The blog is 6 months old now and it's been a lot of fun. My thanks to all who've contributed, suggested, visited and spread the word. I appreciate it all.
To me there’s an almost therapeutic part to all this. It's refreshing to go to a place where there's less bother, less worry, or a little less hub-bub. A place where you can clear you mind for a minute or two of the everyday drudgery and find a smile that might end up being your only smile for that entire day. When I lived in Monterey, California there was a place just below my apartment where a group of rocks extended out into the ocean. At low tide you could climb out on those rocks and the wind, waves and sea gulls were all you could hear; every other sound was erased, no traffic, no people, no worries. When you closed your eyes it was like you were in your own private little world and nothing else existed. It was my special place, a place to go when I needed to take a deep breath and unwind a little. My back porch. This place is a little like that; at least to me it is.
I’m not here every day, and usually when I am it's only for a few minutes at a time, but the rocks weren’t an all the time type thing either; stay a little too long there and you got trapped by the rising tide, stay a little too long here and I'd get nothing else done. :)
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Blog Updates via E-mail
Kathey asked me a couple of months ago if it was possible to receive the blog updates via email. I looked at several places and finally found one I think will work. It's offered by a site called FeedBlitz and I've tested it with several email addresses and it seems to work fine.
Simply put your email address into the slot at the top of the sidebar and click "Subscribe Me". You will then get a confirmation email that will have a link that you click on to complete the process. That's all there is to it! They create an account for you on their site that you can use to unsubscribe to the emails anytime you want (but hopefully you won't *** grin***).
Simply put your email address into the slot at the top of the sidebar and click "Subscribe Me". You will then get a confirmation email that will have a link that you click on to complete the process. That's all there is to it! They create an account for you on their site that you can use to unsubscribe to the emails anytime you want (but hopefully you won't *** grin***).
Friday, August 25, 2006
Some Things Never Change
My youngest son is a sophomore this year. The other night he was supposed to be studying, but I'm not sure a whole lot of studying was done because he spent most of the time on the telephone talking to his friends. They use the three way calling feature on the phone to have 8 or 10 kids on the phone at the same time. I'm not sure exactly how that works, but they've done it several times. Anyway, whenever I'd say something to him, he'd assure me that, yep, they were studing, but I'm not so sure about that. I wasn't exactly eavesdropping, but out of the bits and pieces of the conversation I heard, I don't recall a whole lot having to do with school work.
Anyway, some of the stuff I heard reminded me that while a lot of things are different between their generation and ours, a whole lot hasn't changed either. While there have been advancements like computers, video games, cell phones and Ipods, there doesn't seem to be much change in the human side of things.
They talked about how hard one teacher was compared to another one and what you could do in a particular class to get the teacher to get off the subject.
They talked about how the sports teams were doing or who they were going to meet up with at the game to pal around with.
They talked about how one kid's voice hasn't changed and how another one was already growing a moustache.
They talked about girls too. Which ones were hot, which ones were not, even a whisper a time or two when they talked about a particular one. I'm not going to try and guess what they were talking about, I may not want to know the details. Anyway, one of his friends seemed to be having a particularly hard time with it all. It seems he had asked a girl to a dance or something and she originally had said yes, but then changed her mind later and said no. Now that brings back memories. I wanted so much to get on the other extension and tell them they had better get used to it because that particular lane in the road of life is always going to be a bit rocky. :) I'm sure the young lady had a very good reason for doing it, but there are some things a teenage boy's mind just can't comprehend, especially when it might reinforce some doubts and an already fragile self opinion. Okay, so I'm taking the guy's side of things, but that's the side I know and have experience with. :)
They also talked about cars. When they were going to drive, whether they were going to get a new car or a used one and whether their parents expected them to get a job and pay something toward the gas and upkeep of it.
All in all, it sounded so familiar, and I had to smile a time or two. So, maybe I was eavesdropping after all. :)
Anyway, some of the stuff I heard reminded me that while a lot of things are different between their generation and ours, a whole lot hasn't changed either. While there have been advancements like computers, video games, cell phones and Ipods, there doesn't seem to be much change in the human side of things.
