Chapter 2
Finally managing to break free of his family, Tom made his way into the gymnasium where the graduates were supposed to wait until the beginning of the ceremony. Entering the gymnasium, he spotted Dan and walked over to where his friend was waiting. He took one look at his friend and said, "Jesus, you look like shit."
"Thanks," Dan said. He still hurt all over, but was able to move around a little more naturally. Standing around in the black robe in the hot sun had nearly killed him. At least they hadn't had to wait outside for too long. He said, "Sorry about last night."
"No problem. I called over at your house and your mother told me you were down for the count. Seeing you, I can understand why," Tom said. He had never seen anyone look that bad.
"I'll get used to it," Dan said feeling as if there wasn't a choice in the matter. He had decided that his sister was right. One did get used to the demands of a job.
Shaking his head, Tom said, "Dude, anything that makes you look like that isn't worth getting used to."
"I don't have a choice," Dan said looking away.
"Sure you do; you just haven't found it yet," Tom said feeling bad for Dan. Anyone else who had worked as hard to graduate high school would have been class valedictorian. He knew it wasn't fair, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The Principal of the school called for everyone to get in line. Dan looked over at Tom and said, "I guess it is time for us to get in line."
"That can wait. What is he going to do? Give us a detention?" Tom said with a grin. He knew that Dan would keep him from getting into too much trouble. Dan was the steady careful one. Tom sometimes lacked the discipline to keep from going overboard at times.
Dan laughed at the comment. Tom had never been particularly impressed by authority figures. Considering that Tom was smarter than most of them, it was understandable why he didn't respect them. He said, "They can hold our diplomas over our heads."
"That true," Tom said. He was about to make a glib comment about it not meaning much, but he held back because it meant a lot.
Knowing that he was going to have to sit beside Kim through the whole ceremony, Dan wasn't in a hurry to get into line. He asked, "Are you free tomorrow?"
"No. All of our visitors are leaving tomorrow during the day. I've got to hang around the house to say goodbye to them. I have to work tomorrow night," Tom said.
Knowing Tom's family as well as he did, Dan knew that visiting his friend would be a waste of time. Every conversation would be interrupted by a well meaning relative wanting to let Tom know that he had achieved something important. He said, "I understand."
Seeing the look of disappointment on Dan's face, Tom said, "I'll try to swing by your house after work."
"That would be great. It looks like they are getting ready for us to march into the auditorium. Let's get in line," Dan said seeing that they would be the last to get there.
When Dan arrived at his place in the line, Kim Parker took one look at him and said, "Oh God! I have to walk the stage behind a freak of nature. Not only is he stupid, but he looks like a pimento stuffed in a black olive."
"Shut up," Dan said feeling miserable enough.
"Don't tell me to shut up," Kim said. She looked down at Dan's hands and saw that they were red as well. Guessing that his arms were sunburned as well, she slapped him on the arm.
Dan felt the slap. It was like a jolt of electricity had shot through his body. He had to fight to keep from acting on the desire to send Kim to the hospital. He looked over at the guy standing in front of him and, barely able to control his anger, he said, "O'Neal, let's swap places."
"We can't do that," Mike said looking over in the direction of the Principal. The last thing that he wanted was to get in trouble that day. When he looked back at Dan's face he realized that having Dan and Kim sitting together was liable to ruin the entire ceremony. He looked over at Kim thinking that sitting between Kim and Dan might be better than watching a fight break out.
"Sure we can," Dan said moving in front of Mike. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. He added, "We'll swap back when we are at the stage. No one will even notice."
For years the very attractive Kim Parker had been the subject of Mike's masturbatory fantasies. Thinking that this would be his last chance to sit next to her, Mike said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt."
They agreed on the swap just as the procession into the auditorium began. Dan shuffled through the slow stately march. Each step was another experience in pain and he was relieved when he finally reached his seat. Sitting down, he looked around at the families gathered to watch their children graduate high school.
All in all, Dan found the ceremony boring. Susan Daniels was the class valedictorian and gave a speech that was about facing an uncertain future. Dan thought he had a pretty certain future as a common laborer. The guest speaker, Mayor Doorman, talked about this being the first step on the way to becoming leaders for the next generation. He sat there thinking that common laborers were not future leaders. He listened as various folks talked about achieving success in the future and heard nothing that applied to him.
