{"id":46126,"date":"2025-10-15T03:16:44","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T07:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=46126"},"modified":"2025-10-14T20:07:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T00:07:06","slug":"my-nemesis-in-polyester-a-high-school-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/10\/15\/my-nemesis-in-polyester-a-high-school-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"My Nemesis in Polyester: A High School Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I guess I should say one<\/strong> of my high school nemeses. This guy was easier to draw than the others.<\/em><\/p>\n

My high school in South Jersey was a nightmare\u2014it included junior high, cramming grades 7 through 12 into one building. Wide-eyed kids fresh from grade school shared hallways with guys banging their girlfriends in customized vans. It was a disastrous mix.<\/p>\n

In that era and eras since, STUPID equaled COOL. Everybody wanted to be Fonzie<\/em> and nobody wanted to be Potsie<\/em>. Picking on weaker kids wasn\u2019t just bad behavior\u2014it was a pastime, something to kill the stultifying boredom of hours at school.<\/p>\n

When I hit 7th grade, I felt like a tiny mammal in the age of dinosaurs. I darted through corridors, praying the bigger predators wouldn\u2019t notice or tread on me.<\/p>\n

I did a six-year stretch there and hated every minute of it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Somewhere along the way, the fellow I illustrated above moved from South Philly to South Jersey\u2014a typical migration at the time. My own family made the same move in the mid-1960s, chasing green lawns, safe streets, and decent public schools.<\/p>\n

But this guy? He was still South Philly through and through. I thought he was aping John Travolta\u2019s character from Welcome Back, Kotter<\/em> and found his swagger tediously pretentious.<\/p>\n

He was everything I wasn\u2019t: swarthy, athletic, extroverted. He probably started shaving at 11. Sports came easy to him, and the girls laughed at his lamest jokes.<\/p>\n

I hated him. He didn\u2019t care for me either\u2014and he made sure I knew it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It also didn’t help that I resembled Jodie Foster until I hit puberty.<\/p>\n

My South Philly nemesis fit right in with a clique of jocks, all with Italian surnames. These guys were different\u2014they loved disco and weren\u2019t shy about it. They sported loud polyester shirts and slacks, ignoring the \u201cdisco sucks\u201d mobs who worshipped ROCK like it was scripture.<\/p>\n

The disco boys might\u2019ve been onto something. While rock stars were either choking to death on vomit or aging into irrelevance, teenage angst felt silly coming from rich old musicians. Disco, though? It was a mating ritual\u2014girls loved to dance. It wasn\u2019t my thing, but I get it now.<\/p>\n

Looking back, I\u2019ll be honest: this guy didn\u2019t do much to me. Some ribbing, trash talk, and clumsy jabs at my utter lack of coordination and athletic prowess \u2014 that was it. I made more out of typical ball-breaking than what it was.<\/p>\n

In my head, I was a comic book hero, ready to make him eat his words. But that fantasy needed superpowers from a distant planet or a radioactive bug bite. Real life? It required putting actual work in at a gym and a love for sports I never had.<\/p>\n

My disdain for athletics didn\u2019t help me one bit.<\/p>\n

Once I left high school, I entered what I thought would be utopia for the sensitive set — art school<\/em>. I thought I would be among creative and supportive peers. Nothing could be farther from the truth.<\/p>\n

As far as the cartoon is concerned, the idea and the drawing just flowed out of me after I was working on a variation of my vector cartoon The Swinging Algebra Teacher.<\/a> I was careening down memory lane. I drew the nemesis cartoon in my Pen+Gear Sketch Diary<\/em> which is a terrible name for a sketchbook, but it’s working out great so far. I inked in my penciled drawing with my Sailor fountain pens which I can’t live without.<\/p>\n

