Junior Year Memories

As I have gotten older and current events are crazy, my mind seeks relief and takes me to calmer times of the past. High school memories often come back when Sam Houston classmates post on Facebook, with comments sparking recollections. Rarely does the memory have a connection to the comment, but it starts the process.

I loaned my 1959 yearbook to my sister Joyce years ago and did not get it back before she passed away. I have Eva’s copy, but I wanted to read the comments written in my copy. I compared our class pictures from the tenth and eleventh grades. I was a little surprised at how much had changed in one year. Mickey Gilley had a song that says, “the girls all get prettier at closing time.” I noticed the girls got prettier in the junior year. I started reading some of the comments in the junior yearbook.

My memories of that year include the usual activities of attending football and basketball games, school dances, and certain classes; however, not much else stands out. I had dated a lot that year, but I never had a “going steady” relationship until my senior year. I know I went to the Stardust Ball that year, but without pictures, I do not remember who I went with. I would not be surprised to learn that it is mutual.

One of the comments in my yearbook reminded me of a play we performed in English that year. I never had any singing ability and was not comfortable with performing or play acting. Now, this play was only in the classroom, not for the whole school, but I would have chosen the lighting. I was assigned the role of George in the production of “Our Town,” with Judy Downey portraying Emily. It is about a small town, and part of it is George and Emily getting married. There is also a flashback to their eleventh grade. By the time we had completed all the practice and performed the play, I was enjoying it more than I expected.

It was Judy’s comments about enjoying playing in Our Town with me that reminded me of that time. Reading other comments brought back other memories of girls that I dated and many good feelings regarding those years.

By the eleventh grade, you begin to think about what you will do when you graduate from high school. In 1960, it was a much smaller percentage that chose to go to college, and those who did were many times the first in their family to attend college, at least from our area. Many students would get married soon after graduation, some would attend business or trade schools, and many would pursue various careers through higher education. Some guys planned to join the military.

Plans often changed by the end of the senior year.  As the years quickly flew by, our lives would experience events portrayed in the play Our Town. The mind of a seventeen-year-old believes it is an adult and sees the world as it is; however, life will prove to you how little you understand. Perhaps that is why we enjoy revisiting that period in our lives.

Santo & Johnny – Sleepwalk