Growing up he never had much. He just went along with whatever life handed him. Whether it was good or bad it didn’t matter. Not much bothered him at all, not even his classmates who sometimes felt they needed to poke fun for one reason or another. Some said he was weird others thought he was what they called mentally disturbed. To Jerry though he was proud to be different. Being different meant that there was no one else like him. He was unique. He had no competition. Besides if you ever looked up the word normal in the dictionary you would see that this is not something people should strive for in life. At least that was Jerry’s view of the topic. He was very smart and he knew a lot of things. Who would want to be average or live their life in a regular pattern? Oh no that is way too predictable. You see Jerry loved to play spy games. Many times he didn’t have anyone to play with so he set up his own spy ring and imagined that he was a secret spy. He kept a log of his activities and his plans. He loved to freak people out. When they expected one thing he would do the exact opposite which would throw them off the trail. Like the time his mom made peas for dinner. She knew Jerry did not like them so she only gave him a few. Jerry quickly ate them then asked for seconds. His mom didn’t say anything; she didn’t have too. You could tell by the look on her face that the wheels were turning fast in her head trying to figure out what just happened. Jerry lived for moments like these. They made life interesting. In time though Jerry grew out of the spy game stage. He was getting older so he needed new plans. The spy games were just getting old. However, he still loved being different and as smart as Jerry was, even though many people thought he was dumb, he thought of plenty to make people think about. That was the ultimate goal. Not really to freak them out or irritate them but to make them use their simple brains.

When he entered junior high school Jerry was ridiculed quite often. No one liked him at all. Of course that didn’t matter to Jerry. Some of the teachers took notice and tried to make him be ugh…there’s that word "normal". They would invite him to go to the dances or ask him to help decorate or take tickets for them. Once, the coach of the soccer team told him he was very good at the sport and asked him to try out for the team. Jerry did try out and of course he made it. He didn’t just make it, he was the top player on the entire team but, as Jerry’s life went, at the beginning of the first season he decided not to play. The coach was dumbfounded when Jerry told him "Oh, I didn’t really want to play I just wanted to see if I could make the team." And with that he wished the coach luck and proudly walked on.

High school was much the same but the unpredictability upset many people. Jerry knew this though because those who have not been educated properly do not have the brain capacity to realize that they are the ones actually being picked on. They knew they were upset but they couldn’t figure out why. One particular incident enters Jerry’s mind vividly. He was walking through the hall near the locker room when this huge lump of football equipment comes walking by. Terrence Freeman, the most normal person anyone has ever seen. He wore all the "cool" clothes and did all the "cool" things; you know the "normal" stuff that high school kids did. He was so predictable Jerry didn’t even have to think too hard to make him make himself look stupid. Every time Terrence walked by Jerry he would punch him in the arm and say, "someday you might amount to something". Today was no different. He saw that big bulky arm come out. Jerry quickly turned and lowered his head and Terrence punched him right in the nose. He bled everywhere. Terrence didn’t know what to do he just stood there with his mouth open looking like a bird waiting for his regurgitated meal. Jerry’s nose hurt but the pain was well worth the look on that jock’s face. Needless to say, his stupidity earned him a suspension from the football team that season.

High school was fun but life must go on. Jerry made his valedictorian speech at the graduation ceremony and just as expected, no one understood when he stated the entire speech in less than a minute. "In this world of normality, where some think life is cruel, his shadow can be seen through the dim light of the window. He happily dances to the beat of another drum." He could hear the whispers as he proudly stepped down from the podium.

Jerry was a loner for most of his adult life. The children would point and stare at the window of his study. They would dare each other to go into Jerry’s yard as if he were some sort of evil wizard or something but that was to be expected, after all they were brought up normally by normal parents in a normal world. He wrote children’s books and published them under a pen name to make a living. By the time he was an old man he had become very rich from the sale of his books. Some days he would just dance around his study celebrating the exciting life that he had made for himself.

Upon his death a dictionary was discovered lying on his desk. It was opened to the N’s and the entry normal was highlighted. Beneath the dictionary was a book. The title read "In this world of normality, where some think life is cruel, his shadow can be seen through the dim light of the window. He happily dances to the beat of another drum." Written by: Jerry T. Drewman

QUESTIONS:

Circle the best answer.

1. Jerry thinks all people should be normal.
2. Jerry doesn’t really care if people are normal or not.
3. Jerry thinks normal people are boring and predictable.
4. Jerry wishes he could be normal like most people.

1. Terrence is not a real person he is just a pile of football equipment.
2. Terrence is Jerry’s big brother.
3. Terrence is a bully who played on the football team.
4. Terrence is the football coach.

1. He loved peas; they were his favorite food.
2. He knew his mom would not expect him to eat more peas.
3. He wanted to see how many peas a real spy could eat.
4. He thought peas would make him grow very tall.