When I was sixteen, I saved up my babysitting money and went downtown to Cottage Grove Avenue in Des Moines, where there was a head shop filled with incense, hanging beads, roach clips, black light posters and tie dye. Although I wasn’t a pothead (I didn’t smoke cigarettes either), I enjoyed the ambience of the… Continue reading Pennies from Heaven
Category: high school
A Lasting Love
Maurice was a sophomore at Riordan Catholic High School for boys in San Francisco. He played tenor sax in the marching band. His buddy Dave played trumpet and was dating a girl named Sheila from Mercy Catholic High School for girls. He suggested that Maurice date one of her six sisters, Colleen. The foursome went… Continue reading A Lasting Love
Prom with an Older Woman
Alan was a sophomore when he got asked to junior prom by an older girl. He rented a tux from his date’s father, Mr. Cohen, who owned the local men’s shop in Monterey. Alan’s dad had to play chauffeur in his 1962 Chevy Bel Air, since Alan didn’t have his driver’s license yet. When they… Continue reading Prom with an Older Woman
Homecoming Hopes
Marci was voted to be on Homecoming Court by her senior class. With 107 girls, she was one of only five who made it. Marci was walking on clouds until she realized she had no date. No steady boyfriend. She couldn’t go alone. What was she going to do? Could she refuse? The football team… Continue reading Homecoming Hopes
Peace Corps Fail
It was in the spring of my first year of teaching when the call came. I was at Greenwood Elementary in Greenwood, Nebraska. I had applied to the Peace Corps the year before. They had just seen my application. They wanted to fly me to Chicago for an interview that weekend. They gave me 24… Continue reading Peace Corps Fail
Two Dates, Two Dolls
He was tall and lanky. She was short with a great smile. They were the leads in the high school play at Des Moines Tech in 1948. They flirted on and off stage. They even had a kissing scene. Joanne knew Bill was the one. Bill asked her out. On their first date, he showed… Continue reading Two Dates, Two Dolls
Drive-in Movie Disaster
Linda was going into high school in the fall. She was doing summer stock at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa. The play was Bye Bye Birdie, and she was playing the part of a show girl. Jeff, one of the good-looking stage hands, drove a blue ’66 Cadillac convertible with a white top. Thinking… Continue reading Drive-in Movie Disaster
Prom Be Gone
It was supposed to be junior prom at Stoughton High, but it got cancelled (thirteen years before the movie Footloose). Pat wasn’t going steady with anyone, so she wasn’t too upset. At the last minute the school arranged a dance in the high school gym, but with no decorations, no court (no prom queen), and… Continue reading Prom Be Gone
To Smoke or Not to Smoke
My friend Kelly hasn’t smoked a cigarette for 75 days. After thirty-seven years of the puffing habit, she is proud of herself. Chantix helped. Wanting to quit helped more. Wanting better health and to be a good role model for her kids helped the most. Kelly craves a cigarette after finishing a meal. It’s a… Continue reading To Smoke or Not to Smoke
What are your Intentions?
David Rivers was a sophomore at Pinole High School when he invited his fellow classmate, Violet, to his school dance. She said yes, and he told her he’d pick her up at 7:00. When David got to Violet’s house, she wasn’t ready. Violet’s father led David to the question couch, where he grilled him for… Continue reading What are your Intentions?
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 