They talked about how hard one teacher was compared to another one and what you could do in a particular class to get the teacher to get off the subject.
They talked about how the sports teams were doing or who they were going to meet up with at the game to pal around with.
They talked about how one kid's voice hasn't changed and how another one was already growing a moustache.
They talked about girls too. Which ones were hot, which ones were not, even a whisper a time or two when they talked about a particular one. I'm not going to try and guess what they were talking about, I may not want to know the details. Anyway, one of his friends seemed to be having a particularly hard time with it all. It seems he had asked a girl to a dance or something and she originally had said yes, but then changed her mind later and said no. Now that brings back memories. I wanted so much to get on the other extension and tell them they had better get used to it because that particular lane in the road of life is always going to be a bit rocky. :) I'm sure the young lady had a very good reason for doing it, but there are some things a teenage boy's mind just can't comprehend, especially when it might reinforce some doubts and an already fragile self opinion. Okay, so I'm taking the guy's side of things, but that's the side I know and have experience with. :)
They also talked about cars. When they were going to drive, whether they were going to get a new car or a used one and whether their parents expected them to get a job and pay something toward the gas and upkeep of it.
All in all, it sounded so familiar, and I had to smile a time or two. So, maybe I was eavesdropping after all. :)
Monday, August 21, 2006
Study Hall
Did you have a Study Hall? I had it every year. Did you like it or dread it? I enjoyed it for the most part. Did you actually study? Me either... usually. :)
It depended on the teacher "sentenced" to sit in Study Hall at that particular time whether it was a fun class or not. As I remember, some of the teachers acted like the class was drudgery for them and took it out on us, but for the most part it was a nice relaxing hour.
Some of my friends were only "Study Hall" friends. I didn't have any other classes or lunch with them, just Study Hall. My entire association with them for four years was in the class. Donnie Miller comes to mind as does Steve Knox and Joe Watson, and a whole host of people in other grades.
I've added other posts on this blog telling about two infamous notes I was involved with during Study Hall; one that got me in trouble with the office and one that (I think) had a hand in getting two people together. You know what they say about idle hands... :)
Also, if you look at the '70 yearbook there is evidence that it wasn't all fun and games in this class. Besides my portrait and the group picture on the back steps, the only other picture of me in the entire yearbook is one of me sitting at a table behind Joe Watson... studying! Image that. :)
It depended on the teacher "sentenced" to sit in Study Hall at that particular time whether it was a fun class or not. As I remember, some of the teachers acted like the class was drudgery for them and took it out on us, but for the most part it was a nice relaxing hour.
Some of my friends were only "Study Hall" friends. I didn't have any other classes or lunch with them, just Study Hall. My entire association with them for four years was in the class. Donnie Miller comes to mind as does Steve Knox and Joe Watson, and a whole host of people in other grades.
I've added other posts on this blog telling about two infamous notes I was involved with during Study Hall; one that got me in trouble with the office and one that (I think) had a hand in getting two people together. You know what they say about idle hands... :)
Also, if you look at the '70 yearbook there is evidence that it wasn't all fun and games in this class. Besides my portrait and the group picture on the back steps, the only other picture of me in the entire yearbook is one of me sitting at a table behind Joe Watson... studying! Image that. :)
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Rethinking Some Things
As I said a few days ago, I recently got a transcript of my grades and I've had to adjust a memory or two. There are some things I was remembering a tad differently than they actually happened.
For example, I thought I graduated with 21 credits, but I only counted 20 on my transcripts.
I thought I spent the entire sophomore year in Atlanta, but I spent a portion of it in Loudon because I pulled in some first semester grades from there.
For example, I thought I graduated with 21 credits, but I only counted 20 on my transcripts.
I thought I spent the entire sophomore year in Atlanta, but I spent a portion of it in Loudon because I pulled in some first semester grades from there.
I thought I had a class with BJ Stallings my junior year, but it was my freshman year. I have no idea why I was two years off.
