The red gym trunks

"America has always been the land of promise. The land of opportunity. The land of almost impossible goals, like wearing red gym trunks were for me."

Okay. I am going to really have to crank up the "way back" machine to tell this story. It is a story about my youth, but is really a story about America. About what makes America great. What makes it special. And how that specialness, is currently under attack. But anyhow, on with the story.

I was in 9th grade in a junior high school in the town I grew up in. Back then, there was no middle school. There was only the very awkward time (for many of us), called junior high school. I was a tall gangly kid, with very few athletic skills. I was "okay" in some things, but excelled in nothing. That being said, I enjoyed gym class. It was a good diversion every day, from just sitting behind a desk, dodging spitballs.

The gym teacher I had, started a new program. It was called the "red shorts program". Everyone had blue shorts to wear at gym. However, it you excelled in a set of given parameters, different athletic skills, you could earn the privilege of wearing red gym trunks during gym class. It was the ultimate status symbol for a 9th grade boy.

I was far from making the cut of getting those trunks. It really looked like a bridge too far for me. That being said, one night at dinner, I asked my dad for help in ordering some weights, so I could set up a gym in the basement. I would pay for them with my snow shoveling money. He agreed, and the order was placed. 

Every day after school, I would go down into the basement and lift weights. Then I would go out on the parkway by our house and run. I did that all school year. When it was the dead of winter, I could not run outdoors, but continued to lift weights. To make a long story shorter, by the end of the school year, I had improved considerably in many areas. So much so, I finally qualified for red gym trunks. It was the proudest achievement of my young life. It was a valuable life lesson to carry forward throughout the years.

America was built on "red gym trunk" moments. Going after things which almost appear impossible. Not accepting "sameness", "ordinary" or "equity". Going for the gold, the gusto, the prize. 

Back in my Navy days, after I was commissioned, one of the sailors asked me one day how I did it. How I went from enlisted to officer. I told him the truth. It was not easy. The path to get there, was full of hills, bumps, and wicked turns. But you had to want it so bad, it gave you the passion to get up after being knocked down, to get back up and keep trying. Many times I had to use the lessons I learned from the red gym trunks. To never give up. To persevere. I told him if he wanted to become a chief petty officer, warrant officer, LDO, or commissioned officer, the path is hard, but not impossible. But you have to want it. You have to want it so bad, you can taste it.

Elon Musk (in my opinion), is the ultimate "red shorts" person in the country right now. He is the best of the best in over achieving. He has failed, and almost gone bankrupt more than once. But he has a desire so strong, a vision so clear, that he keeps getting up. He will probably be the first person to set up a Moon base, as well as land on Mars. Not bad, for a car guy. 

This is the America I know. The America I grew up in. The America which if we are not careful, will slip away, right through our fingers. America has always been the land of promise. The land of opportunity. The land of almost impossible goals, like wearing red gym trunks were for me. We need to keep America what it is, what it has been.

Why? For our kids, grand kids, great grand kids, and beyond. The ones who set goals, and then go after them with a passion. That is the America which was given to us. That is the one we need to pass on to those who follow.