Playing Hooky

TASK #14: PLAYING HOOKY

“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.“ Barry LaPatner

This year’s been a real fucking pip. It feels like we–Americans–have lost our footing. It used to be that we were partisan, but not insane. My dad used to bitch at his best friend for voting democrat because he always voted republican and in his mind his friend was “canceling out his vote“, but he didn’t try to beat the shit out of him and at the end of the day they could sit down together and complain about other important things, like that year’s shitty Cleveland Indian team or why beer got so expensive.

But not now. Now it’s crazy. When protesters are clobbering each other at the University of California at Berkeley–the bastion of free-speech–then we truly have lost sight of the big picture.

We need relief. We need a break. We need time to take a breath and loosen our shoulders and square ourselves.

Skip school or work. Do it because there is more to life than school or work. A LOT more.

My wife is a big proponent of what she calls “mental health days“. Since I’m old school, I call it playing hooky. Same idea however: you take a day off from your life.

Unless you’re just visiting America or simply stupid you should know what PLAYING HOOKY means. And if you don’t, here’s my definition: playing hooky is ducking out on an activity (primarily school or work). And “Ducking out” means you don’t tell anyone what you’re doing–you just do it. The term was first uttered by Tom Sawyer, who knew a thing or two about playing hooky.

So, one day last week I didn’t show up for work. When my boss texted me I just said that I had some “personal things” to take care of, which at my job means one of three things: A) doctor’s appointment; B) hungover, or C) going to the DMV.

I spent the day at three places: 1) the library, where I sat in the corner and watched “Stranger Things” on Netflix; 2) the arcade, and 3) the Crow’s Nest bar and grill.

I didn’t watch the news or talk to anyone–I just chilled. To commemorate the experience and remind me to do it again, I got some colorful tape–like the kind that electricians use, and wrapped it around a parking sign pole in my neighborhood. Now I can look at it everyday when I drive to and from work…

Task:

Skip school or work. Do it because there is more to life than school or work. A LOT more. What do you do when you’ve skipped? Anything that’s legal. I recommend going to a game, or hang out at the mall, or play pool, or go to the movies, or sit in a coffee shop, or go to the beach, or hunt–you get the picture.

Then, at the end of the day, do the following if you feel inspired.

1) You find yourself some fabric, any color, or some colored tape.
2) Drive or walk or take a bus or subway along the route you take to work or school–the PLACE FROM WHICH YOU DUCKED OUT OF–and tie the fabric, or wrap the tape, onto something–pole, tree branch, fence, signpost, whatever–somewhere where you can see it. It doesn’t matter, by the way, if anyone else can see it.

Look at the picture below. You don’t have to go this crazy. Just a short strip of bedsheet or pillowcase tied to a tree branch serves the same purpose.

Then, the next day, when you’re on your way to work or school, glance at your handiwork–your FLAG OF DEFIANCE. It’s your freedom flag, an emblem to remind you that there is more to life than work and school.