I thought I had Miss Mize for two classes, but I had her for three; Journalism, American Government and Sociology. I think the last two only lasted a semester each, but either way, I didn't have her figured out as well as I thought because she dinged me on one of them. :)
I had PE three years and I thought it was just two. I made an A in it one year. How do you make an A in PE? I must have been better at Dodge Ball than I thought too. :)
I had Mr. Arp twice, I had forgotten World Geography. By the way, were Mr Arp and Mrs Arp related?
I had Industrial Arts one year and I thought I had it two. It felt like two.
I didn't take a single science related class after my sophomore year, which is a touch odd considering I worked a large portion of my life in meteorology.
I think my overall favorite class was Applied Math with Coach Dutton during senior year. Others I really liked were Miss Mize's classes and World History with Mr Arp during senior year, Science with Ms Stallings during freshman year and Biology with Mrs Marcus during sophomore year. The reason I enjoyed them so much was almost exclusively because of the people who took the classes with me. I liked Ms Stallings class because she was my favorite high school teacher.
I mentioned somewhere else in this blog that if I had it to do over again, I would try harder. I think my transcripts bear that out. My grades were never anywhere near outstanding, but there is a noticable drop between grade school grades and high school grades, and I think I know why. It was partly due to puberty and that little rebellion we all go through to some degree when we hit the teen years and we think we know more than most adults we come in contact with, and it was also due to the bad habit of doing just enough to get by, but mostly it was because high school was very social for me. Yes, I went to school to graduate, but a lot of the time that seemed to play second fiddle to being with my friends, dating, and the other forms of socializing.
But, at any rate, my number one job now is to make sure my 16 year old doesn't see those transcripts before he graduates, or else I'm going to have some explaining to do. :)
Sunday, August 13, 2006
It's Football Time in Tennessee
I saw in the paper where Loudon's first game is August 25th and the Volunteers start playing on September 2nd. I have always loved Loudon and Tennessee football.
The internet has allowed me to check the score of Loudon games for the past fifteen years or so. Late each Friday night I'll check the News Sentinal website for the scores. Up until the past few years, I could sometimes pick up an audio stream of the games over the internet. You can do that now, but there is a charge for it. Before the internet, every time I called my Mom or visited Loudon I always checked up on the football team. One of these days I'm going to time my visit and actually go to a game. I haven't been in a lot of years. Part of me is a little apprehensive of who I might recognize, but a bigger part of me is apprehensive about not recognizing anyone.
Whenever I think of Tennessee football I think of two things. When I was something like 12 or 13, I used to meet up with a bunch of other kids down at Bacon's Creamery and go to the Tennessee home games to sell ice cream sandwiches. I can't remember how much we charged for them, fifty cents I guess, but it was an all day job and hard work. I remember one game, I think it was Alabama but I'm not positive, but it was so cold that the stands were almost empty and the people that were there laughed when we tried to sell them ice cream. Anyway, we stopped trying to sell anything after half time and sat on the 50 yard line and watched the second half from the best seats in the house.
The second thing was John Ward. Armed Forces radio carries football games in season, and they used to just pipe in the home team's broadcast. Let me tell you something, when you're hunkered down in a hole or on some bleak and desolate island somewhere in the world that seems light years away from your family and friends and the game on the radio is Tennessee, when John Ward's voice boomed across the radio with, "It's football time in Tennessee!"; well, if that didn't put a big lump in your throat, there's something wrong.
The internet has allowed me to check the score of Loudon games for the past fifteen years or so. Late each Friday night I'll check the News Sentinal website for the scores. Up until the past few years, I could sometimes pick up an audio stream of the games over the internet. You can do that now, but there is a charge for it. Before the internet, every time I called my Mom or visited Loudon I always checked up on the football team. One of these days I'm going to time my visit and actually go to a game. I haven't been in a lot of years. Part of me is a little apprehensive of who I might recognize, but a bigger part of me is apprehensive about not recognizing anyone.
Whenever I think of Tennessee football I think of two things. When I was something like 12 or 13, I used to meet up with a bunch of other kids down at Bacon's Creamery and go to the Tennessee home games to sell ice cream sandwiches. I can't remember how much we charged for them, fifty cents I guess, but it was an all day job and hard work. I remember one game, I think it was Alabama but I'm not positive, but it was so cold that the stands were almost empty and the people that were there laughed when we tried to sell them ice cream. Anyway, we stopped trying to sell anything after half time and sat on the 50 yard line and watched the second half from the best seats in the house.
