Read Online The Reinvention of Moxie Roosevelt by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Ads: Link
voice #1 to shut up.
“Much better. Okay Moxie Kipper, let’s get started. First off, tell me why you signed up for Self-Confidence Through Comedy.”
Because I experienced a clipboard malfunction. Because I didn’t want to hurt a Hobbit’s feelings.
“Um, that’s hard to say,” I stalled.
“That’s okay,” she replied.
I tried to look at her without seeming like I was staring. She was just so . . . little. Not like the little people in The Wizard of Oz , not munchkin-esque . . . just on the tiniest possible edge of normal I’d ever seen.
“You’re here, Moxie, and that’s what’s important. I could start by giving you a long-winded history of comedy, or I could go into a highbrow analysis of why being funny can be a powerful coping mechanism, or I could really milk the standard aphorisms like ‘Laughter is the best medicine.’ But I’m not going to.”
Okay. Good.
Were we done, then?
“The essential fact is that whether you’re a homecoming queen, a bookworm, a budding rocket scientist, or a teacher who’s not much bigger than an American Girl doll, it always helps to be able to crack a joke every now and then.”
Wait. That thing about the doll. Was she talking about herself ?
Was I supposed to laugh?
“Some people think you’re either born funny, or you’re not. That isn’t true. To be funny, you have to make a conscious choice to take a risk. Like singing, for example. You’re potentially putting yourself out there to be judged, and if you care too much about that, it’ll affect the sound of your voice. Self-Confidence Through Comedy is going to show you how to stop caring about how people react to your jokes. Once you do that, you stop caring about what people think of you altogether. So it’s not so much teaching you how to be funny, which is impossible, as it is teaching you how not to care if sometimes you aren’t.”
What?
Ms. Hay gave me one of her huge, mildly alarming smiles.
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure it all out along the way. Let me just give you the information that we’re all supposed to give students up front. Our EE is scheduled to meet every Tuesday and Thursday at three thirty in this classroom. I teach Latin and Greek history in this classroom, so if you ever need to find me and I’m not in my office, check here. Attendance for EE is mandatory unless you have a note from the Health Center. That’s what it says on my memo. Between you and me, since it’s just the two of us, we can always reschedule if something comes up, like you have a big paper due the next day, or you have a fight with your roommate, whatever. We just need to meet twelve times in the next six weeks.
“The second thing I’m supposed to tell you is about what they call the”—she referred to the paper she was holding—“Educational Enrichment Program Academic Community Participation Fulfillment. I don’t know who makes up these names. Anyway, what it means is each EE has some public thing they have to do at Eaton in connection with what they’re studying. Green You, for example, has to make a presentation at Morning Meeting on how to lessen your home environmental impact.”
Why was Green You constantly reappearing in my life like an embarrassing uncle with a cologne-abuse problem?
“So your participation thing for this EE is pretty basic—all enrolled new students, that is you , have to do a five- to ten-minute presentation explaining what you’ve learned through this EE about how using humor can help us be more comfortable with who we are. It’s a school-wide event at the New Student Talent Show, which is on Open Visit weekend for parents in October. That’s all.”
That’s all? That’s ALL?
I shook my head.
“No, I . . . see, no. I can’t get up and perform in front of the school,” I said.
“Why not?” Ms. Hay asked.
“Well, the thing is . . . you see. I . . . I’m . . . Amish.”
Ms. Hay’s eyes widened. Her gaze fell momentarily to my T-shirt, which
“Much better. Okay Moxie Kipper, let’s get started. First off, tell me why you signed up for Self-Confidence Through Comedy.”
Because I experienced a clipboard malfunction. Because I didn’t want to hurt a Hobbit’s feelings.
“Um, that’s hard to say,” I stalled.
“That’s okay,” she replied.
I tried to look at her without seeming like I was staring. She was just so . . . little. Not like the little people in The Wizard of Oz , not munchkin-esque . . . just on the tiniest possible edge of normal I’d ever seen.
“You’re here, Moxie, and that’s what’s important. I could start by giving you a long-winded history of comedy, or I could go into a highbrow analysis of why being funny can be a powerful coping mechanism, or I could really milk the standard aphorisms like ‘Laughter is the best medicine.’ But I’m not going to.”
Okay. Good.
Were we done, then?
“The essential fact is that whether you’re a homecoming queen, a bookworm, a budding rocket scientist, or a teacher who’s not much bigger than an American Girl doll, it always helps to be able to crack a joke every now and then.”
Wait. That thing about the doll. Was she talking about herself ?
Was I supposed to laugh?
“Some people think you’re either born funny, or you’re not. That isn’t true. To be funny, you have to make a conscious choice to take a risk. Like singing, for example. You’re potentially putting yourself out there to be judged, and if you care too much about that, it’ll affect the sound of your voice. Self-Confidence Through Comedy is going to show you how to stop caring about how people react to your jokes. Once you do that, you stop caring about what people think of you altogether. So it’s not so much teaching you how to be funny, which is impossible, as it is teaching you how not to care if sometimes you aren’t.”
What?
Ms. Hay gave me one of her huge, mildly alarming smiles.
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure it all out along the way. Let me just give you the information that we’re all supposed to give students up front. Our EE is scheduled to meet every Tuesday and Thursday at three thirty in this classroom. I teach Latin and Greek history in this classroom, so if you ever need to find me and I’m not in my office, check here. Attendance for EE is mandatory unless you have a note from the Health Center. That’s what it says on my memo. Between you and me, since it’s just the two of us, we can always reschedule if something comes up, like you have a big paper due the next day, or you have a fight with your roommate, whatever. We just need to meet twelve times in the next six weeks.
“The second thing I’m supposed to tell you is about what they call the”—she referred to the paper she was holding—“Educational Enrichment Program Academic Community Participation Fulfillment. I don’t know who makes up these names. Anyway, what it means is each EE has some public thing they have to do at Eaton in connection with what they’re studying. Green You, for example, has to make a presentation at Morning Meeting on how to lessen your home environmental impact.”
Why was Green You constantly reappearing in my life like an embarrassing uncle with a cologne-abuse problem?
“So your participation thing for this EE is pretty basic—all enrolled new students, that is you , have to do a five- to ten-minute presentation explaining what you’ve learned through this EE about how using humor can help us be more comfortable with who we are. It’s a school-wide event at the New Student Talent Show, which is on Open Visit weekend for parents in October. That’s all.”
That’s all? That’s ALL?
I shook my head.
“No, I . . . see, no. I can’t get up and perform in front of the school,” I said.
“Why not?” Ms. Hay asked.
“Well, the thing is . . . you see. I . . . I’m . . . Amish.”
Ms. Hay’s eyes widened. Her gaze fell momentarily to my T-shirt, which
Similar Books
