Your Greatest Accomplishments

[Augie]

Hi folks,

What are your greatest accomplishments or proudest moments?

My greatest accomplishment was graduating from college, which I attended on a 4-year full-tuition Presidential scholarship, in 4 years.

In order to understand the reasons why, for me, this was such a great accomplishment, you will need some background info first. My high school years (at Msgr. Farrell High School in Staten Island, NY) were filled with trouble (but not in the traditional sense), torment, torture, frustration, misunderstandings, misjudgements, aggravation, etc., etc. I was a model student. I was also an incredible nerd/geek/dork.

Needless to say, I was picked on A LOT - literally tens of thousands of times. I was one of the most picked on and one of the most made fun of students in the history of my high school. I was tormented and tortured throughout the entire 4 years of high school. The other students made my life a living f**king hell. Because of this, I was constantly doing things (retaliating, getting into fights, etc.) in response to that situation.

I also have had a SEVERE flatulance problem for my entire life, including my high school years. I think I ripped out more farts in that building than any other student in Farrell's history.

I also have a genetic sleeping disorder (nocturnal behavior, etc.) that runs on my father's side of the family. This caused me to be late for school numerous times. Just in my senior year of high school alone, I had 115 detentions, all of them for lateness. Yes, I was late for school 115 times in my senior year. I had a cumulative 4-year total of 180 detentions. All of them except for (maybe) 3 were for either lateness or fighting.

Augie

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[Augie]

Hi folks,

For some unknown reason, many of my teachers, priests, and brothers hated my guts. I still don't know why. I was constantly being punished for things either that I didn't do or that were beyond my control. The priests and brothers often made up lies and false stories about me.

It all came to a head in Italy during Easter break of my senior year. The torture and torment continued. In Milan, I wound up getting into a fight with some guy from Tennessee. The whole thing snowballed, and I almost got arrested. The cop/security guard had the handcuffs out, and he was just about to handcuff me. Then, one of the priests (who was a chaparonne) came running over and talked him out of it (in Italian). Otherwise, my ass would have been thrown in jail in Milan, Italy. It's a very long story, and I will go into more detail in my autobiography.

I am now 38 years old, and I think I behaved admirably back then. I did the right thing. If I were ever confronted with that same situation today, I would do the EXACT same thing. I did nothing wrong.

Anyway, when we got home, the priests (chaparonnes) called my parents and wanted to meet with them in person. During that meeting, the priests blamed me for everything (when I did absolutely nothing wrong). They also made up numerous lies and stories about me - which were completely untrue and absolutely ridiculous. They also told my parents very emphatically, "Do NOT send your son away to college". My parents almost didn't send me away to college because of that.

Augie

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[Augie]

Hi folks,

When I graduated high school, I knew I had to go away to college. I just couldn't stay home. I would have cracked up. They would have been taking me to the "rubber room" in a straight jacket. I hade to get away from my family, from Staten Island, and most importantly, from that "insane asylum" that was Msgr. Farrell High School. College was my "therapy" and my "recovery" from high school.

I was awarded a 4-year full-tuition Presidential scholarship to attend Adelphi University in Garden City, Long Island, NY. I was a model student, a Dean's list student, and an honor student. I never partied, drank alcohol, or used drugs. I graduated in 4 years with a BS degree in Physics and Engineering, with a minor concentration in Computer Science.

To me, that was a tremendous personal accomplishment. I also proved so many of the people from my high school years WRONG. Many of the priests and brothers at my high school (and even some people in my own extended family) were absolutely convinced that I'd never graduate college - let alone do it in 4 years on a full scholarship while majoring in Physics. I guess I rubbed their faces in it. That was one of the most satisfying things in my life.

Augie

[Augie]

Hi folks,

I'd like to change gears now. Time for a different story.

Another great accomplishment for me was going to see Rush at Radio City Music Hall in the Summer of 2004.

I'd seen several Rush tours in the past, including Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, Presto, and Roll the Bones. But I was healthy then.

As many of you know, I was stricken with a serious, chronic, catastrophic illness in May 1990. I was a near-bedridden invalid for 10-12 years.