The second thing was John Ward. Armed Forces radio carries football games in season, and they used to just pipe in the home team's broadcast. Let me tell you something, when you're hunkered down in a hole or on some bleak and desolate island somewhere in the world that seems light years away from your family and friends and the game on the radio is Tennessee, when John Ward's voice boomed across the radio with, "It's football time in Tennessee!"; well, if that didn't put a big lump in your throat, there's something wrong.
Friday, August 11, 2006
More Memories
Kathey sent me an email yesterday that got me to thinking about some more things. Remember….
… having one phone, which had a rotary dial and a cord? And it wasn’t the spiral cord, it was straight, and it would get kinks in it until after awhile it was like trying to untangle a bale of wire. And you could dial any number in Loudon by dialing 8 and then the last 4 digits. It was referred to as GLendale 8.
… push mowers? I first started earning money when I was about 8. I mowed the old lady’s yard down the street for 50 cents, and I used a push mower. The kind that if you were really leaning into it and had a good rhythm going, a twig would get caught between the blade and the roller and stop the mower immediately, pushing the handle up into your middle.
… TV sets that only got 3 or maybe 4 channels? We hated it when something like a press conference would come on because all three channels carried it. And we were constantly moving the “rabbit ears” to try and get a better picture. Sometimes we were lucky enough to get a channel out of Asheville.
… keeping a bill at the grocery store? My grandmother paid her grocery “bill” something like once a month. Whenever she needed anything she would send us to the store and told us to tell the guy behind the counter to “put it on my bill”, and he would.
… actually “playing” with your friends instead of just sharing a joystick? I had friends all over town, and at one time or another I would go to each neighborhood and play. And when you were at your friend’s house, their parents had jurisdiction over you. My folks weren’t the only people to ever spank my butt.
… going to the lake in Lenior City? A swimming pool is nothing like swimming in the lake, or river, or for that matter Steekee Creek. Just past the high school, Steekee Road used to make a sharp left hand turn, go across a little culvert over the creek and then make a sharp right hand turn. When I was 10 or so, the water at that culvert was waist deep and we could play or catch crawdads. Then a hundred yards or so toward town a spring bubbled up out of the ground and was always ice cold, even in the heat of July and August.
… the old movie house up past the post office? I used to pass out flyers for the guy who owned it and he would let me watch the movie on Saturday free. And I know we’ve talked about the drive-in before, but all the hanky-panky aside, it was the best place to watch a movie. Either sit in the car or get out and sit on the hood when it was hot and muggy. It was always so cool and relaxing.
… Doctor Sam or Doctor Bill? My brother fell out of a tree once and almost bit his tongue completely off. Mom picked him up and ran down the street to the doctor’s office and the doctor actually sewed my brother’s tongue back on. The thing is, they left a pea sized gravel in there, and afterward you could actually see the little bump where the gravel was.
… the Jewel Tea man? Did he ever stop at your house? He stopped by my grandmother’s house maybe once a month. Or how about the insurance man that came to your house and collected the payment? There was a little pouch that hung on the wall that the insurance money was kept in. Or how about the mailman... usually Tater Watts... who would walk his route and stop and talk to almost everybody.
… sitting on the porch? I miss having a porch. As a grown up I’ve only had one house that had a porch of any size.
… the soda fountain at Richeson’s Drug Store? Two scoops of chocolate and a cherry coke. And speaking of Coke, if it came out of a vending machine, it was the little bottle, maybe 8 ounces. Did you ever put peanuts in one?
Thanks for the email Kathey. :)
… having one phone, which had a rotary dial and a cord? And it wasn’t the spiral cord, it was straight, and it would get kinks in it until after awhile it was like trying to untangle a bale of wire. And you could dial any number in Loudon by dialing 8 and then the last 4 digits. It was referred to as GLendale 8.
… push mowers? I first started earning money when I was about 8. I mowed the old lady’s yard down the street for 50 cents, and I used a push mower. The kind that if you were really leaning into it and had a good rhythm going, a twig would get caught between the blade and the roller and stop the mower immediately, pushing the handle up into your middle.
