I haven't posted in a while, and that's because I have been on a quest to find my true-self.
But all that I've done is come to the realization that I am a freak in every sense of the word. No matter what I do, I will never be half the man (although I'm technically already half a man for having one testicle) that Chandler Wiseman is.
It's a cold November night. Rain is pouring down onto the dirty street below, and out of a church door steps a man. But this is no ordinary man. This is a CHRISTIAN man. A man disguised in an all black outfit whizzes by. A pair of Batman's pantyhose, i mean tights, covers his cold eyes. He is nothing but a dark figure crafting his way through the crisp night air, when suddenly, a women yells in fright. "He took my purse!" Almost as quickly as Chris Ciepley pinned Luke Megleo, the dark man is gone, just another shadow in the night.
But the dark figure must not know who the man he whizzed by outside the church is. Oh no, he has no idea what havoc and vengence the fates have in store for him. For like I previously stated, this was no ordinary man. This was a CHRISTIAN man. But this was no ordinary Christian man. This was Chandler Wiseman. Wiseman swiftly jumps into his Super Dodge Charger of Character, as if he were a stock-car racer. He speeds off into the direction the dark man disappeared. As his speedometer reaches 240 MPH, Wiseman spots the man. He slams the brakes, and the Charger of Character makes a swift 180 degree maneuver. The man is cornered by Wiseman as Wiseman exits his vehicle. The man holds the belongings in his hands as tight to his body as he can, though he knows it makes no difference, and resistance against Wiseman is futile. Wiseman reaches into his pocket and reveals his meter stick of discipline.
"I don't believe that is yours," Chandler says, motioning at the dark figure's hands.
"Please, I'm sorry it will never happen again, next time, I will do the Christian thing, just like you---!!"
But it was too late.
Before the man could finish his pleas for mercy, Chandler had thrown him onto a table and taken his five dollars back.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
New Post Coming Soon
I know it's been a while since my last post, but there is a reasonalble explanation for it.
I've been working on a piece about the art of the tech-pin which is on it's way, but I'll have to push it back due to a concussion. I am also working on another piece titled "Jungle Gyms: The Silent Killer." It is difficult to think. But if you think a concussion is a bad thing or makes you dumber then you are horribly wrong. It is a well known fact that only geniuses and really smart kids get concussions. A concussion is actually when you're brain is too huge and pushes against the walls of your skull, causing pain and pressure on the head. So if you want to try to make fun of me or anyone else who's had a concussion or multiple concussions, you should do a little research before making these outlandish claims. But then again, you do have a tiny brain.
I've been working on a piece about the art of the tech-pin which is on it's way, but I'll have to push it back due to a concussion. I am also working on another piece titled "Jungle Gyms: The Silent Killer." It is difficult to think. But if you think a concussion is a bad thing or makes you dumber then you are horribly wrong. It is a well known fact that only geniuses and really smart kids get concussions. A concussion is actually when you're brain is too huge and pushes against the walls of your skull, causing pain and pressure on the head. So if you want to try to make fun of me or anyone else who's had a concussion or multiple concussions, you should do a little research before making these outlandish claims. But then again, you do have a tiny brain.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
The Legend of Gary Wapotish
What comes to mind when you hear the words "wrestling coach?" Probably, work, dedication, intensity, words along those lines. But two words that should be included in this repatiore are "Gary Wapotish." This man is without question the greatest coach of all time of any sport and recieve absolutely no recognition for his work. If he was a normal man, he would have gone insane and brutally murdered all newspaper reporters, coaches, and half the kids on our team. But he is NOT a normal man: he is the Wap.
And this my friends...is the Legend of Gary Wapatish.
No one knows for sure about how he came to be. Some say he was raised by animals, and that's where he gets his toughness. Others say he was born in Barrington and raised by a loving family of four. No one knows...
But anyway, Wap has been a coach for longer than most of our team has been alive, and rarely misses a practice. True, he often works with the freshmen, but when it's time to wrestle live and us Varsity members need someone to push us, Wap will step up to the plate.
