Seventh Grade-Junior High (the BIG-time!)
-I had a crush on Jeff Crevelt-the new guy at school (even 8th grade girls liked him!). I discovered a talent of flirting to get the guys I was interested in to be interested in me. So, was there any doubt that he was my date to the junior-high dance? But, my heart was broken when he danced half of the dances with the upperclass girls. Upperclass in age, but also in socio-economic status. I learned a great deal at that dance. He was no gentleman. He met me at the dance, rather than coming to my home. I left the dance without him, because he was enticed away from me to be with someone he deemed better than me. I know now, it was HIS loss! :-)
-This was my first experience in Home Economics. I excelled, but my grades didn't reflect it. Why? Because I helped other girls with their projects, and didn't complete some of mine. This was another life lesson. Not to let others use me for their own gain, without taking care of my own obligations first.
-Dana Hope came onto the scene this year (if my memory serves me correctly). She became my best friend for the next 2 or 3 years. She was (is) brilliant, talented, humorous, insightful and offered me an unconditional love type of friendship. She liked me for ME, not what I could offer her! I loved her zeal for life and her life experience (she had so many neat stories about Virginia (or was it West Virginia?). She turned me on to sound track by Neil Diamond for the movie _Jonathan Livingston Seagull_ and other musical types. She took me to my first R-rated movie with her family, _A Star Is Born_.Her older brother, Markm, made me feel like I had value-he later went on to become a Green Beret. Their entire family gave me such a gift, the gift of self-respect, if that makes sense. I'm sorry I haven't kept up with Dana, and would love to hear from her again.
-I was told about a competition to try out for junior high band majorette (small band meant there was only one drum major/majorette/twirler-not different kids for each role). On a whim, I grabbed my baton, which had not been twirled in years, and entered the audition. The entire band expected an 8th grader to be selected, but to everyone's surprise (including me), Mr. Christy, his wife, and the high school majorette, chose me. ME! Woo Hoo! I was on my way to a transformation. Think Tulah from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." This butterfly was about to leave the chrysalis (give me a few more years for the transformation to be complete).
-Because everyone wanted an 8th grade girl to be selected, I was bullied for winning. Even older family members dropped by our campus to put some pressure on me, but I didn't budge. I'm sure I went home and cried into my pillow, though. Even Russ remembers the animosity everyone had towards me for being the new majorette. Not a great way to start out, but I pressed onward and forward. Just as I had new skills and routines to learn, I had a new life to create.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I'm really enjoying your Time Machine posts. I had forgotten all about Jeff Crevelt! Now that you mention him, I don't know if it is his name playing tricks with me or if it is more, but the association I had when I saw his name in your post was the word "creep".
About Dana, yes, she was all that and more. You surely knew I had a crush on her, and didn't know how to react when she decided she was going to practice kissing with me! I was just one year younger, but I think you two were a lot taller than me, because I hadn't had my growth spurt yet.
One day she was about to be picked up by her mom at our house, and I was so upset by her teasing me or something that I hid something of hers (in my closet) so she would have to apologize or something, LOL. Oh, and I do remember: the Hopes were definitely from Virginia. Roanoke, to be exact. (It's sad how many of my brain cells are still being used up by days-gone-by useless trivia...)
Mark was cool, maybe the coolest thing to hit Louisiana in years, LOL. I remember when our family visited his, and his dad said I could have his 10-speed bike. Can't remember the reason now; maybe he had a new one, or had "graduated" to a motorcycle, likely. Anyway, it was just like his dad to do stuff like that. The whole family was neat, including the mom, Marilyn.
I remember you were given a hard time for being a majorette. There were some tough, mean girls in the year ahead of yours. I think a few of them got in a cat fight at one of the Legion dances a few years later.
I don't know if I told you this but probably the main reason I didn't join band was because you were already in it and I didn't want to be compared to you or be in the same group. (Can't remember which reason it was. Maybe some of both?) It was 5th grade, and I was already tired of hearing from my new teacher at the beginning of every school year, "Are you Kathy's brother?" Of course, I regret not joining band now, and I am happy Taishi has learned so much about music through his piano lessons.
Post a Comment