… TV sets that only got 3 or maybe 4 channels? We hated it when something like a press conference would come on because all three channels carried it. And we were constantly moving the “rabbit ears” to try and get a better picture. Sometimes we were lucky enough to get a channel out of Asheville.
… keeping a bill at the grocery store? My grandmother paid her grocery “bill” something like once a month. Whenever she needed anything she would send us to the store and told us to tell the guy behind the counter to “put it on my bill”, and he would.
… actually “playing” with your friends instead of just sharing a joystick? I had friends all over town, and at one time or another I would go to each neighborhood and play. And when you were at your friend’s house, their parents had jurisdiction over you. My folks weren’t the only people to ever spank my butt.
… going to the lake in Lenior City? A swimming pool is nothing like swimming in the lake, or river, or for that matter Steekee Creek. Just past the high school, Steekee Road used to make a sharp left hand turn, go across a little culvert over the creek and then make a sharp right hand turn. When I was 10 or so, the water at that culvert was waist deep and we could play or catch crawdads. Then a hundred yards or so toward town a spring bubbled up out of the ground and was always ice cold, even in the heat of July and August.
… the old movie house up past the post office? I used to pass out flyers for the guy who owned it and he would let me watch the movie on Saturday free. And I know we’ve talked about the drive-in before, but all the hanky-panky aside, it was the best place to watch a movie. Either sit in the car or get out and sit on the hood when it was hot and muggy. It was always so cool and relaxing.
… Doctor Sam or Doctor Bill? My brother fell out of a tree once and almost bit his tongue completely off. Mom picked him up and ran down the street to the doctor’s office and the doctor actually sewed my brother’s tongue back on. The thing is, they left a pea sized gravel in there, and afterward you could actually see the little bump where the gravel was.
… the Jewel Tea man? Did he ever stop at your house? He stopped by my grandmother’s house maybe once a month. Or how about the insurance man that came to your house and collected the payment? There was a little pouch that hung on the wall that the insurance money was kept in. Or how about the mailman... usually Tater Watts... who would walk his route and stop and talk to almost everybody.
… sitting on the porch? I miss having a porch. As a grown up I’ve only had one house that had a porch of any size.
… the soda fountain at Richeson’s Drug Store? Two scoops of chocolate and a cherry coke. And speaking of Coke, if it came out of a vending machine, it was the little bottle, maybe 8 ounces. Did you ever put peanuts in one?
Thanks for the email Kathey. :)
Thursday, August 10, 2006
The Me Then and the Me Now
My 13 year old is one of the most inquisitive people I know. She is sincerely interested in things like my past, her family tree and where I grew up, much more than any of my other kids. She genuinely enjoys going to Loudon, it’s one of her favorite places. She likes the way the town looks, its surroundings and the people. She likes it when everybody waves as we drive around, “And they don’t even know who I am”, she says. She is, in no small part, responsible for what I’ve put on this site, because she always wants to know so much about things that it keeps me thinking about them too. Anyway, in answering her questions, I’ve put together two people, me then and me now.
The me then was painfully thin. The me now is painfully… well... not so thin.
The me then smoked. The me now only smokes when he’s grilling something.
My Walter Mitty world back then included daydreams about her, or her, or maybe even her. My Walter Mitty world now includes daydreams about winning the Powerball, actually finishing a round of golf under par, and catching the world’s first 25 pound largemouth bass.
The me then struggled in school. The me now struggles through more things than I care to admit.
The me then walked almost everyplace he went (in town). The me now only walks for exercise.
The me then went to a restaurant or café maybe once every other month. The me now goes to one at least once a week. Back then when my mom said it was supper time, we all gathered around the table. Now when my wife says its supper time, the kids run to jump in the van.
The me then went to football and basketball games to socialize and watch the team play. The me now goes to basketball and baseball and football and soccer and kick ball and volleyball (and I know I’m forgetting something) to watch my kids play.
The me then went to church mostly because I had to. The me now goes to church because, well, I have to. Back then it was duress, now its part of the plan.