I drew him from the distorted memories I have of him rather than referring to my yearbook.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wherein I dispense a little cartoon justice on my high school nemesis, a troglodyte in polyester. No gentle glide down memory lane here\u2014just ink and spite. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":46127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31,7,49,16],"tags":[6090,6093,6100,6089,6094,6101,6087,6098,6088,6084,2034,6092,6095,6096,5791,6097,6085,6086,6099,6091],"class_list":["post-46126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blast-from-the-past","category-illustration","category-it-came-from-the-sketchbook","category-sketch","tag-1970s-high-school","tag-art-school-experience","tag-athletic-struggles","tag-cartoon-caricature","tag-comic-book-fantasy","tag-coming-of-age-stories","tag-disco-era","tag-fountain-pen-art","tag-high-school-bullying","tag-high-school-nostalgia","tag-it-came-from-the-sketchbook-2","tag-jock-culture","tag-polyester-fashion","tag-rock-vs-disco","tag-school-days","tag-sketchbook-drawing","tag-south-jersey-high-school","tag-south-philly-culture","tag-stupidcool-mindset","tag-teenage-rivalry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/High-School-Nemesis-gray.jpg?fit=640%2C733&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-bZY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22241,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2017\/05\/09\/sketchbook-from-heaven-%e2%80%a2-1222017-572017\/","url_meta":{"origin":46126,"position":0},"title":"Sketchbook from Heaven \u2022 1\/22\/2017 – 5\/7\/2017","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"May 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Usually when I finish off a sketchbook, I have either a feeling of accomplishment because I've managed a few competent scribbles within or relief in that I finally put an especially irritating pad that I made the mistake of purchasing out of my\u00a0misery. With this cheap little scratch-pad I got\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/sfh-the_end.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/sfh-the_end.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/sfh-the_end.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21724,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2017\/02\/23\/the-sketchbook-from-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":46126,"position":1},"title":"The Sketchbook from Heaven","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"February 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In the past I have written about sketchbooks I have bought that seemed like a good idea at the point of purchase but failed miserably when put into practice. Either the sketchbooks looked handsome on the shelf and proved unwieldy in use or for unknown and possibly diabolical reasons they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Pink-Zeppelin-2-21-17.jpg?fit=640%2C461&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Pink-Zeppelin-2-21-17.jpg?fit=640%2C461&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Pink-Zeppelin-2-21-17.jpg?fit=640%2C461&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":477,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2009\/09\/24\/in-search-of-the-jersey-devil\/","url_meta":{"origin":46126,"position":2},"title":"In Search of the Jersey Devil","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Remember that show In Search of which ran in the late '70s? Leonard Nimoy did the voice-over. It was sort of a Chariots of the Gods for syndicated television. I found some sketches that predated the full figure sketch of the Garden State's favorite demon that I posted earlier. They\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"JD-head","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/JD-head.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":429,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2009\/09\/16\/demon\/","url_meta":{"origin":46126,"position":3},"title":"Demon","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Another demon\/gargoyle from my sketchbook drawn during the mid-'80s. Once again, I think this is when Dan Platt and I were hanging out and shooting the breeze about monsters. I think this was another attempt at the Jersey Devil, but I think this guy is much too fit for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"demon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/demon.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9826,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2012\/10\/01\/killing-the-sketchbook-from-hell\/","url_meta":{"origin":46126,"position":4},"title":"Killing the Sketchbook from Hell","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"October 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A sketch I did with my favorite indigo blue pencil while sitting at the Ridgeway pool in South Philadelphia this summer. This was the first satisfying sketch I did in the dreaded Sketchbook from Hell! I got this sketchbook back in 1987 from a Philadelphia art supply shop where I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Curious Clutter"","block_context":{"text":"Curious Clutter","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/curious-clutter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/grimace.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/grimace.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/grimace.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4473,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2011\/09\/29\/sketchbook-slipcase\/","url_meta":{"origin":46126,"position":5},"title":"Sketchbook Slipcase","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 This one's for Ricky Rotten.I ran into Ricky Rotten recently who reminded me of an old sketchbook cover\/slipcase I used to carry with me. He wondered if I still had it. I assured him that I did, but it's a little worst for wear. The sketchbooks that I mostly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/slipcase.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/slipcase.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/slipcase.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}