We just returned from our fifty year high school reunion. It was titled 50 +1 because our actual fifty year mark from high school graduation occurred in 2021. Due to the pandemic, our gathering was pushed back one year to assure the best time possible could be had by all. High school had such an impact on my life that I like to post this little ditty each October and reminisce about that joyful time.
Fall; October; football; high school; Homecoming – do you remember your first high school sweetheart? High school is a very special and memorable time for teenagers; it certainly was for me. And I always enjoyed the autumn season when I was in high school – Homecoming; Halloween; dating; parties (most chaperoned, some not).
Fifty two years ago, this very time of the year, I asked the prettiest girl in my high school out on a first date. I guess it went well enough because here we are fifty two years later, and I’m still awe-struck by the glow of her beauty.
Dedicated to… a
crisp night in October; with a slight breeze blowing through bare trees –
waiting for the coming winter. Close
your eyes. Can you smell remnants of autumn
leaves burning?
To winning the homecoming football
game. To being carefree. To a Saturday
night party at the teenager’s house whose parents are away. Can you hear the kids having fun in the
kitchen; the basement; and the backyard, all to the beat of the Rolling
Stones?
To couches, blue jeans and
sweaters. To the floor lamp reflecting
on her blond hair making it shimmer with silvery streaks of light. To the nervous small talk of a teenage boy in
the presence of a varsity cheerleader. To
the patience of the teenage girl sitting on the couch with the captain of the
varsity basketball team. Can you
remember when you could actually hear your heart throbbing?
To throw pillows, which come in
handy when the small talk runs out – what else can a young boy do? And to playful pillow fights; which lead to
gentle wrestling and ultimately to that first kiss. Remember how delicate she
felt in your arms – the hint of her perfume – the taste of her lips?
To first dates – dinner and a
movie. To the movie Catch 22 and the Oriental Theatre in downtown Chicago. To dating the prettiest girl in your high
school; to falling in love; to asking her father’s permission for her hand in
marriage. Were you ever so nervous?
To the tears welling up in my
eyes even as I write this short memoire.
To all those emotions; all the happiness; all those hopes and all those
dreams; some fulfilled, some yet to be; and all that I can remember today as if
it just happened yesterday – that I will remember everyday, as long as I live. How can someone be so lucky?
To 1970 - and that Saturday
night in October in Elmhurst where I kissed Debbie for the very first
time. And to the friend’s house whose
parents were out – to their couch, their floor lamp, to their throw pillows;
and to the Rolling Stones music. Can you
imagine being so young, so infatuated, and so in love?
I still am.
GAP
When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or…
we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.
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