The me then wanted to drive a fast and sporty car (and did too, for awhile). The me now just wants a vehicle that is easy to get in and out of.
The me then dreamed of living in a huge house so everybody would have their own space. The me now wished I’d bought one with less space. It’s going to feel awfully empty in a couple of years.
The me then missed you guys when I left to join the Air Force. The me now still does.
The me then was painfully thin. The me now is painfully… well... not so thin.
The me then smoked. The me now only smokes when he’s grilling something.
My Walter Mitty world back then included daydreams about her, or her, or maybe even her. My Walter Mitty world now includes daydreams about winning the Powerball, actually finishing a round of golf under par, and catching the world’s first 25 pound largemouth bass.
The me then struggled in school. The me now struggles through more things than I care to admit.
The me then walked almost everyplace he went (in town). The me now only walks for exercise.
The me then went to a restaurant or café maybe once every other month. The me now goes to one at least once a week. Back then when my mom said it was supper time, we all gathered around the table. Now when my wife says its supper time, the kids run to jump in the van.
The me then went to football and basketball games to socialize and watch the team play. The me now goes to basketball and baseball and football and soccer and kick ball and volleyball (and I know I’m forgetting something) to watch my kids play.
The me then went to church mostly because I had to. The me now goes to church because, well, I have to. Back then it was duress, now its part of the plan.
The me then wanted to drive a fast and sporty car (and did too, for awhile). The me now just wants a vehicle that is easy to get in and out of.
The me then dreamed of living in a huge house so everybody would have their own space. The me now wished I’d bought one with less space. It’s going to feel awfully empty in a couple of years.
The me then missed you guys when I left to join the Air Force. The me now still does.
Friday, August 04, 2006
The Top Memories
When I was thinking about the post for graduation I started putting together a list of my top memories... or at least the ones I don't mind sharing :) How many can you come up with? (Some of these are mentioned in previous posts)
Graduation has to be first I think. After all, it was the ultimate goal, right? Well, wasn't it?
The football championship. That was a great ride for a football crazy town. I remember being in the stands near the end of the championship game and one guy getting mad when they scored the last safety because he had bet the score would be 28-0, just like the two previous games.
The walk-out that wasn't. I don't remember what brought it about or who instigated it or anything else about it, but I do remember gathering in the main hall because there was going to be a "demonstration". Nobody did anything. We were such a radical bunch. ;)
The sign that didn't work. I think this was related to the football championship when the class before us tried to horn in on our party, so to speak. They put a sign on the billboard on Highway 11 just east of the school that was supposed to drop down at some predetermined time. I have no idea what the sign said because nothing ever happened. I think the guys who put up that sign must have organized the demonstration. :)
The driver's ed car thru the cafeteria window. RL, right? This is one of those stories that seems to get a little more added to it with each retelling. Truthfully I can just barely remember it happening, but you have to admit, it's the stuff of which legends are made. :)
The senior trip to Six Flags. What a waste. When you consider that we went and came back the same day, and had to drive all the way to Atlanta, that left us with what... 30 minutes to actually do something while we were there?? Okay, so I'm being a little facetious, but when you think of it 30 odd years later and all you remember is the bus ride, well, it couldn't have been all that great.
The annual trip to the fair. To me this was more fun than the senior trip. At least we were there long enough to do something. :) I also remember once trying to impress someone I was with. We got on one of those spinning rides that rotated like a ferris wheel while the caged seat would also spin upside down. Well I impressed her alright. I didn't take the pencils out of my pocket and as we went head over heels the pencils went bouncing all over the inside of the cage. I'm lucky I didn't put her eye out.
The fight. I'm not going to mention both names because one guy cheated, or at least in my mind he did. Larry Lankford got into a shouting match once with this particular guy. If any of you remember Larry, you'll recall he was usually pretty mellow, so it would really take something to antagonize him. At any rate the two of them agreed to a fight after school and when Larry got outside this guy came up with a blank pistol from somewhere and before anyone knew what was happening he put it right up to Larry's eyes and pulled the trigger. Needless to say it blinded Larry and as he's trying to get the powder out of his eyes, the creep starts punching him. The rest of us broke it up at that point. Some guys are natural born a-holes.
