Jane Had A Plan For The New Year…..

We didn’t do much “looking back” in high school. It didn’t matter what time of the year it was. Oh, we were very aware of the grown-up custom of “highlighting the milestones” as the current year faded into the history books. Walter Cronkite wouldn’t let us forget! He came on channel 3 out of Memphis at year’s end to stare elegantly at each one of us and proclaim “that’s the way it was for 1964”…..

We didn’t yet understand the significance of Viet Nam. It was kinda hard to relate to a much older president who only got the job because somebody got shot. We definitely weren’t glued to the Warren Commission Report. And the World Fair was held in New York City……might as well been on the moon for all the good it did us!

If Walter had reported on the Bobby Brewer—Nola Purcell break-up, we could have surely related just a bit. And if he’d remembered that big fracas up at the Skyway Grill we’d at least tuned in to see if they caught on film Billie Ruth biting that deputy sheriff’s ear. The explosion in the chemistry lab would have been interesting to see again. I missed most of it live as I had dived under the sink when I saw the blue flame shoot out of Hollis Mayo’s Bunsen burner.

Wasn’t none of that stuff noteworthy enough to get a second glance. 

We did gather up in the back corner booth at Frank’s Dairy Bar the first Friday in 1965. But nobody was peering over their shoulder.

“When do you think the new James Bond movie will get to McKenzie?” Buddy was chewing on a French fry and figuring on just how long it would take Mr. Clericuzio to procure “Goldfinger” for the Park Theatre. 

“I’m more interested in getting the Beatles to do a show close to us.” Billie Ruth was enthralled, as were most of us, by the hottest new singing group from England.

“I don’t reckon, Billie, they’re going to play any time soon up at the Skyway.”
      There were some hoots and laughter. But it wasn’t too loud. You never could tell what might set Billie Ruth off.

“Pam, are you going to throw another January birthday party like last year?”

“I tell you what, I’m not going back out to Carroll Lake! I near ’bout froze to death!” Brenda had a point. Our Dr. Peppers iced over before we could get them open. And our chief boy scouts couldn’t get the fire started. We laughed and shivered through Pam’s 17th birthday bash. 

“Pam, you could rent the American Legion Hall.” Ricky always thought big.

“You guys let me worry about that!” Pam could be a little “horsey” her own self. It was not widely known, but she was the one that actually started that brawl up at the Skyway. “Bobby, you and Kes have January birthday. Why don’t ya’ll have the party this year?” 

1. We mulled over the possibilities. We definitely would get together somewhere. Make all the big plans……and then do very little! But we would do it together! And that mattered.       

“We’ve only got a few more months of school, we’ve got to have some fun.”

Quiet overtook us. That rarely happened! Each of us pondered a moment on the prospects of “about to be” out of high school.

“Maybe,” the reflective period lasted two whole seconds “we could blow up another building before the term ends.”

Some real laughter ensued.

“Or maybe we could talk Miss Polly into forgoing that gosh awful Macbeth memorization.”

“I’ll say! I’m not ever going to understand that ‘boil and boil, toil and trouble’ while some guy dressed in leotards ‘struts and frets his hour upon the stage’”.

There were some moans and winces. And nods in agreement. I don’t think John quoted it just right. But he made his point.

“We’re idiots if we think that stuff is going to help us down the road!”

“It’s like diagramming sentences,” I could tell Squeaky had put some real thought into this, “How many folks do you think are going to rush up to us in the next 30 years and grab us by the throat and demand that we diagram a sentence!”

“That ain’t no worse than conjugating Latin verbs.”

“Well, I’m not so sure about that, some of us might go to Rome one day.”

It took a minute for that to sink in.

“What do we need to do to really get ready for the rest of our lives?” Emily was dead serious.

You talk about silence!

We weren’t dummies. We couldn’t spend the rest of our days sitting in the back booth at Frank’s. There has got to be more to life than school, summer vacation, dating, scarfing down French fries and catching a movie every week-end at the Park Theatre. We didn’t build our lives around Walter Cronkite, yet we knew he was right. There was a big world out there. We needed to affix ourselves squarely to it. We needed to make a contribution…..or at least, not get swallowed up by it. 

For most of us it was exciting, frightening and mind boggling. But we would worry about it after graduation. Life, we figured, kinda happens.

“Do you think Bobby is ready to date again?” I wasn’t sure if Jane was making a comment….or hoping!

We plowed into 1965 like it was going to be our best year ever. We were always looking ahead. Onward. Upward. Let the good times roll.

What we so urgently looked forward to in 1965 we now look so fondly back on and marvel at our youth, our energy, our optimism. And we were right! Life is not about memorizing Macbeth or diagramming sentences or blowing up chemistry labs…. It’s about having the knowledge to understand each one.

And using it.

Respectfully,

Kes