Junior
Fall of ’54, as I begin my Junior year the countdown has already begun for that magic day when I will get behind the wheel of a car and terrorize the driving public. As I am younger than most of my classmates, they already have or are getting their driver’s license before me. Jealousy increases as my best friend, Jordan Kilgour, is allowed to drive the family car, a late model Cadillac sedan. Every boy, or course wants his own car so when Jordan and I spy an old ’35 Plymouth coupe that hasn’t run for years outside a home we knock on the door and offer to take it off the owner’s hands. The owner counter-offers a price of $25 and Jordan is now the proud owner of his very own car. Engines in those days were not very complicated and for the price of a rebuilt carburetor we created a lean mean driving machine!
Meanwhile, the school day begins with the students reporting to their “homerooms”, a gathering spot for taking the roll and reciting our pledges to God and country. School administrators are not so subtle when they divide the students in each grade by their supposed academic prowess into homeroom groups labeled by letter. 11 “A” were the brains, 11“B” next, and on until all were accounted for. A bell rang and the homeroom captives were released to try to find their first class. After a few minutes, the halls were off-limits to stragglers and you were subject to punitive action if you were caught without a “hall pass”, usually issued for potty emergencies or trips to the principal’s office.
The girls are all so cute with “poodle” skirts and “bobby sox.” The boys debate about which of them has “enhanced” their bosom. Some of the wise guys claim to “know” about certain ones thru first “hand” knowledge. The boys may be divided into five groups and identified by their footwear. The “brains” with their penny loafers; the “squares” with saddle oxfords; the “jocks” with tennis shoes; the “tough guys” with engineer boots; and the “cool dudes” or “drapes” with blue suede shoes.
This was the year that I had my only class where I got a failing grade, geometry. It wasn’t that I couldn’t find the right angle, but the teacher had a novel idea about “homework” (which I refused to do). You were supposed to maintain a “notebook” and add to it each night’s assignment and then turn the book in at the end of the year. Need I say more? I had no note book. Big “F” for me.
Brown V Board of Education is brought home to Milford. I remember one black boy joining our class. There were no protests, cross-burnings, or any other untoward acts. It was a non-event. He came to school, took a seat, and was miserable like the rest of us.
My hard work delivering the “Sunpaper” and summer job at the Federal Tin Co. is finally paying off. I have amassed the tidy sum of just over $50 when I spot the car of my dreams on the Seymour Chevrolet Used Car lot, a 1941 Packard 2 door sedan. They are asking $75 for it. My big brother, God bless him, knows the pain of lusting for a car and donates the last $25 so that my dream comes true. I still have a few months before I can drive on the street, so our back yard becomes a holy mess from me going back and forth about 20 feet in each direction.
Meanwhile, the school day begins with the students reporting to their “homerooms”, a gathering spot for taking the roll and reciting our pledges to God and country. School administrators are not so subtle when they divide the students in each grade by their supposed academic prowess into homeroom groups labeled by letter. 11 “A” were the brains, 11“B” next, and on until all were accounted for. A bell rang and the homeroom captives were released to try to find their first class. After a few minutes, the halls were off-limits to stragglers and you were subject to punitive action if you were caught without a “hall pass”, usually issued for potty emergencies or trips to the principal’s office.
The girls are all so cute with “poodle” skirts and “bobby sox.” The boys debate about which of them has “enhanced” their bosom. Some of the wise guys claim to “know” about certain ones thru first “hand” knowledge. The boys may be divided into five groups and identified by their footwear. The “brains” with their penny loafers; the “squares” with saddle oxfords; the “jocks” with tennis shoes; the “tough guys” with engineer boots; and the “cool dudes” or “drapes” with blue suede shoes.
This was the year that I had my only class where I got a failing grade, geometry. It wasn’t that I couldn’t find the right angle, but the teacher had a novel idea about “homework” (which I refused to do). You were supposed to maintain a “notebook” and add to it each night’s assignment and then turn the book in at the end of the year. Need I say more? I had no note book. Big “F” for me.
Brown V Board of Education is brought home to Milford. I remember one black boy joining our class. There were no protests, cross-burnings, or any other untoward acts. It was a non-event. He came to school, took a seat, and was miserable like the rest of us.
My hard work delivering the “Sunpaper” and summer job at the Federal Tin Co. is finally paying off. I have amassed the tidy sum of just over $50 when I spot the car of my dreams on the Seymour Chevrolet Used Car lot, a 1941 Packard 2 door sedan. They are asking $75 for it. My big brother, God bless him, knows the pain of lusting for a car and donates the last $25 so that my dream comes true. I still have a few months before I can drive on the street, so our back yard becomes a holy mess from me going back and forth about 20 feet in each direction.
posted by revsnodgrass | 8:40 PM
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