When the time finally came when it was time to walk across the stage, each row stood in turn and the students crossed the stage one at a time as their name was called out. When it was Tom's turn, Tom's family made so much noise that it was almost embarrassing. In addition to the shouts, claps and whistles, Tom's father had brought a pressurized air horn. It was defining inside the auditorium. Dan joined in and shouted, "Way to go, Tom!"
When it was time for Dan to walk across the stage, he heard far more cheering than he had expected. Tom and the rest of his family shouted, whistled, and clapped. The air horn had been confiscated or else he would have heard that as well. His family was clapping. His sister screamed out, "You did it, Dan!"
Dan returned to his seat thinking that maybe, just maybe, he had accomplished something. He had a high school diploma and no one could take that away from him. He leaned forward and looked around Mike at Kim. He hoped that this was the last time in his life that he would ever have to see her.
After the ceremony, his father came over to him and shook his hand. Although he was concerned about his son's future, he knew that Dan had worked hard to reach that point in his life. With pride evident in his voice, his father said, "I'm proud of you son. I know it wasn't easy, but you made it."
"Thanks, Dad," Dan answered. He could hear the pride in his father's voice and that surprised him a little. He was even more surprised when his father pulled him in for a hug. The hug hurt, but it felt good at the same time.
After his father released him, his mother moved in and hugged him. Her hug didn't hurt nearly as much, but it felt just as good. She said, "You've worked so hard. We're so proud of you."
"Thanks, Mom," Dan said.
Probably more than anyone else, Diana admired her brother. She had grown up watching Dan working on his homework for hours every day. He had turned down opportunities to go to parties in order to study. She wondered if he would ever sit at his desk again. She went over to her brother and hugged him. With tears in her eyes, she said, "I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks, Diana," Dan said wondering why his sister was crying.
Returning home from the ceremony, Dan sat down on his bed and looked around his bedroom. It was a normal room for a teenage boy. A few posters of barely clad women graced the walls. His desk and chair was across the room from his bed. There was a chest of drawers beside his desk.
The roll of papers that Tom had given him caught his eye. They had been sitting there all week and Dan hadn't even glanced at them. Feeling a little guilty, Dan went over and picked up the papers. Sitting down, he looked at the top article. It was the one that was titled, "The Facts of Life." Tom had written across the top that he was to read that one first. Getting out his red transparent sheet and ruler, he began to read. It was a slow process, but the material was interesting and he found it easier to read than his homework.
Dan found the article far more fascinating than anything that he had ever read. Given the title he had thought it would be about sex, but it wasn't. It was about life. It seemed to him that the material was presented in such a factual and candid manner that the truth of it was obvious.
The hours passed as he deciphered the text. Some parts went well while other parts were a little more difficult. The first section of the article was relatively short. It was about how the facts of life were facts and, as such, they couldn't be violated. Any and all attempts to violate those facts were doomed to failure. It didn't matter how clever one was; there was no way to violate those facts. Plans that required a fact of life to be suspended, even for a moment, were doomed to fail.
The obviousness of that section might seem trite, but Dan considered that section thoughtfully. He contrasted it against the kinds of facts that he had learned at school. Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. There wasn't much about Columbus, the ocean, or 1492 that one could consider trying to violate. It was also the kind of fact that didn't mean much in day to day living. The facts presented in the article had a very different flavor to them. They were the kind of facts that one wanted to deny.
Although it was getting late, he continued to read the section about the first fact of life, namely that life wasn't fair. After an hour, he sat back and thought about the matter. The article had pointed out something that he had never considered. Life might be unfair, but it was unfair to everyone equally. To spend all of one's time complaining about the unfairness of some event was to ignore a basic fact of life.
For years Dan had hated the fact that he was Dyslexic. It was impossible to count how many times he had cursed God for it. He had pictured a future that was bleak because his Dyslexia would hold him back. Reading the article, he realized that even successful people encountered their share of unfairness. The difference between a successful person and a failure was that successful people didn't let the unfairness of life keep them from succeeding.
