Being made into a man

"We’re sending you to boarding school,"

My mother told me.

"They’ll make a man out of you."

I didn’t know exactly what she meant by that,

But she almost seemed to growl with pleasure.

She seemed to think that being made into a man

Was the most exciting and desirable thing in the whole world.

I soon found out that being made into a man

Meant being ordered around by the senior prefects

Endless cleaning of toilets and polishing mirrors

and sink fixtures with toilet paper until they shone.

Work jobs done with care and pride.

And then messed up at the last moment before inspection

By another senior splashing to his hearts content

Till the bathroom was a complete mess.

For a change of pace halls to be swept,

And again at the last moment

A senior carried his trash can upside down pouring the contents onto the cleanly swept hall floor.

One special time I was given the honor of raising the flag.

Climbing the hill on the coldest day of winter.

Pulling on an icy rope with bare hands

till they were raw and numb.

And on returning to be told that it was too windy.

"Take it down again".

But it wasn’t all work jobs

In the afternoon were sports.

Very near-sighted boys were still allowed to play football

Without their glasses of course.

In fact that was their only choice.

One of the boys didn’t like it very much

He hanged himself.

His classmates didn’t seem to have much trouble understanding why.

The senior boy at my table explained its importance to me

So I could understand it.

"Roul committed suicide. Its your turn to wait on table tonight in his place."

And it was.

And I did.

Growth for the inner child.

Good preparation for life.