There’s really no way around it. Kids can be jerks. Especially middle schoolers.
Talk about a rough stretch! Raging hormones, acne, cliques; couple that with the desire of many school systems to rush kids through this crucial two to three-year period, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Middle school eats many kids alive. It was the hardest two years of my educational life, and I actually had a small friend group. Problem was, and still is the jerks, bullies and “a” holes.
Recently, one middle school boy had the ignominious distinction of having the entire SCHOOL treat him like crap and refuse to sign his yearbook, only to have Ant Man save the day. Paul Rudd more specifically, but that’s even better! Let’s get the details from the New York Post:
Beloved actor Paul Rudd sent a middle schooler a heartwarming letter of encouragement, promising the 12-year-old boy that “things get better” after his classmates refused to sign his yearbook at the end of the school year.
Brody Ridder, who just finished his sixth grade year at The Academy of Charter Schools in Westminster, Colorado, was devastated in May when his yearbook was left nearly blank of signatures and well-wishes for the upcoming summer.
I joke a lot, but my heart breaks for Brody Ridder. I can’t even imagine how it felt to be snubbed by the ENTIRE school! It would seem to me in an age where school violence is all too prevalent, kids would at least make an effort to not be total jerks to other kids. I suppose I am totally out of touch, but I preached at my kids to be nice to everyone, and if you couldn’t, then just don’t join in with the other jerks.
Brody told KDVR that he had already endured a long, tough year of bullying.
His mother Cassandra Ridder posted a photo to Facebook of her son’s yearbook pages, empty except for a couple of signatures and a note from a teacher.
Brody wrote a note to himself: “Hope you make some more friends – Brody Ridder.”
As a parent, I would be sad, furious and not going to lie, a little vengeful. I know this boy’s mother probably knows some of the other parents at the school.
If this were my kid, I expect I probably would’ve been having words with some of the parents to let them know exactly what kind of kids they are raising.
Thankfully, the story went viral, and Paul Rudd, long known as one of the nicest people in Hollywood reached out to Brody personally.
ANT-MAN TO THE RESCUE: After Cassandra Ridder posted on social media that her son Brody was in tears because no one signed his yearbook, Ant-Man actor Paul Rudd decided to reach out – and help him “take on the world.” https://t.co/jVMJ47KsbF pic.twitter.com/LCWJssvaoZ
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) July 8, 2022
Rudd, 53, heard about Brody’s story in June and reached out to him personally over Facetime, according to Facebook posts from Cassandra Ridder.
Days later, Rudd sent Brody his very own autographed Ant-Man helmet with some wise words of encouragement for the middle-schooler:
“It was great talking to you the other day. It’s important to remember that even when life is tough that things get better. There are so many people that love you and think you’re the coolest kid there is — me being one of them! I can’t wait to see all the amazing things you’re going to accomplish,” he wrote, signing as “Your pal, Paul.”
He wrote on the helmet, “To my good friend Brody for when he takes on the world!” and signed it both as “Paul Rudd” and “Ant-Man.”
Folks, we need more stories like this, and more people like Brody Ridder and Paul Rudd. With all the dysfunction in our schools, and all the animosity and far left craziness coming from Hollywood, Paul Rudd is a rarity.
The Marvel Universe can keep Chris Evans and Captain UN-America, I’m going to opt for Paul Rudd and Ant Man.
This story syndicated with permission from For the Love of News