He went to read the next section on the second fact of life. This fact was that no one was exempt from death. Initially, this section didn't interest him nearly as much as the first section had. It wasn't until he thought about it that he realized it was necessary to come to grips with the fact that one day he would die. It wasn't that important immediately, but if he were to get married and have children it could be important. What would happen to them if he were to die?
That got him to thinking about his job. Between the present and his death, a lot of very unfair things could happen to him. He could get seriously hurt. He didn't know if he had any kind of insurance. He wondered what would happen if he was to get injured on the job. Did they have insurance? What if he was disabled and unable to work? Thinking about it brought him to the realization that there could be very terrible consequences of ignoring the facts of life.
The terrible truth that he was going to die sometime in the future came crashing down on him. He only had a limited amount of time to experience all that life had to offer. Every day was important. It never occurred to him that it was very strange for someone who was nineteen years old to consider his mortality.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his bedroom door. Turning to look at the door, he said, "Come in."
His mother opened the door and was surprised to find him seated at his desk. It seemed to her that he had spent his whole life at that desk. She had thought that he wouldn't ever want to sit there again. She said, "We want to take you out to dinner in celebration of your graduation."
"Oh, that would be great," Dan answered wondering if his sister had suggested it to his parents after their conversation earlier that morning. He glanced over at the paper and, deciding that he would really enjoy the evening, added, "Yes, that would be really great."
"Get into some dress clothes, okay? We want to go to a real nice place tonight," his mother said puzzled by the change in his tone of voice between the two statements.
"Sure," Dan answered. The family very seldom ate out. That his mother was telling him to get into dress clothes meant they were probably going to the Golden Duck. That was the place where his parents went on their anniversary.
"We'll leave in about half of an hour," his mother said with a worried smile. It seemed to her that Dan wasn't as enthused about graduating high school as she had thought he should have been.
"I'll get dressed," Dan said looking over at his mother.
She glanced at his desk and, curiosity getting the better of her, asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm reading an article that Tom gave me," Dan answered lifting the article. It was still covered by the red transparency.
Recalling how he had spent the entire summer last year reading Watership Down, she asked, "What is it?"
"It is an article on the Facts of Life," Dan answered. He chuckled at the shocked expression on his mother's face. He said, "Don't worry, it is not about sex. You know that Tom wouldn't give me something like that to read."
Realizing that Dan was right, she asked, "So what is it about?"
"It is about the real facts of life. I'm finding it to be very interesting," Dan answered.
"Tom is a good friend. You're going to miss him when he goes off to college," his mom said afraid of what was going to happen when Tom left. She had never understood why Tom had chosen to become friends with Dan, but she appreciated it. The friendship had come at a pivotal time in Dan's life and had probably saved his life.
Glancing over at the papers, Dan wondered if Tom was trying to give him a final bit of advice before leaving. It was the kind of thing that he would do. Nodding his head in agreement, Dan said, "I'll miss him. He's a very good friend."
"Here you go," Dan said as he tossed Tom a can of root beer. Tom loved root beer and had classified every brand of root beer into a complex set of categories based on the head produced when poured into a frosty mug, the flavor, and the ideal temperature at which to drink it. Dan didn't quite believe that Tom could distinguish between the various brands of root beer like that, but he accepted Tom's word without asking for proof.
"One of my favorites," Tom said looking at the can.
"Of course. They're all your favorites," Dan said with a laugh. The only reason they had any root beers in the house was because of Tom. His mother made sure that there was always a cold six pack in the refrigerator.
Tom opened the can and took a long sip of root beer. He savored the flavor for a few seconds and then put the can down on the step beside him. He said, "Good root beer."
"I'm glad you like it," Dan said.
Deciding it was time to get a little more serious, Tom asked, "So have you started reading any of the material that I gave you?"
"Yes. It's pretty interesting stuff," Dan answered. He opened his can of root beer and took a sip. It tasted like any other root beer to him.
"Which article are you reading?" Tom asked pleased to learn that Dan was actually reading the material.
"The Facts of Life," Dan answered.
