All the fourth grade boys
were called on stage and asked to read lines individually. Decisions
were made about who was going to get what part. Then the kids were all called back up on the stage. The various parts were announced, and the kids who were chosen as Elders or Grandpa or Goblins or whatever left the stage.  Finally, a small group of kids who weren't chosen for
anything were left standing on the stage by themselves. Then they were
told that they could choose if they wanted to be hillbillies or
goolies — clearly consolation prizes. Jonah said that the other boys looked like they were going to cry, too.

As Jonah was catching up with his homework, Steve and I shared stories with him about our fabulous rejections. My favorite rejection was tryouts for the cheerleading squad in high school. I'm not sure why I tried out. I had never taken gymnastics. I'm not especially perky or school spirited. I wasn't even exactly sure what cheerleaders did; I had never gone to a sports game or seen them on TV. But I was vaguely aware that cheerleading was something that girls should do in high school.

Unsurprisingly, I sucked. It was made even worse by the fact that I thought that I shouldn't wear my glasses during practice and the tryout, so I couldn't see ten feet in front of me. Does it bring me some secret pleasure that the girls who made the team never amounted to much after high school? Oh, yes it does.