I just now saw this thread for the first time! And my bff Melissa was the one who started it!
Chuck, you're unfortunate experiences in school sound identical to mine. Everything you mentioned also happened to me. School, and especially high school was a terrible experience. I wouldn't repeat it for anything. I really do hope there is no such thing as reincarnation, because the idea of going through school again appalls me.
I did however have a few friends who were athletes, and that helped me quite a bit. Ken, who played the string bass in my orchestra also played on the football team. In addition to getting made fun of for being gay, I was also made fun of quite a bit because I played violin and cello in the orchestra - what they called fag instruments. Ken didn't appreciate that because he was in the orchestra too. We became friends and he and a few of his buddies looked out for me. It got pretty rough for gay kids in Indiana back in the 70s. It's still pretty rough for them now.
And they pinned the unfortunate name of "Gayvid" on me and it stuck throughout high school. Actually I think that name hurt more than all the punches, slaps and other physical bullying I received. Because whenever someone would shout it, everyone would laugh. It really hurt a lot.