And when it's time for the Moore-Prettyman tournament, or as we call it "Hell on Earth," Wap is the captain behind the scenes. You better show up, or he will call your house, then cell phone, and cuss at you for three minutes straight. I've seen this done. One time, I was trying to hide behind some doors, but he saw me and gave me a point and stare like I've never seen before. I immediately, out of instinct, rolled a mat and ran a clock for three matches, not even knowing it. His stare and point is feared by all members of the BHS wrestling team. It's like a black hole, it sucks you in, and there is absolutely no escaping it. It is rumored that during the 1940's Wap flew over to Germany to point and stare Hitler, thus single-handedly ending World War II.
Coach Wap will stop at nothing to ensure a smooth tournament. He will sacrifice his time, and more importantly, his body, to make sure things go well. Today while setting up for sectionals, a mat was being lifted down by a crane, about 20 feet up. The mat began to tip, and Wap, instinctively, jumped off the edge and straddled the mat, leveling it out and bringing it to the ground safely. As we screamed and asked what in God's name he was doing, he told us to shut the hell up and lower the damn mat. Unbelievable.
And when kids were hiding in the gymnastics gym under a fort of mats and pads, who was it that stormed in, kicked the fort down and yelled to get to work? You guessed it Coach Wap. And yet, the man gets nothing in return. I saw Chandler give him an Egg McMuffin from McDonald's once, but other than that, nothing!
So the question is, how can we possibly repay Wap for his years of commitment, hardcore staring, and smooth tournaments? My proposal would be to rename each tournament the Gary Wapotish Invitational, and credit him for the sucess of all level teams, and also buy him a T-Shirt that says "#1 Coach!" Will this ever be done...I don't know. All I know is that next time Wap lunges over a 20 feet ledge to prevent a mat from falling, or points and stares one of us down, or yells to get back to work, or techs Gabes, I will stop, look him in the eye, and say:
How you doin', Wap?
And this my friends...is the Legend of Gary Wapatish.
No one knows for sure about how he came to be. Some say he was raised by animals, and that's where he gets his toughness. Others say he was born in Barrington and raised by a loving family of four. No one knows...
But anyway, Wap has been a coach for longer than most of our team has been alive, and rarely misses a practice. True, he often works with the freshmen, but when it's time to wrestle live and us Varsity members need someone to push us, Wap will step up to the plate.
And when it's time for the Moore-Prettyman tournament, or as we call it "Hell on Earth," Wap is the captain behind the scenes. You better show up, or he will call your house, then cell phone, and cuss at you for three minutes straight. I've seen this done. One time, I was trying to hide behind some doors, but he saw me and gave me a point and stare like I've never seen before. I immediately, out of instinct, rolled a mat and ran a clock for three matches, not even knowing it. His stare and point is feared by all members of the BHS wrestling team. It's like a black hole, it sucks you in, and there is absolutely no escaping it. It is rumored that during the 1940's Wap flew over to Germany to point and stare Hitler, thus single-handedly ending World War II.
Coach Wap will stop at nothing to ensure a smooth tournament. He will sacrifice his time, and more importantly, his body, to make sure things go well. Today while setting up for sectionals, a mat was being lifted down by a crane, about 20 feet up. The mat began to tip, and Wap, instinctively, jumped off the edge and straddled the mat, leveling it out and bringing it to the ground safely. As we screamed and asked what in God's name he was doing, he told us to shut the hell up and lower the damn mat. Unbelievable.
And when kids were hiding in the gymnastics gym under a fort of mats and pads, who was it that stormed in, kicked the fort down and yelled to get to work? You guessed it Coach Wap. And yet, the man gets nothing in return. I saw Chandler give him an Egg McMuffin from McDonald's once, but other than that, nothing!
