Bufah (boo-fah) maneuver; it’s a term I learned early on in my military career. It was usually directed toward me during my days as a young, wet behind the ears clueless Airman. The term refers to an act committed before thinking about the impact or consequences only to realize the negative implications just at the precise moment you are committing the infraction. In fact, for the first two years of my Air Force career I was simply known as Airman Bufah. The term came to mind today as I was camped out on playground duty. The area I am responsible for includes the swing set, which is not the best place to assign someone who still has memories of the, “why science teachers should never be given playground duty” cartoon etched in their mind. As I watched the students playing, a young lady was showing off her athletic prowess by climbing one swing sets supporting legs. She must have impressed the young gentlemen watching to the point where they figured they needed to show off their strength and agility as well. One slightly overweight (ok, I’ll use the word husky) 6-year old who was having problems hoisting himself up the pole suddenly had a brilliant idea (get ready to say the new phrase). He backed up about 20 feet from the swing set and then took off on a dead run toward the pole (are you ready to say the phrase?). About two feet from the pole he launched himself into the air and reached for the pole. While the strategy did gain him a little height advantage on the pole, he did simultaneously realize that girls and boys are built somewhat differently down in the area which actually straddles the pole (OK, you can say the phrase at this point). As he slowly slid down the pole I couldn’t help but think how he resembled the cartoon coyote after he runs into a wall while chasing the roadrunner. As he gingerly picked himself up he realized the other young gentlemen were closely watching. Not wanting to lose face, he tried to act as macho as possible as he removed himself from the area. Even so, his walk gave him away as it resembled that of a newly christened steer calf at branding time on the ranch. Oh my little fella, this is only the beginning of a long string of bufah maneuvers that you will experience during your career in school. Can I help you learn to spell your new name?
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 02:14:45 +0000