WELCOME WARZONE READERS!

I've been meaning to link to Matt Impelluso's fantastic site for some months now, but I just never seemed to get around to it. Matt, a recent graduate, is a former student of mine. Well, actually I never had him in a class, but I did direct him in a play or two, and his presence in the drama department at the school where I formerly taught was a strong one. And, what the hell, now that I'm no longer teaching, and have no plans to slum around like that ever again, I'll throw caution to the wind and out myself: I have spent the last six years teaching at Ross S. Sterling High School of the Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District in what may very well be the butthole of Texas, Baytown. Everything I've written about public education here at Real Art was heavily influenced by my tenure at Sterling.

Man, am I glad to be out of there. My nightmare has ended.

But enough of that. Back to Matt and the Warzone 5000. Matt is from New York City, and, consequently, is like a fish out of water in Baytown: instead of crying about it, however, as I often did about my own existence there, Matt made the best of it, and essentially sold lemonade to the denizens of Hell. He's been keeping his site, which is, as far as I can tell, about the strange and oddball actuality of high school life, for the entire four years of his stay at Sterling. With a talented and weird staff of peer volunteers, Matt created an alternative understanding of life at our school. I haven't always agreed with every position he's taken, but his version of reality has always been much more on the mark than the official reality proscribed by school authorities.

It's also usually pretty damned funny:

FUCK SCHOOL, FUCK GCCISD, FUCK!!!!

I CAN SAY WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT NOW! FUCK IT! FUCK IT ALL!!! LOL! Man, I should really start back up raunchy Warzone where we used to talk about our teacher's pussy juices, but that might be a little bit TOOOOO much, LOL! Just kidding, we werent' ever like that, but here are some of the things I couldn't put on The Warzone in the past four years: (Or personal things about relationships, LOL)

And here it is, the 101 most memorable bad (and sometimes good) moments of high school...

Hee, hee. He said "fuck." Hee, hee, hee.

To read those memorable moments, and to check out the rest of the site, click here.

Anyway, the reason I'm gushing about the Warzone so much is that Matt put me on his above mentioned list (and linked me, too):

83) Remember when Ron Reeder became the first teacher in TW history to join The Warzone in a fuckfest? His pictures werent' on the internet, but we'll put them up soon. Reeder maintains his own weblog that's extremely liberal, but I fucking love it since that's what I am. He told me after graduation I could make it famous. Well, here's your wish Reeder: REAL ART (and politics and culture)

Given that Matt's site numbers daily hits in the thousands, and Real Art only numbers hits in the tens, his charitable link may very well make me famous. In charming Baytown, anyway. Also, I have no idea what a "fuckfest" is, but I'm sure I'll find out when he posts the pictures. God, was I drunk that day? What the hell is a "fuckfest?" It sounds much more fun than it probably was...

Thanks to the Warzone for the link; I've already gotten a couple of hits originating from there. I hope I get more. Also thanks to Matt for placing me on his list of favorite teachers. I may have hated the job, but such ego affirming praise may soften my harsh memories.

In time.

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