"Ah, that is a very interesting one," Tom commented. He was glad that Dan was reading the articles in the proper order. That particular article was necessary to put the other two articles in context. Curious, he asked, "How far have you gotten in it?"
"I just finished reading the section on wishing," Dan answered. That section had been titled 'Wishing Never Makes It So.' It made the point that even if the wish does come true that it wasn't the wish that made it happen; it was random chance or the result of someone else's hard work.
Surprised by how much progress Dan had made in reading the article, Tom said, "Wow. You must really like it."
"I haven't done anything other than read that during my spare time this weekend," Dan said. Even if he hadn't found the article fascinating, he had been too stiff and sore to do much else.
After taking a sip of the root beer, Tom asked, "So what is your favorite section?"
Dan frowned as he thought about the question. Shaking his head, he answered, "I don't think I can answer that. It isn't about liking a section or not. I might not like some of the facts, but the discussion about them is the important thing."
"Really?" Tom asked looking over at Dan. There had been a few sections that had been a little interesting, but not earthshaking. He asked, "What about the section about no one being exempt from death? I thought that was pretty useless."
"Not at all. I found it to be very significant. In fact, it is one of the most significant sections that I've read so far," Dan replied. He took a sip of his root beer while watching Tom.
"You're kidding," Tom said surprised by the comment.
"Nope. If you think about it, death gives us a context in which to view our lives and our actions. On one hand, we can die at any moment. That means that we have to enjoy the now. On the other hand, we can also end up living for another eighty years. That means that we have to plan for the future. Taking the two perspectives together tells me that we have to balance both the now and the future," Dan answered.
"You're right," Tom said pleased that Dan had given it a lot of thought. He wasn't surprised that Dan would find a few interpretations that he hadn't considered. Dan viewed the world in a very different way then he did. He said, "I particularly enjoyed the section about how physics ruled the universe and biology ruled life."
"That was a good section," Dan said. He had known that the discussion would have appealed to Tom. He said, "I liked the alternative wording of that rule. Physics is King, Biology is Queen, and their rule is absolute. I kept imagining a King and a Queen running around chopping off the heads of anyone violating their edicts."
"I know what you mean. I had the same mental image when I read it," Tom said with a grin. He had given that section of the article the most thought. Getting a little more serious about the matter, he said, "We kind of accept that the world acts in a particular way, but we don't think about it all that often. When I was reading that section, I realized that very few people actually bother to understand physics or biology. How can you know if you are violating some law of physics or going against biology if you don't understand them?"
"That's a good question," Dan said. He wasn't going to get a degree in physics or biology to understand their laws better.
"I realized that one didn't need to understand all of physics or biology. A lot of the specialized knowledge is important only if you are pushing the boundaries. You don't need to know why a car works in order to understand that cars operate in a particular way," Tom said.
"So you're saying that if you are designing a car, then you need to understand the physics behind the car. If you are driving the car, then you need to understand the physics of driving," Dan said appreciating the distinction.
"Right," Tom said.
Dan shook his head not quite sure that he was convinced. He said, "I think that the part about biology rules life suggests that understanding the details is a little more significant than that. We are animals and are subject to the drives imposed by biology. Biology drives us to eat, sleep, shit, and have sex. An infection creates a fever, makes us throw up, or gives us diarrhea."
"That's true. Ignoring or denying biological imperatives means that you working against a fact of life. Not understanding a biological drive could mean that you are violating a fact of life," Tom said thoughtfully. He wondered how many of his opinions were based on assumptions that ran contrary to this particular fact of life.
"It makes you wonder about sexual attraction and all that kind of stuff," Dan said giving voice to Tom's thoughts. He took another sip of root beer.
Tom asked, "You mean homosexuals are biologically driven to be homosexuals?"
"I hadn't thought about that, but sure. Maybe there is a biological imperative for homosexuality," Dan said.
"Doesn't seem like a reasonable survival strategy to me. That would tend to argue against it being a biological imperative," Tom said.
"That's true. Of course, Dyslexia doesn't seem to support any particular survival strategy, but it exists. It isn't a psychological problem, but a result of some weird wiring in the brain," Dan said. He knew that a lot of other mental problems had been identified as being the result of chemical imbalances in the brain. Biology was responsible for those problems.
