Why couldn't I attend Notre Dame, or Southern California, or Vanderbilt? So what if my grades weren't good enough. What about equality?

Therefore my last  two options at the ripe old age of 18 was to get a full time job or join the military, as my horrible parents uttered those horrendous words, "well, you're 18 now...what are you going to do? You're on your own son".  Can you believe parents being so cruel to their only son? Still don't know how I ever recovered from that?

In high school I tried out for the basketball team. After three practices I was cut from the team.
Can you believe this coach exhibiting such discrimination to me. So what if others were better than me? That didn't matter. I should have been allowed on the team. How could I face the horror of being eliminated. I ran home, told Mom that this horrible man wouldn't allow me to be on the team. She looked up from doing housework and getting dinner ready and gave me some sound advice, "yeah, right...now go clean the garage before your Dad gets home from work....he'll have a fit if you don't get that garage cleaned".  Mom was so cruel, wasn't she?

So, in 1954, at eighteen years young, I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. I only joined the Air Force so I could be a romantic carefree Air Force pilot that gets all the girls.  Well, at the induction center we were given I.Q. tests. Seven of us did well enough that we were told, "pass your physical men and you're going to flight school after basic training". Well, the Air Force discovered I was chronically color-blind. Talk about discrimination; can you believe the Air Force wouldn't trust me with their planes because I was chronically color-blind? It's a wonder I ever made it through my tour of duty suffering from all this hatred toward me, and the trauma of watching six others go off to flight school.

After four years of active duty I was eligible to enter college under the G.I. Bill. In my first semester in college I flunked, believe it or not, Political Science. Can't figure out why my Poli-Sci professor didn't balance out the grades. He clearly discriminated against me. After my failing grade I received a letter from the Admin office telling me I was now on probation, and if my grades didn't approve I would be asked to leave. Now if that wasn't discrimination I don't know what was. Somehow, I did well enough to get removed from probation.

After two years on campus I married and completed my required college courses in night school. Now there was never a "magna" or "suma" after my name, but I made it through with a glorious C minus average. Probably the most profound thing I discovered from college was what an old timer told me, "a college diploma may get you up to bat...but it still won't put you on first base...you gotta do that".

And throughout my working career I was so horribly discriminated against. I was actually laid off a few times, and had to find other jobs. What was I to do? I had a family to support and yet I was surely discriminated against. And the job promotions that passed by me. I mean they had the nerve to give promotions to people more qualified than me. It certainly wasn't my fault that I was passed over for promotions or was laid off. It had to be because of...eh, or it was because of...eh..., or was it because I was...er....or maybe...Well anyway, it wasn't my fault or undoing.

Well, I'm 77 now and in spite of all the discrimination thrown at me through my years I only have one thing to say (write) Thanks Mom, Dad, teachers, friends, and even bosses. If I had to do it all over I wouldn't change a thing, except maybe study harder in school.

And that's Politics with Pete for today...God bless our country....and our troops.