Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I Am A Viking

This year is the 175th anniversary of the school district I attended in Chicago. My Sister was looking for class pics and any memorabilia to use in the celebration. I knew I had my 8th grade yearbook from our middle school. When I pulled it out I was reminded of a blog post from last year when I found my old diary. I sat and laughed when I read the diary and felt like I was having a talk with my young self. This was just as much fun, but with pictures. Where is that dorky kid? Oh yeah, she's now a dorky 57yr. old.
Class of 1967...Oh my. When I looked at my lovely, dorky self at 13 all the bad memories of why my hair looked so bad came back. I had long hair most of my young life. Don't ask me why I thought it should be short. On a whim I had it cut. I hated it. Unfortunately it hadn't grown out by the time our class pictures were taken...Fortunately, it doesn't look as bad as the girl next to me... Unfortunately, it looks very similar to my hair today...
Ahhh, the volleyball team! I loved, and still do like, volleyball, and it was fun to be on the team. Besides, my best friend was on the team too...here we are, middle row, me...second from the left...her...first. Fun times...sure wish I could move as quick as I could then!
Did you have a favorite teacher growing up? I was on the newspaper staff. I wrote a column every week. My blogging beginnings! Mr. Reno was my favorite teacher. He was funny and nice, and cute and he believed I could write. My Sister did not like him but she'll have to explain that herself. When I saw his picture I had to look twice...he looks just like Dr. Frazee, an anesthesiologist at our hospital who also is funny,nice and cute and one of my fav Docs! Now that is a twilight zone moment! By the way, it's the dark haired man on the end, not the blond guy at the left of the pic.
Finally, in the middle of the yearbook there was the "class prophecy" page. I don't know who wrote them, but it made me laugh until I spotted the named "Calvin Bunge". I remember Calvin as the kid who was always in trouble, always struggling in school. A teacher's nightmare. I wonder if Calvin had been born in this day and age if medication would have been prescribed to help him focus? Would an IEP be put in place so special programs would be implemented to help him succeed? The word "genius" was placed by his name as a joke I'm sure. All I do know is he lived in my neighborhood, struggled through school and life and after high school he died when his van went over a bridge. Not so funny now. As I continued to read the predictions I'm pretty confident that Danette didn't go to jail, and Ken was not a go-go dancer. However, I actually turned out as expected and predicted. You'll have to guess what that was. I can sit back and be thankful that even at 13 it was my fate.

15 comments:

Donna said...

Ok, Greek goddess....I think we were twins in childhood!!

Kim said...

LOL Donna stole my guess - Greek Godess!!

Stacy said...

I was thinking Viking had to do with the Arctic weather...Greek Goddess yep I'd have to agree, one of the ornery ones too.

Thanks for the smiles.

acorn hollow said...

oh it has to be greek goddess! so funny to walk down memory lane.
great pictures.
cathy

Rosaria Williams said...

So much fun looking back at those albums.We all changed, and we all surprised ourselves, didn't we?

Rick Watson said...

Yaya,
If I was 13, I'd think you were hot! :)
This entry was too funny, except for the kid that had issues and died in the accident.
I do the alumni website for my high school and I've scanned every yearbook from 1939 all the way to 2009. I'll do 2010 as soon as the school gives me the go ahead.
It is really interesting looking through the yearbooks. I bet if you looked at the kids here in 1967, they would resemble what you looked like then.
www.dorahighschool.com
Rick

Hilary said...

What a fun trip down your memory lane. I'm going to have to find my yearbook now.. except I haven't a clue where to start looking. Fun stuff.. thanks for sharing.

CHERI said...

I love looking back at my old high school and college scrapbooks and other memorabilia! It is sad though to see the fellow classmates who have passed on. My high school had a reunion last year for everyone who had ever attended. I posted about it. We had the most fun. It was great to see some people I had not seen since high school in 1967!!!

Darlene said...

Well, I do know you are the Greek Goddess, because you did tell me your name. Isn't it such fun to look back in our old year books and see us as we were and remember all the good and fun things we used to do? I do feel sorry for the one they called "genius" because I went through school with a couple of kids like that and if they had only had the advantages our "slow" children have today,I am sure they would have turned out differently. It would be interesting now to find out what their lives were like.

Thanks for being my blogging friend.

Susan Anderson said...

I think you looked like the Greek Goddess, too.

=)

karen said...

Reading through old yearbooks, for me, is always bittersweet. I love to remember those silly times and the good friends that went with them, but it's always sad to remember that some of them aren't with us anymore, and others never reached their bright promise for one reason or another. I know - I'm such a downer! Reunions kind of depress me in the same way - I think I prefer to remember most people forever young! But you - you Greek Goddess you - are one of the few I think I would like to have followed throughout life.

Kent and Leisy said...

you are such a greek godess!

Midge said...

Hey, it is not hard living behind your reputation...if it wasn't George R. it was Mr. Remno...oddly my kids had him to...now that is scary...by the way the school is 175yrs old and we shared at least 40 years of that history. Gratefully the last not the first 40...Love ya

Deb Shucka said...

What a wonderful stroll down memory lane - poignant and bittersweet.

I like your new blog look - a lot.

Jennifer Fabulous said...

Awww I love looking through old yearbooks. :P It sounds like you had a great childhood. I can't believe your school district is so old!! I attended school districts (14 of them to be exact...my dad's job kept transfering) and I think the oldest was established in 1940.