
“Let me tell you about the time I ran a five-minute mile. I was in 10th grade, it was 1970. My friend and I were going to school together, and we checked the time: It’s 8:25, and school started at 8:30. We were wearing our dress shirts, ties and leather dress shoes. Our route was 14th Street to Perkins to 15th to Annesley. The school was on the corner of 20th and Annesley. We’re booking it. The nun’s office overlooks the street, and we saw Sister Mary through the office window looking pretty stern. Also, we didn’t have backpacks, so my books were in one hand and my sack lunch in the other. Sister Mary saw us enter, right at 8:30 as we slid across the linoleum floor while the bell rang. She didn’t say anything. She knew how hard we tried. You should’ve seen my kick.”