The World According to Keith
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
Henry David Thoreau
When it comes to following the beat of a different drum, Keith Geiger dances to disco while the rest of the world does ballroom. Even as a child, Keith, a.k.a. The Skinny Kid, spelled independence with a capital “I,” and nothing made him happier than performing some act or making some statement that made his fuddy-duddy parents raise an eyebrow and say, “What the…???”
So it came as no surprise when, during the fall of 2011, Campolindo High School senior and cross country team captain Keith Geiger submitted the following answer on his college applications in response to the typical “tell us about yourself” question:
“First and foremost, I am a runner. I eat, breathe, and live running. But there are many runners, so I suppose that can’t really classify me. I am also a drummer and a casual video-game player, but those are also both quite common. I am a math geek but dislike fractions: a physics nerd that dislikes chemistry. I like oranges but not orange juice: apples, but not apple juice. I’ve performed a completely unplanned dance for our school’s talent show, but I can’t even whistle. I’m terrible at analyzing poetry, but I can recite plenty of quotes from Ender’s Game. My name defies the “i before e” rule twice and I’ve worn a bra once. It was uncomfortable. I did Karate for 6 years yet I can barely reach my toes, I can tell you the first 7 digits of pi but I still haven’t memorized my Social Security Number. I’m currently typing this response on a Mac with a Dell monitor and a Microsoft mouse. So who am I? I am a running drummer that plays lots of video-games, enjoys math and physics, likes fruit but not their juice equivalents, is a sci-fi aficionado, can dance, has broken rules since birth, doesn’t enjoy women’s clothing, is an inflexible black belt, needs to get his priorities straight, is very brand-confused, and can’t whistle. How many of those do you know?”
Beginning next Monday, Keith will walk out of his house in Moraga and add another layer to his personal resume; hopeless romantic.
Watch this space.
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