Friday, December 26, 2008

A BOLD, FRESH PIECE?



I've read a lot of books in my life. Few, however, have reached my soul.
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity has done just that. It reached my soul because it was me. Anyone who grew up a boomer in Catholic schools will appreciate this book on another level. O'Reilly did a good job of letting us know why he has the values he has.

It is important to remember that those values were inculcated by a Catholic/Christian education and those stick with you for your life. He talked about not knowing anyone who wasn't a conservative or held conservative values, and that struck a chord with me. I, too, was, as my mother constantly tells me, a little wild. In her words, it was tough to make me understand. In spades. I was a product of 12 years of Catholic education. Some of it took, some of it didn't.

I tell my students about Catholic school and they laugh at the discipline. I told them about getting hit with rulers on the knuckles and they laugh. They ask me if I changed in high school. I was thinking fast about how, if I told them I was a punk, they would think that was OK. I talked to my Mom and she said, don't lie it's a sin. Case closed. I told them that when I was in high school, I didn't get the message. Our HS had a demerit system. Twenty demerits per quarter for each student, ten for each athlete. Uh-oh. I played sports all-year around. You got three demerits for talking. My students inevitably say, Uh-oh. Any demerits over ten required you to miss the next game. I didn't want to miss a game so I took option B. That was whacks with a paddle. I can't count the number of whacks I got. Mostly, one or two before every game.

My dad was philosophic about it. His philosophy: when you get tired of getting your butt pounded, you'll stop getting demerits. Pretty simple. Nope, not so simple. I was a rebellious punk who wouldn't give in to the discipline. Consequently, I got my butt pounded pretty much before every game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

I agree with O'Reilly, I learned all my values from my education. It has stuck with me and it won't leave any time soon. My parents reinforced the values and I thank them for that everday. Although, my mother is a life-long Demo who voted for BO, she is still a role model for me. My dad passed away in June, but he is still a great influence on me and I think about him everyday.

If you want a great read and an insight to O'Reilly, this is a great book. I enjoyed it immensely and I recommend it wholeheartedly. My parents were his parents and overall, it was just a great read and I loved it.

6 comments:

Brooke said...

Thanks for the recommendation!

Law and Order Teacher said...

Brooke,
Your welcome. Enjoy.

Z said...

Mr Z got this from an aunt...sounds like it'll be fun for him to hear what growing up in America was like, too, right?

Thanks!!

of course, first he has to read his other gifts: FLEECED, the Jonah Goldberg book, and a few others!!!

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BB-Idaho said...

I'll admit I'm no O'Reilly fan...but your mom sounds doggone
bright! :)

Law and Order Teacher said...

BBI,
I think my mom is in love with a Dem party that no longer exists. I was at least persuaded in that direction when I was kid because of JFK. The nuns pushed in that direction. Strong defense, America #1, etc. But thanks so much for the visit.