I've always been a joiner. If there was a club, organization, society, cult, association, alliance, or fellowship, then I wanted to be a part of it. Since Elementary, I was continually forming one club or another. I never grew out of that phase.
In high school, my friends and I formed a literature club, Ecletic S.O.L. (which we informed administrators stood for Society Of Literature, but we all know what it really means). During those four years, I was the editor-of-chief of S.O.L.'s literary magazine, Ten-Six. I was a member of the drama club, but my heart wasn't in it. I liked the comedies, loved directing my own plays, and I enjoyed my friends. However, theatre itself seemed icky, intended for those girls who write bad depressing poetry and at one time owned an airbrushed unicorn-by-the-cosmic-lake trapper keeper. I participated in H.O.P.E. the environmentalist group. Although, I joined because I was in love with every single freak, punk, new-waver, and outcast at school. I was a complete poser. Most tolerated me, since I had a few friends among the coolest of the anticool, the senior ranks. I was "in". Kinda. I got the music right (thank you SPIN magazine), but never seemed to quite pull off the fashion. It's a life-long ailment. Most unfortunately, I didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs; I liked my parents; I made good grades and rarely got caught for anything I did do. Still, my attempts to be cultured served me well. I hung out at Mad Hatter's in Fort Worth, hoping to see people from my high school there. Instead, I ended up making friends with several locals. If I would've transferred to a Fort Worth school, I would've been so "in". And finally, I tried to be part of the Christian student organization, but quickly lost interest. They seemed desperate to manufacture a sort of nutra-sweet cool and then distribute it to EVERYONE. That desperation worried me.
In college, I joined the NAACP, newspaper staff, Wesleyan Campus Ministry, and Sigma Tau Delta (an academic fraternity for English majors). All the freaks, punks, and outcasts from high school (the new-wavers went extinct) became art majors. And yet again, they tolerated me. I had gained a bit more respect this time around. The greatest club was one my friend Julian created: Cheese-of-the-Week. I think it's fairly self-explanatory.
Now, I sponsor both the chess club and the film club at the high school where I teach. It never ends.
For all those hopeless joiners, like me, I've creating three clubs through Antihero Comics-- more in the spirit of Cheese-of-the-Week than the NAACP. After all, the Internet is a joiner's paradise.
1. The Coupland Club ~ more details later, audioblog friendly
2. 01000010011010010110111001100001011100100111100
10010000001000011011011000111010101100010 ~ more details later
3. Division Street Preservation Society ~ also more details later
Oh yeah. Everyone is welcome.