So the question is, how can we possibly repay Wap for his years of commitment, hardcore staring, and smooth tournaments? My proposal would be to rename each tournament the Gary Wapotish Invitational, and credit him for the sucess of all level teams, and also buy him a T-Shirt that says "#1 Coach!" Will this ever be done...I don't know. All I know is that next time Wap lunges over a 20 feet ledge to prevent a mat from falling, or points and stares one of us down, or yells to get back to work, or techs Gabes, I will stop, look him in the eye, and say:
How you doin', Wap?
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Training-BHS Style
As you've all probably heard, wrestling is the world's toughest sport, both mentally and physicly. There are a lot of rumors that swarm the halls of Barrington as to what goes in a wrestling practice, with Coach Perolin behind the reigns. This post should clear up any questions you could possibly have, and enlighten the world as to what truly goes down at a BHS wrestling practice...
We arrive into the wrestling gym at promptly 3 o clock. You can feel the 105 degree hit you in the face like a fog machine as you enter. We put our shoes and headgears on, and prepare for the journey we are about to endure. If anybody shows up late, we take turns wrestling Coach Strobl 30 minutes each after, practice, which is never pretty. The man is the Chuck Norris of the wrestling world. Anyway, the team circles up and we do our warm up routine of jogging outside to the track, and then jogging back. Coach Perolin makes this a very difficult task by putting a 75 pound log on each of our backs. If we do not make it back in time, then we must do it 27 more times. After our log jog, the real practice begins. We partner up and drill hard for 47 1/2 minutes straight. If Coach feels we are not going hard enough, we start the practice over with the log jogs. After the drilling, we must do a rope climbing exercise. This is no ordinary rope climb, however. After we get our feet off the ground, Coach lights the bottom of the rope on fire, and we must reach the top and let go before we are covered in third degree burns. Beau Conrad, or whatever 103 pound girl we find to replace him, stands at the bottom to catch us. Beau must then run to the other end of the wrestling gym and back in under 20 seconds, and the weight classes keep rotating. If we do not make time on this, we are forced to drive rusty, metal stakes deep into our forearms and are not allowed to scream. If we scream, then Coach threatens to put a David Hasslehoff CD over the loudspeaker, but thank God it hasn't happenned yet. After we complete our rope climbing exercise, we must live wrestle some more, until someone vomits. Once somebody vomits, which usually takes about 2-3 hours, the hard part begins. We must do sprints the length of the wrestling gym for an hour with 25 pound plates strapped to each of our calves (just ask Bamboo how he got those masculine calves.) When the sprints are completed, we go into the weight room for our creatine chug. We all chug a pound of creatine in under 30 seconds, then begin our lift. After we finish lifting the actual weights, we must each do 200 push ups with somebody on their back. When those are done, it's 60 more one armed, Rocky-style push ups. When our weightlift is finally completed, the team building/toughness exercises begin. Each of us takes turns standing on a wall, and each wrestler gets 3 punches to the abdomen. This increases toughness tremendously. After the wall punches, we meditate for 20 minutes, to clear our body and mind. When our souls are through being cleansed, the team bear is brought into the wrestling gym. This bear, cleverly named "Barry," is a vicious grizzly that Coach Strobl tamed with 3 toothpicks and a hair brush in the Montana wilderness. Strobl commands the bear to attack, and we all must use the power of teamwork to subdue this majestic killing machine. Usually Beau Conrad is used as a distraction while Anoosh chokes the bear, but Beau only suffers minor cuts and is usually released from intensive care in a week or two. This is when our cool down exercises begin. All of the Varsity members sing an a ca pella randition of Billy Joel's "For the Longest Time." led by Gabes. After that we do some finger stretches, jumping jacks that spell out "Waukegan," and hit the road to prepare for tomorrow.
I will not discuss what happens in the locker room/showers, but I will give you three words: "Mike Pollack", "SketchPad", and "Pencil." Take it any way you want.