Disco-teen! Can you dance? Can you do it on TV? I missed it. I probably wouldn't have danced anyway, but it was my one shot in life to be on TV. :) I'm sure TVland is all the better for me not getting it. :)
Patriotic Youth Day. I can't remember all of it except there were things going on all over the school. People were singing in the auditorium, racing down at the football track, arts and crafts in a lot of the classrooms, all kinds of things. Other schools even showed up. It was a fun time
But, the little memories are probably our favorite. I know they are mine. We all have memories that we recall more than any other. They probably wouldn't make any difference to anybody else, even the others who were involved, but we remember them. It might be a day in study hall when you sat and chatted with someone you didn't really know that much about but you both opened up a little and suddenly you had a new friend. Or a smile from a certain someone at just the right time. Or someone stopping you in the hall and talking with you when you could have sworn that person didn't even know you existed. Yep, sometimes the little ones are the best ones.
Graduation has to be first I think. After all, it was the ultimate goal, right? Well, wasn't it?
The football championship. That was a great ride for a football crazy town. I remember being in the stands near the end of the championship game and one guy getting mad when they scored the last safety because he had bet the score would be 28-0, just like the two previous games.
The walk-out that wasn't. I don't remember what brought it about or who instigated it or anything else about it, but I do remember gathering in the main hall because there was going to be a "demonstration". Nobody did anything. We were such a radical bunch. ;)
The sign that didn't work. I think this was related to the football championship when the class before us tried to horn in on our party, so to speak. They put a sign on the billboard on Highway 11 just east of the school that was supposed to drop down at some predetermined time. I have no idea what the sign said because nothing ever happened. I think the guys who put up that sign must have organized the demonstration. :)
The driver's ed car thru the cafeteria window. RL, right? This is one of those stories that seems to get a little more added to it with each retelling. Truthfully I can just barely remember it happening, but you have to admit, it's the stuff of which legends are made. :)
The senior trip to Six Flags. What a waste. When you consider that we went and came back the same day, and had to drive all the way to Atlanta, that left us with what... 30 minutes to actually do something while we were there?? Okay, so I'm being a little facetious, but when you think of it 30 odd years later and all you remember is the bus ride, well, it couldn't have been all that great.
The annual trip to the fair. To me this was more fun than the senior trip. At least we were there long enough to do something. :) I also remember once trying to impress someone I was with. We got on one of those spinning rides that rotated like a ferris wheel while the caged seat would also spin upside down. Well I impressed her alright. I didn't take the pencils out of my pocket and as we went head over heels the pencils went bouncing all over the inside of the cage. I'm lucky I didn't put her eye out.
The fight. I'm not going to mention both names because one guy cheated, or at least in my mind he did. Larry Lankford got into a shouting match once with this particular guy. If any of you remember Larry, you'll recall he was usually pretty mellow, so it would really take something to antagonize him. At any rate the two of them agreed to a fight after school and when Larry got outside this guy came up with a blank pistol from somewhere and before anyone knew what was happening he put it right up to Larry's eyes and pulled the trigger. Needless to say it blinded Larry and as he's trying to get the powder out of his eyes, the creep starts punching him. The rest of us broke it up at that point. Some guys are natural born a-holes.
Disco-teen! Can you dance? Can you do it on TV? I missed it. I probably wouldn't have danced anyway, but it was my one shot in life to be on TV. :) I'm sure TVland is all the better for me not getting it. :)
Patriotic Youth Day. I can't remember all of it except there were things going on all over the school. People were singing in the auditorium, racing down at the football track, arts and crafts in a lot of the classrooms, all kinds of things. Other schools even showed up. It was a fun time
But, the little memories are probably our favorite. I know they are mine. We all have memories that we recall more than any other. They probably wouldn't make any difference to anybody else, even the others who were involved, but we remember them. It might be a day in study hall when you sat and chatted with someone you didn't really know that much about but you both opened up a little and suddenly you had a new friend. Or a smile from a certain someone at just the right time. Or someone stopping you in the hall and talking with you when you could have sworn that person didn't even know you existed. Yep, sometimes the little ones are the best ones.
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