This week's topic was suppose to
be about the Sadie Hawkins dance. Humm. I don't remember one. I
know that we had them at school but..I never went to one. I must have
been too much of a chicken to ask any one. So I guess I talk about
dances and the events of Jr High School, in general.
Do you remember dances in Jr High? I
remember them in Romeo. They were on Friday and if I wanted to go, I
had to stay after school because there
would be no way for me to get back to town if I rode the bus home. And if I stayed after school it was always at Janie Dembowski's house. It
was so much fun being at Janie's house. They had a big family too so
I felt right at home. She had more older siblings than I had. She
was one of the youngest of the kids. Where as in my family, I was
smack dab in the middle of the pack! Her Mom was a great cook and
she always had enough food for everyone! She was full of love with lots of hugs and
made you feel like you belonged.
Janie happened to live directly across
the street from the Jr High School so it was very convenient. Her
father owned the Ford dealership in Romeo. They were fairly close to
downtown so we could walk to Main Street. It was quite a thrill for a
country bumpkin like me to be able to walk to town. To a place where
you can actually buy something! We were used to walking all over the
place but there was never an actually business which you could arrive
at! We had beaches, woods, ponds, creeks, swamps, farms, a gravel
pit, a nature preserve and long dirt roads. She had a dime store, a drug store, a shoe
store, a grocery store and all the other shops in town. I remember
there was a small shop next to the drug store which I think sold
trinkets, collectables and maybe clocks...but they also had candy.
It became one of our favorite places to visit. They sold candy
sticks in a wide assortment of flavors. I tried most of them and
decided that Chocolate Mint was my favorite! I think it was this
store that I also bought the dark cherry candy drops which I loved. (
It's funny how these memories start to flood your mind when you start
to write.) We always had time after school to head to main street
for a piece or two of candy.
I have vague memories of getting ready
in Janie's room for the dance, putting on new makeup and doing out
hair. I must have worn my dress to school or brought it in a bag, I
don't remember. At the appointed time, we walked crossed the street
and entered the school. Once there, all the kids assembled in the
gym. There were chairs all around the out side walls of the gym,
kids mingled and the music played. No one would dance for quite a
while as we "warmed up"... Girls sitting with girl friends, boys
sitting with their friends too. All engaged in nervous chatter not quite
knowing what they should be doing next. Eventually a brave group or two of girls would
get on the dance floor. It was all a matter of “breaking the ice”
and getting the dancing started. The boys would eventually warm up
and most would dance. It was obvious that some of the boys really
liked to dance while others merely pretended to and some never left
their chairs. By the end of the evening some of the boys were brave
enough to ask a girl to dance. As long as the music had a good dance
beat to it, the floor got pretty full. When they played a slow song
the dance floor emptied much like the drain in a bathtub! You could
almost hear the sucking sound as the kids raced for the chairs that circled the gym, much like a game of musical chairs
leaving some people to stand on the side lines with no where to sit.
I remember having fun.
It became a regular ritual, me staying
after school on Friday with Janie. Sometimes it was for a football
game, a basketball game, a dance or no reason at all. Sometimes my
Dad would come get me on his way home from work. Other times I got to
spend the night at Janie's and they picked me up in the morning on
the way to get our weeks worth of groceries at the A&P grocery
store. It was at this age when sleeping over at your friends house
became very important.
Happy memories, Jan
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