Did You Hear About Making the Gesture?

Archie Brown loves to tell about an incident that took place when he was twelve. Now, he had grown up in a small town, the year was 1960. In the elementary school he attended they were fairly normal boys. Some time in that age range, thay had all learned what it meant to make the gesture of extending one’s middle finger in derision of someone or to express our displeasure with another party.

Arch did not in his wildest dreams think it was a universal gesture. He thought it was some secret form of communication someone in his school had invented. So he was pretty indiscriminant in usage of the gesture, after all, not many people knew what he was “saying”.

One day at baseball practice, he was playing second base. His good friend, who was playing shortstop, laughed and made some remark when Archie made an error on a routine ground ball. Arch proudly demonstrated his dexterity in saluting his friend with the secret gesture.

Our coach stopped practice and chastised Archie for his vulgarity and began to inform the team that they were never to be seen making the sign again. He talked at length about good sportsmanship and good citizenship.

The coach did not tell Archie's dad. He was Archie's dad! Arch learned that day that his dad knew a lot more than he had given him credit for knowing.!

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