Well now, since I started this exercise in recall, it seems only proper that I attempt to start it out. On Feb.7th, 2000, I got an email from Linda (Glossenger), and she says; "You may not remember me, but I think you were in music appreciation class. After class, several protective young men would walk me to the next class. Were you one of them"? Linda, not only do I remember you....I remember the daily event like yesterday ; the end-of-class bell ringing, running my fingers thru my already receding hair line, checking to make sure my "ducktail" was in place; looking down at my "wannabe" biceps, at the same time making sure the rolls in my white tee shirt sleeves will satisfy the eyes of peers; perhaps most importantly checking for the thinest "tuck rolls" ever produced on a pair of Levi's; and lastly, before I face potential intruders, I walk out of that music appreciation classroom supported by white socks and "Keds". Do I remember?....I think I remember. Actually, I'm sure I remember. Better yet, I'm positive I remember. Yes, that was me Linda (gulp,gulp!). Aaaah and you Linda; dressed in that "poodle skirt", cashmire sweater, bobby socks, and those "penny loafer" shoes. How could I have not risen to the occasion. To win your heart and have you remember to this day my hero bravado, you have added five years to my life !
Ya know, on second thought, I'm not really sure that was me ! But I'll take it........thanks Linda.
eastwood'57
Memories from Vic Chaney'58-
(1) My best buddy Al Rawitch and I waited weeks and weeks to get our Birmingham Letterman sweaters. When we finally went to pick them up we discovered the sweater company had knitted them so that they hung down to our ankles. This was the way the kids in the inner-city wore them. So we had to wait weeks and weeks more until they were back to "Valley" length. I still have mine, and it's in great shape and miraculously still fits!
(2.) I remember when the Letterman Club put on a cowboy sketch at a theme dance and just about everyone in the skit was suppose to get shot and fall in a number of dramatic positions. I decided to do a flip over the railing that led from the stage to the floor of the auditorium. After several rehearsals, the show went on and right on cue I was shot and did a fabulously elaborate somersault over the rail----and landed right on my head to a thunderous applause which I failed to hear because I was semi-conscious.
(3.) I remember exploding off my mark in a relay leg and whipping around the first curve well ahead of the other runners and thinking what a hero I was going to be that day, then discovering that the baton was gone. I had knocked it out of my hand when my arm came down and my knee shot it away like a rocket. And I distinctly remember the look on the faces in the crowd when they saw me running in the opposite direction to retrieve the baton.
(4.)Then there was the day a bunch of guys threw a rather scrawny kid out of the boys locker room naked into a girls volleyball game. As an afterthought, somebody threw a towel out after him, and the kid did the funniest thing I ever saw-----he draped the towel over his head and face and walked leisurely back into the locker room.
(5.)And then there was the talent show where Nancy Becker and Pat Dooley sang "Hard Hearted Hannah" sensuously in a terrific duet that I remember fondly to this day.
Submitted by: Ev Lipson
Let's reminisce a while....And go back........
Before the Internet or the Mac,
Before semi automatics and crack,
Before chronic and indo,
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo.
Way back..............
I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek at dusk.
Sittin' on the porch,
Hot bread and butter.
The ice cream man,
Eatin' a 'super dooper' sandwich',
Red light, Green light.
Chocolate milk,
Lunch tickets,
Penny candy in a brown paper bag.
Hopscotch, butterscotch, doubledutch.
Jacks, kickball, dodgeball, y'all!
Mother May I?
Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds,
Jolly Ranchers, blowpops, Mary Janes,
Grape and Watermelon Now-Laters (what about "Alexander the Grape," Lemonheads")
Running through the sprinkler (I can't get wet! All right, well don't get my hair....)
The smell of the sun and lickin' salty lips.......
Wait........
Watchin' Saturday morning cartoons,
Fat Albert, Road Runner, He-Man, The Three Stooges, and Bugs,
Catchin' lightening bugs in a jar,
Playin' sling shot.
When around the corner seemed far away,
And going downtown seemed like going somewhere.
Bedtime,
Climbing trees,
A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers,
Cops and Robbers,
Cowboys and Indians,
Sittin on the curb,
Jumpin' down the steps,
Jumpin' on the bed.
Pillow fights
Being tickled to death
Runnin till you were out of breath
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
Being tired from playin'......Remember that?
I ain't finished just yet....
Crowding around in a circle around the 'after school fight', then running when the teacher came.
Eating Kool-aid powder with sugar
Didn't that feel good....just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!
Remember when....
When there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys (Keds & PF Flyers),
and the only time you wore them at school, was for "gym."
When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up.
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
When nobody owned a purebred dog.
When a quarter was a decent allowance, and another quarter a huge bonus.
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then.
When your mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
When all your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done, everday.
When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, for free, every time. And, you didn't pay for air. And, you got trading stamps to boot!
When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to carry groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real resturant with your parents.
When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed....and did!
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat!