Truly a Curse

There are many people you know who you would classify as “funny”. It may be your best friend, it may be someone you rarely talk too, but we all know someone. In the book Rebound Caper by Thomas Dygard,  Gary Whipple is that “funny man” around town. All he cares about is a good joke and nothing else. He is the sixth man on the boys basketball team, a reliable bench player. His attitude was never anything serious, until he got suspended. Gary’s attitude completely changed when this happened, and he wanted to go the girls team. When the girls team starts winning with Gary and the boys team isn’t Gary realizes what mistake he has made. He noticed the boys really needed him and he matured with this understanding.

Gary's relationships has not only changed with his friends but his image around town changed even more. A persons image can either make people adore them, or have a deep hatred for them. So, when Gary's "funny guy" image is all that people know him for, no one will take him seriously. His attitude was being more accepted among school faculty, parents, and students. He realized that boys and girls basketball wasn’t the same and girls could actually compete with boys when they give full effort. If his attitude hadn’t changed then he could’ve have ruined the girls state championship dreams (because he was ineligible for state tournaments but not high school league) and wrecked the boys team. But, since it did change he was able to help both groups realize that they should be proud of who they are playing for and shouldn’t do anything different. Though, if his attitude had stayed the same both teams would have certainly done bad, with or without the “funny man” playing on their team.

Now, that Gary’s point of view of things was better than it was before—it changes things between him and his coaches. He can now be accepted back on the boys team from the coach because of how much Gary has matured over the course of the season he played with the girls. When everyone saw that Gary was changing, some liked it and others did not. His friends no longer saw the need for a laugh and same with his girlfriend, the joke needed to stop. With his new attitude, it helped the boys and girls teams in very good ways. Gary, the teams, and the coaches can now play basketball they had imaged it, with everyone getting along.