One thing that Scott and I share pretty deeply is a distaste for the way that society imposes on us norms that we disagree with. Probably neither of us never fit very well into the standard slot that a young white male should fit into. Or at least as far as I can tell. And both of us are self-absorbed enough to discredit whatever the rest of the world wants us to do. What do they know anyway.

Here Scott bucks his own social norm by wearing women’s clothing. There are two things to note about this- first is that I am also completely down with this look, probably because it seems comfortable and evokes some kind of desert culture from a fantasy novel (I’ll cop to nerdiness when it’s applicable). The other is that after this episode Scott is in the market for his own sarong. I think he pulls it off just fine but I’d be disappointed if he cares what I think.

I can remember a few years ago I found an old development review from when I was in preschool (at age 5) at the LILAC center and it was uncanny. The thing could have been describing me as I am now. “Rarely asks for help from a caregiver”- That’s true, though I haven’t had a caregiver in over 2 years now. “Stands his ground in a confrontation but would rather back down to avoid conflict”- I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or humiliating but it’s also true. “On occasion asserts a superior ability in one area or another”- Guilty! Though I’ve moved that to my inner monologue, and for what’s it’s worth I still find it distasteful. This progress report also noted my use of large and small muscle groups of which I am still proud.

The one that struck me as being the least general and the most accurate was the observation that, while I played equally well with boys and girls, I tended to prefer the company of the girls because there was “less tendency for competition and more for cooperation”. Obviously the woman writing this was an insightful genius because this has turned out to be an enduring character trait. The more I thought about it, the more of my life it seemed to explain.

I won’t bore you with the details but case in point- even since preschool I’ve preferred sitting in the shade drinking a beer to playing baseball with the boys.