Our camera crew also has a very demanding practice, as well. Nick Deuele works on his camera angles and movement 23 hours a day. The other hour is spent on extension cord rolling, and nursing his horrid "shin splints." Godspeed, Nick, Godspeed.
And of course Jeff Sayre spends this whole time in the weight room.
So now you know what a Barrington wresltling practice is REALLY like. If you have doubts about any of the things stated in this piece, feel free to come into the wrestling gym any time you like...at your own risk. Please bring a pen to sign our medical release form and a neckbrace and wheelchair are recommended, but not required. I'll see you all next season....won't I?
We arrive into the wrestling gym at promptly 3 o clock. You can feel the 105 degree hit you in the face like a fog machine as you enter. We put our shoes and headgears on, and prepare for the journey we are about to endure. If anybody shows up late, we take turns wrestling Coach Strobl 30 minutes each after, practice, which is never pretty. The man is the Chuck Norris of the wrestling world. Anyway, the team circles up and we do our warm up routine of jogging outside to the track, and then jogging back. Coach Perolin makes this a very difficult task by putting a 75 pound log on each of our backs. If we do not make it back in time, then we must do it 27 more times. After our log jog, the real practice begins. We partner up and drill hard for 47 1/2 minutes straight. If Coach feels we are not going hard enough, we start the practice over with the log jogs. After the drilling, we must do a rope climbing exercise. This is no ordinary rope climb, however. After we get our feet off the ground, Coach lights the bottom of the rope on fire, and we must reach the top and let go before we are covered in third degree burns. Beau Conrad, or whatever 103 pound girl we find to replace him, stands at the bottom to catch us. Beau must then run to the other end of the wrestling gym and back in under 20 seconds, and the weight classes keep rotating. If we do not make time on this, we are forced to drive rusty, metal stakes deep into our forearms and are not allowed to scream. If we scream, then Coach threatens to put a David Hasslehoff CD over the loudspeaker, but thank God it hasn't happenned yet. After we complete our rope climbing exercise, we must live wrestle some more, until someone vomits. Once somebody vomits, which usually takes about 2-3 hours, the hard part begins. We must do sprints the length of the wrestling gym for an hour with 25 pound plates strapped to each of our calves (just ask Bamboo how he got those masculine calves.) When the sprints are completed, we go into the weight room for our creatine chug. We all chug a pound of creatine in under 30 seconds, then begin our lift. After we finish lifting the actual weights, we must each do 200 push ups with somebody on their back. When those are done, it's 60 more one armed, Rocky-style push ups. When our weightlift is finally completed, the team building/toughness exercises begin. Each of us takes turns standing on a wall, and each wrestler gets 3 punches to the abdomen. This increases toughness tremendously. After the wall punches, we meditate for 20 minutes, to clear our body and mind. When our souls are through being cleansed, the team bear is brought into the wrestling gym. This bear, cleverly named "Barry," is a vicious grizzly that Coach Strobl tamed with 3 toothpicks and a hair brush in the Montana wilderness. Strobl commands the bear to attack, and we all must use the power of teamwork to subdue this majestic killing machine. Usually Beau Conrad is used as a distraction while Anoosh chokes the bear, but Beau only suffers minor cuts and is usually released from intensive care in a week or two. This is when our cool down exercises begin. All of the Varsity members sing an a ca pella randition of Billy Joel's "For the Longest Time." led by Gabes. After that we do some finger stretches, jumping jacks that spell out "Waukegan," and hit the road to prepare for tomorrow.
I will not discuss what happens in the locker room/showers, but I will give you three words: "Mike Pollack", "SketchPad", and "Pencil." Take it any way you want.
Our camera crew also has a very demanding practice, as well. Nick Deuele works on his camera angles and movement 23 hours a day. The other hour is spent on extension cord rolling, and nursing his horrid "shin splints." Godspeed, Nick, Godspeed.
And of course Jeff Sayre spends this whole time in the weight room.
