day 84 | ‘deeply hurt’

February 1, 1971. Davis, CA

“steve tends to waste an awful lot of time. this is made more difficult by the fact that when i call it to his attention his feelings appear to be deeply hurt”

apparently i didn’t take criticism well when i was a kid. that has not changed.

most of my school report cards have a similar theme – that i could do well if i applied myself. i’ve spent my life trying to figure out how to do that, meaning, how to consistently be focused and do my best work, whether it’s writing a song or filling out tax forms (writing a song is a lot easier). progress has been slow but steady.

here are other comments on my fifth grade progress report –

reading:
comprehension sometimes suffers when steve is dreaming while reading

mathematics:
no problem understanding. carelessness prevails

art:
very creative. appears to have talent

music:
doesn’t participate

physical education:
likes team sports but isn’t too much for exercising

personal development:
steve is a very sensitive child. it is very fortunate that we are able to communicate with each other and understand each other’s reasons for why we’re being a certain way