"So what does that tell us?" Tom asked leaning back on the step and looking up at the night sky.
"I guess that if someone is driven to have sex with someone of the same sex, then trying to get them to change isn't going to work," Dan said. He leaned back and looked up at the sky as well. He added, "Maybe considering them freaks is wrong."
Taking a sip of his root beer, Tom said, "It sounds to me like you've given this stuff a lot of thought."
"Yes, I have. I think that I need to give it all a lot more thought before I understand the full implications of the facts of life," Dan answered thoughtfully. He shook his can of root beer in an attempt to judge how much was left. There was only a sip or two left in the can. He said, "I have even begun to apply it to my life."
"What do you mean?" Tom asked. He was pleased to hear that little bit of news. He hoped that the other two articles would have as strong of an impact on Dan.
"Well, last night my parents took me out to eat. I had just finished reading the section about death. It dawned on me that it was up to me to enjoy the moment since it could easily be the last of my life. It also was up to me to enjoy the company since it could be their last day of life. I never tasted a meal that was so good. I never enjoyed an evening out with my family that much," Dan said.
Tom finished his root beer and crumpled the can while he thought about what Dan had said. He knew that Dan enjoyed his time with his family, so saying it was the best time of his life was pretty significant. Nodding his head, he said, "My parents are real big on celebrating accomplishments. I never really thought about it, but I guess they are saying, 'I have accomplished one more thing before I have died.' It is their way of marking score in the game of life."
"I guess so," Dan said. He said, "Tomorrow I'm going to ask my boss about insurance. I didn't even think to ask about it when I got the job. After realizing that I was going to die one day, I knew that it was actually important to know those kinds of things."
"We're nineteen. Isn't it too early to worry about insurance?" Tom asked with a wink to let Dan know that he wasn't serious.
Dan laughed and, repeating a statement that appeared frequently in the article, said, "Deny a fact of life at your own peril."
Knowing that Dan's job options were limited, Tom asked, "What are you going to do if they don't have insurance?"
"I'll probably continue to work for a while. I'm making eleven dollars an hour. I need the money in order to give me more choices," Dan answered. He hoped to save four thousand dollars over the summer. There had been a section in the article that discussed how a person always had choices. That didn't mean that the choices were necessarily pleasant, just that there were always choices. He had gone into the job thinking that he didn't have a choice in the matter. Realizing that he did have a choice had changed his thoughts concerning his job significantly.
"How will having money help you get more choices?"
Dan yawned trying to stifle the noise. He answered, "It may not actually get me more choices, but it may allow me to pursue one of the choices I already have."
"You look tired. Am I keeping you up too late?" Tom asked.
Dan said, "I am tired and I have to get to work pretty early tomorrow."
"How about I come over tomorrow night? I'd like to talk about that article some more," Tom said. He only had two and a half months to get Dan through all three articles. He hoped that it was enough time.
"I'd enjoy that," Dan said. He enjoyed the philosophical discussions he had with Tom. His friend was the only one who ever challenged him to think about issues greater than just getting by in life.
Tom picked up his crumpled root beer can. Rising from his seat, he said, "It's a shame that none of our classmates ever realized how smart you are."
"I'm not smart," Dan said in protest.
"Yes, you are. Did you know that you're the only one who I even considered talking to about these articles? Everyone else would have laughed at me. Not you. You're reading them, thinking about them, and listening to me ramble on about them," Tom said.
Dan laughed and said, "I imagine that most of our classmates are out drinking beer right about now."
"You're probably right," Tom said with a sigh. He walked towards the trashcan and tossed his can towards it as if making a basketball shot. He was rewarded with the dull thud of metal hitting plastic and then the even duller thud of metal hitting dirt.
"Maybe next weekend we can go to the lake and have a few beers," Dan said.
Tom laughed and, as he picked up the can from the ground, asked, "Aren't the ideas that will get us in trouble supposed to be mine?"
"I forgot," Dan said with a grin. He tossed his can towards the
trashcan and was rewarded with the sound of metal hitting the metal of
the other cans inside. It was followed by the sound of Tom's can
landing in the trashcan.