So now you know what a Barrington wresltling practice is REALLY like. If you have doubts about any of the things stated in this piece, feel free to come into the wrestling gym any time you like...at your own risk. Please bring a pen to sign our medical release form and a neckbrace and wheelchair are recommended, but not required. I'll see you all next season....won't I?
Season Accomplishments
As we all know, the season is drawing to an end. Although the team may not have had a great year, we certainly had a good one. We have quite a few seniors on this year's team, and I would like to throw out a few predictions on where these great young men may soon end up...
Josh Fiorito-Will end up at a D1 school, and shatter all of Dan Gable and Cael Sanderson's NCAA records. Gable and Sanderson will train and challenge Josh to a handicapped match, in which Josh will tech both in the first period.
Jeff Sayre-Will spend his summer working as a Chip 'N' Dale male stripper to help pay for college in Nebraska...he will go on to spend all of his earnings at the gentlemen's club across the street.
David Kniesel-Will learn how to express his true self, and make peace with his inner emotions. He will then drive to see Jeff at Chip 'N' Dale's.
John Malone-Will be hired by Saturday Night Live to portray a character based off of Coach Wapotish.
Anoosh Varda-Will train to become a competitive eater, and shatter Kobayashi's record 53.5 hot dogs with 197. Afterwards he will eat 15 Snickers faster than Dave Kniesel can eat 3 and Kniesel will lose his six-pack.
Gabe Pattison-Will drink so much Mountain Dew that his sperm go the way of the dinosaurs...
Jonny B Sesso-Will frog his girlfriend, then go on to become the new host of 60 minutes, only to be fired for laughing at Malone during a broadcast.
Pokey-Will save his brother in Alaska, return to the States, and stab me several times.
Mike Santiago-Will become the world's first Phillipino rapper, with his hit single "Sun Dried Peaches and Fresh Fried Leeches."
Chandler Wiseman-Will organize a revolution of over 16000 skinny kids to form the ultimate SBU...then beat the hell out of Anoosh.
Bamboo-Will build a time machine and challenge Dan Gable to a wrestling match. He will be up 11-1 before pinning himself while attempting a tilt.
Nick Deule-Will finally admit that he quit the team, can't run sprints, and there was never film in the camera.
Josh Fiorito-Will end up at a D1 school, and shatter all of Dan Gable and Cael Sanderson's NCAA records. Gable and Sanderson will train and challenge Josh to a handicapped match, in which Josh will tech both in the first period.
Jeff Sayre-Will spend his summer working as a Chip 'N' Dale male stripper to help pay for college in Nebraska...he will go on to spend all of his earnings at the gentlemen's club across the street.
David Kniesel-Will learn how to express his true self, and make peace with his inner emotions. He will then drive to see Jeff at Chip 'N' Dale's.
John Malone-Will be hired by Saturday Night Live to portray a character based off of Coach Wapotish.
Anoosh Varda-Will train to become a competitive eater, and shatter Kobayashi's record 53.5 hot dogs with 197. Afterwards he will eat 15 Snickers faster than Dave Kniesel can eat 3 and Kniesel will lose his six-pack.
Gabe Pattison-Will drink so much Mountain Dew that his sperm go the way of the dinosaurs...
Jonny B Sesso-Will frog his girlfriend, then go on to become the new host of 60 minutes, only to be fired for laughing at Malone during a broadcast.
Pokey-Will save his brother in Alaska, return to the States, and stab me several times.
Mike Santiago-Will become the world's first Phillipino rapper, with his hit single "Sun Dried Peaches and Fresh Fried Leeches."
Chandler Wiseman-Will organize a revolution of over 16000 skinny kids to form the ultimate SBU...then beat the hell out of Anoosh.
Bamboo-Will build a time machine and challenge Dan Gable to a wrestling match. He will be up 11-1 before pinning himself while attempting a tilt.
Nick Deule-Will finally admit that he quit the team, can't run sprints, and there was never film in the camera.
