unsane and safe

Welcome to UNSANE AND SAFE!

The case of ‘merely’.

I can well remember the little boys and their ambush of the classroom. Wait until Teacher’s gone to collect your things – your eraser, your ruler, your bits of coloured pencils that you were intent on flinging around the class. Paul was the stealthy one, the brawny ringleader, and I was drawn into the fray. Rob was second in charge. Somehow early accommodation to gender roles meant that the boys were already more robust. “I’m going to get back my stuff. Do you want to come?” Entering the classroom was forbidden during break time. Paul inspired us with confidence, that “Forbidden” had a prefix – “merely” – stuck in front of it. It was interesting looking around in the Teacher’s desk. I would have got my things and run, but Paul was more content to bide his time. Ah! He found a stapler to play with. “Let’s see how this works!” Ah—“Ouch!” he’d impregnated a staple half way through the surface of his thumb. “Let’s gap it.”

Teacher’s scoldings after break were nothing compared to the joy of having conquered forbidden terrain. I will never forget the lesson I learnt that day, the idea of “merely”.