Making People Laugh
September 23, 2006
My old High School
It might be a little hard to believe, but I
graduated high school 20 years ago. I was 17 years old and it
was June of 1986. My high school reunion is October 14th (2
days before my 38th birthday!) and I, sadly, won't be able to make
it. It would just be too difficult to fly literally 1/2 way
around the world for just a few days and then all the way back.
Man-o-man,
is this a time to look back and reflect on life thus far or what!
I was such a doofus in high school. I wonder if everyone
secretly thinks that way and are afraid to admit it. I was a
horrible student and had trouble concentrating on things that
weren't interesting to me. My family
was quite poor compared to everyone else and I was always feverously
jealous of almost everyone there. To me, it seemed like
everyone had nicer clothes, cars, houses, everything. "Members
Only" jackets were the hip style then. I can't even remember
if I ever did get one. If I did, I'm sure it was 2 or 3 years
too late. That stuff was soooo important to me at that age.
Like most people, I dreamed of fitting in with the cool kids but
knew it would never happen. I was never invited to any cool
parties, or go to dances or the prom, or heck...even go out on a
date! It wasn't until I joined the US Navy in July of 1986 and
worked in Washington, DC until I had met a girl that would actually
talk back to me. Speaking of which....
**time travel music plays in the distance**
February 9th, 1987 - 11:30pm: (I have
a good memory for this sort of thing) This day was the first
time I ever held a girl's hand. I was a big dork then and I'm
sure I still am. I had barely turned 18 and lied to her for
some stupid reason that I had many "experiences." I just
wanted to sound and look cool I'm sure. Maybe I was wearing my
out of style K-Mart version of a Member's Only jacket. It was
also the same night as my first kiss. That night ended with "you
know what" that eventually turned into a short lived marriage and a
baby some months later. I was a sweet naive Southern boy and I
thought it was the proper thing to do. Once you...you
know...with a girl, you're supposed to marry her right? We
were married on April 3rd. A few weeks later she was sick and
we went to the hospital. Yep...she was that kinda sick.
We had a son December 7th of the same year.
I remember his birth like it was yesterday.
His hand was next to his head as he came out and he "reached" out
towards the world. I immediately counted his toes and fingers
to make sure my retarded genes didn't screw anything up. I
think former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev landed in USA that
same day and ended up signing the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear
Forces) Treaty the next. I'm digressing again! We (my
wife and I, not Regan and Gorbachev) were way too young to get married, but my son is the
most amazing thing, so that part of my life turned out
just fine. So what did you do that day? Me...first hand
held...first kiss...and first "you know." You know what they say, "If you are going to do
something right, you mind as well do it right the first time!"
And how...
**time travel music fades in the
distance**
The most fun I had outside of high school, was
visiting the Cupp boys' house. They were 3 brothers around my
age - Shaun, Greg, and Matt. Shaun was the older smart one who
worked out a lot and was in NJROTC (Naval Junior Reserve Office
Training Corps). Greg was the good looking one who was in my
grade. Matt was the younger one who also joined NJROTC. Their
father (Mr. Larry Cupp) was in charge of the NJROTC unit at school that I joined in
my freshman year. I remember thinking they must be the richest
family in the world! They had a two-story house with a pool
and a trampoline. If that wasn't living the high life...I
didn't know what was.
I miss those ole Cupp boys and would love to go to
the reunion this year, but I can't. If you're an old classmate of mine and
you happen to be reading this...drop me a line. ESPECIALLY if
you are June Powers....GOD I had such a big crush on her!
There was a questionnaire that the reunion service
sent around. One of the sections said to list your "Greatest
Accomplishment." I put:
Making people laugh.
What I learned
today about Korea: 1)
I just realized that the girl I had a
crush on was named June. That was my mother's name.
Freud was right!.