The Truth
This is Pat Miller from the Barrington wrestling team. Now there are a lot of rumors swirling around about why our team took fifth at the MSL conference tournament. There are many reasons to this, and I will attempt to explain.
As most of you know, we had to forfeit both the 119 pound and 215 pound weight class. Both of these fine young men, Pokey and Jeff Sayre have reasonable excuses as to why they missed such a prestigious tournament. Some people have been saying that Pokey quit the team for good, others that he lost his mind. Others have even gone as far as to say that he moved to Newcastle, England to pursue a soccer career. While part of this last statement is true, it is not entirely true. But to truly explain this complex situation we must travel back in time to the very first time our team met the young man that came to be known as Pokey.
When Pokey walked into our wrestling room in the 7th grade, nobody knew who he was. He was the new kid at school. We were quickly informed about this young man's amazing journey. Pokey was born and raised in the Alaska wilderness by native eskimos. He was a nomadic boy, traveling from place to place, wherever the animals took him. He had a loving family who took every measure to keep him warm and safe. One day, 8 year old Pokey was left alone in the family's igloo while his parents and brother went to search for fish for the night's meal. Pokey was keeping to himself, drawing pictures in the snow, when he heard a horriffic roar outside the igloo. Brave, young Pokey darted outside to investigate. What he saw would strike fear directly into the soul of any of us, especially any 8 year old boy. Right there, before his eyes, was a large polar bear cub on it's hind legs growling, ready to pounce at any time. Pokey quickly ran inside his igloo and grabbed his best hunting spear, Ol' Faithful. As he returned to this polar bear, he threw it with all the strength his 8 year old arm could muster. Unfortunately, the spear fell innocently to the ground. The polar bear seemed to have won this battle, and the life of a young boy. At this point, Pokey's entire family watched with terror in their eyes as their son was about to have a date with the grim reaper. It was at that moment when Pokey arm dragged the polar bear, hit a go behind, and ripped it's head clean off with his bear hands. This young 8 year old boy, with no previous knowledge of wrestling had decapitated a baby polar bear with his bare hands. As his family watched in awe, they knew that the utter grace they had just witnessed was not to go to waste. The good Lord had given their son a gift, everybody who saw that polar bear knew it. They traveled to the nearest town and found an airport. Before they knew it, they're baby son was on his way to the great land of America, where hope and prosperity thrive. Not only do these things thrive, but the sport of wrestling does as well.
So as this young man walked into our gym, speaking only a few words of English, he began to grow. Not only did he grow as a wrestler, but as a human being, as an AMERICAN. He had a knack for the sport and his natural strength and ability took him near the top. I once saw him spear a fish from 40 feet away using only a pen, a rubber band, and a pop tart! I believe he never truly peaked as a wrestler, but he was very good. And for a young boy, never experiencing much of anything in the real world, to assimilate the way he did is truly amazing, and should be an inspiration to us all. He is as tough as they come, I saw Bobby Madding dislocate his elbow and he never cried.
Pokey's year was on the uprise, winning many of his recent matches. He was wrestling up a weight class and winning. Even the matches he lost were very close and respectable. He was very excited for the climax of our season, his senior season, his last hoorah. That's when we all got the news.
His family up in Alaska had written us from a town near Anchorage. His brother, who is only known as Baktu, has been growing ill. The only way to save him would be to retrieve a herb found only in Alaska. This herb is a delicacy for all species of bear, and any excursion to obtain one would be to risk one's life. But Pokey has killed bear before, and if need be, will kill bear again. He left for Alaska last Thursday, to retrieve the herb and save the life of his young brother.
So i guess you can criticize this young man for letting his team down. I guess you can place some of the blame on him. Put if you have a heart, a soul of any kind, then you will realize that the things this kid has overcome and the things he is still to overcome are amazing, and realize that he is doing what needs to be done. He is a great kid and should be an inspiration to us all. No matter what happens to him up there, or whether or not we ever hear from him again, he will always be remembered by our team, our school, and most importantly, our friends as Pokey:The Grappling Eskimo.