When I learned that Rush was doing a 30th Anniversary tour in Summer 2004, I just had to go. It had been 12 years since I'd seen Rush live. It was a struggle at times, but somehow, I made it.

For a healthy person my age, it may not seem like a tremendous accomplishment for someone from Staten Island to go to see Rush at RCMH. But for someone in my medical condition, it was a HUGE accomplishment. It was the equivalent of a healthy person my age climbing Mt. Everest.

Augie

[Augie]

Hi folks,

Within the past 2 years, I discussed politics on other Rush boards. It related to me personally (my illness, etc.). It got me into quite a bit of trouble, but I am proud of what I did and what I stood up for.

On 3 different occasions, I sent an e-mail to Howard Stern referring him to those threads. He must have read them. The next day, on his radio show, both he and Robin discussed my threads and my situation over the air. Millions of people heard Howard and Robin talking about me. Howard sided with me, and he was sympathetic to me and my cause.

That was a great accomplishment for me.

I love Howard. He is the greatest.

Augie

[Augie]

Hi folks,

You may be wondering why the priests, brothers, and teachers at my high school refused to do anything about the fact that I was constantly being picked on, tortured, and tormented by the other students. To this day, I am still wondering the same thing. If anything, they perpetuated it.

On approximately 30-40 different occasions, I approached them about this situation, with 2 results:

1) They absolutely refused to do anything about it.

2) Not only did they refuse to do anything about it, but they blamed me and said that it was my fault.


When I approached them about this situation, this is a sampling of the things they said to me:

1) "It's your own fault."

2) "What do you want me to do about it?"

3) "Stop being such a nerd."

4) "Stop farting so much."

That last quote is a reference to my farting ability. I used to "bomb out" the classroom. The whole room stunk. Some of the priests, brothers, and teachers at my high school were absolutely convinced that the reason why I was being picked on so much was because of my excessive farting. Yes, it may be true that, maybe 10-15% of the time I was picked on, it was because of my excessive farting. But more than 85-90% of the time I was picked on, it had absolutely nothing to do with my excessive farting.

Augie

[Augie]

Hi folks,

I have so many stories to tell about my high school years. I will address them in my autobiography. I will tell one story here.

In my sophmore year of high school (which was the worst in terms of being picked on), I was picked on so much that I actually started experiencing chest pain. I went to my doctor, and he ordered an EKG for me as a precaution. The pediatric EKG hours at my HMO were during school hours. I explained to my doctor that I didn't want to miss my math class. He was shocked because most kids want an excuse to get out of school. But I was the opposite. Unfortunately, the EKG couldn't be done at any other time. So, I had the EKG done and missed my class. My doctor wrote me a doctor's note explaining the situation.

When I went to school, the head dean (Br. Dugan) gave me a hard time. He refused to believe my story (which was the truth). I showed him the doctor's note, but he didn't give a shit. He gave me a very long and serious detention. I argued with him, but to no avail. For lesser offenses, a detention consisted of sitting in a chair for 30 minutes after school. For this "offense" (??), I had to stand in a square (of the tile floor) for 1 hour. I served my detention, and I was confused and bewildered the entire time.

Augie

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[Augie]

Hi folks,

When I got home that day, I told my mother what had happened. She blew a gasket. The next day, she went to school with me, and she got into such a fight with Br. Dugan. There was a lot of screaming and yelling. I'm surprised she didn't get arrested. Br. Dugan refused to believe her either. He accused both of us of "lying".

Some of the other students saw my mother there that day. One student even made up a false story about me (in reference to that incident) and told everyone in my school. Of course, this caused the other students to make fun of me even more. Of course, this caused me to experience even more chest pain.

I continued experiencing chest pain throughout my 4 years of high school. But I kept it to myself. I didn't want to get punished again. I guess I wasn't allowed to have chest pain.

By the way, that incident caused me to lose all respect for Br. Dugan. From that day forward, I never had any respect for him.

That incident was just "another brick in the wall". There were literally dozens of incidents like that in high school.

Those incidents are the reason why, to this day (I am now 38 years old), I still have an intense and bitter hatred of Roman Catholic priests and brothers. It is also one of the main reasons why I am not a Roman Catholic and why I am an agnostic.

Augie