My Run 2 B King

With the arrival of May 1st, comes a lost memory from high school. You see, we celebrated May Fate in Lindsborg, KS. We'd get a day off of school. There was a carnival. And my high school nominated one boy and girl for May Fate King and Queen. Essentially, it was a popularity contest. So of course, I wanted to win.

It all began the summer before my freshman year (when I was the new kid in town). I had dropped a handwritten note inside one of the popular girl's doors - declaring my affection. Not only that, I gave a shout out to her on the radio. Which, of course, got me in trouble with her quarterback boyfriend - one of the most popular boys in school.

So when my cousin and I were walking through town one 85 degree summer night, just eight weeks before school began, the quarterback, his best friend, and goofy big brother found me. A few minutes later, I was bleeding from a broken lip. Not a great way to make friends.

From that day on, I vowed to become more popular than him through high school. Seriously, that was my overriding goal. Forget studying. I wanted to beat him that month of May in 1989.

Did I win? I'm happy to report I did. After the votes were tallied, I placed third, him fourth. Sure, I didn't collect the crown. But I knew I had reached my goal of stepping over the quarterback to become the 3rd most popular boy in a school of 264. Dream kids, dream.