As most of you know, we had to forfeit both the 119 pound and 215 pound weight class. Both of these fine young men, Pokey and Jeff Sayre have reasonable excuses as to why they missed such a prestigious tournament. Some people have been saying that Pokey quit the team for good, others that he lost his mind. Others have even gone as far as to say that he moved to Newcastle, England to pursue a soccer career. While part of this last statement is true, it is not entirely true. But to truly explain this complex situation we must travel back in time to the very first time our team met the young man that came to be known as Pokey.
When Pokey walked into our wrestling room in the 7th grade, nobody knew who he was. He was the new kid at school. We were quickly informed about this young man's amazing journey. Pokey was born and raised in the Alaska wilderness by native eskimos. He was a nomadic boy, traveling from place to place, wherever the animals took him. He had a loving family who took every measure to keep him warm and safe. One day, 8 year old Pokey was left alone in the family's igloo while his parents and brother went to search for fish for the night's meal. Pokey was keeping to himself, drawing pictures in the snow, when he heard a horriffic roar outside the igloo. Brave, young Pokey darted outside to investigate. What he saw would strike fear directly into the soul of any of us, especially any 8 year old boy. Right there, before his eyes, was a large polar bear cub on it's hind legs growling, ready to pounce at any time. Pokey quickly ran inside his igloo and grabbed his best hunting spear, Ol' Faithful. As he returned to this polar bear, he threw it with all the strength his 8 year old arm could muster. Unfortunately, the spear fell innocently to the ground. The polar bear seemed to have won this battle, and the life of a young boy. At this point, Pokey's entire family watched with terror in their eyes as their son was about to have a date with the grim reaper. It was at that moment when Pokey arm dragged the polar bear, hit a go behind, and ripped it's head clean off with his bear hands. This young 8 year old boy, with no previous knowledge of wrestling had decapitated a baby polar bear with his bare hands. As his family watched in awe, they knew that the utter grace they had just witnessed was not to go to waste. The good Lord had given their son a gift, everybody who saw that polar bear knew it. They traveled to the nearest town and found an airport. Before they knew it, they're baby son was on his way to the great land of America, where hope and prosperity thrive. Not only do these things thrive, but the sport of wrestling does as well.
So as this young man walked into our gym, speaking only a few words of English, he began to grow. Not only did he grow as a wrestler, but as a human being, as an AMERICAN. He had a knack for the sport and his natural strength and ability took him near the top. I once saw him spear a fish from 40 feet away using only a pen, a rubber band, and a pop tart! I believe he never truly peaked as a wrestler, but he was very good. And for a young boy, never experiencing much of anything in the real world, to assimilate the way he did is truly amazing, and should be an inspiration to us all. He is as tough as they come, I saw Bobby Madding dislocate his elbow and he never cried.
Pokey's year was on the uprise, winning many of his recent matches. He was wrestling up a weight class and winning. Even the matches he lost were very close and respectable. He was very excited for the climax of our season, his senior season, his last hoorah. That's when we all got the news.
His family up in Alaska had written us from a town near Anchorage. His brother, who is only known as Baktu, has been growing ill. The only way to save him would be to retrieve a herb found only in Alaska. This herb is a delicacy for all species of bear, and any excursion to obtain one would be to risk one's life. But Pokey has killed bear before, and if need be, will kill bear again. He left for Alaska last Thursday, to retrieve the herb and save the life of his young brother.
So i guess you can criticize this young man for letting his team down. I guess you can place some of the blame on him. Put if you have a heart, a soul of any kind, then you will realize that the things this kid has overcome and the things he is still to overcome are amazing, and realize that he is doing what needs to be done. He is a great kid and should be an inspiration to us all. No matter what happens to him up there, or whether or not we ever hear from him again, he will always be remembered by our team, our school, and most importantly, our friends as Pokey:The Grappling Eskimo.
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