Original Stories and Video
"Grease" excerpts from North Harford High School near Baltimore.
January 2008 production. Jon Dallas plays Kenickie.
First Grade
What am I doing here? Mom said I had to go to school and I would like it. I had to ride a bus to this big brick building with all these kids I don’t know. The big kids on the bus called me and the other little kids’ names. Then I got a teacher and she took us to a room with desks. She called our names and we had to answer. Then she started writing on this big black wall. She kept banging on it with this white writing stick. It squeaked too and kind of scared me. She told us her name but I don’t remember it. I couldn’t read it. She wouldn’t let us talk until we went to lunch with all the kids in the school. I talked to a couple of people I liked. The big kids called us names again. We went down some stairs to a dirty big room. We had to get under the table while they cranked this big noisy whistle. Then we went outside and she made us play games I didn’t know. I tripped and hurt my knees. Nobody picked me up and held me. Then the teacher showed us letters and made words. I got tired because I already knew how to do that. Then she told us the names of colors. I knew that too. I think it is not fun to go to school. The bus is really not fun. Maybe tomorrow I can hide until the bus is gone.
Car for Mom 2007
My Mom needed a newer car. After grilling her for a couple of days I decided she needed a Hyundai Santa Fe. She is 86 and was 5'2" but she has shrunk so seat height is important to her. I found one at a dealership about 70 miles away and we went to have her try it on. She liked the room, visibility and general look and feel. That car was out of the running because it had over 100,000 miles and Hyundai has a 100,000 mile drive train warranty. I got on eBay and looked for 2004 Santa Fes for less than $9000 and low mileage. I bid on a few and found one in Orlando, FL which had 62,000 miles, a price of $9800 or best offer and the requisite cloth seats and a good description. I emailed the guy and he said the best he would do was $9300. Mom said no. The auction ended and I went back at $9000 and he agreed. Meanwhile I had been shopping for auto shippers to get the car back to Northeastern NC. The best price was about $500 and more for a guaranteed date. I remembered using Cheap Tickets.com to get tickets when my wife flew to Amarillo. I found a flight to Orlando for about $110 but due to communication delays with the seller settled on one for $130. I almost missed the plane at Norfolk airport because I set my alarm for 2:45 PM in stead of AM. At 3:45 AM I awoke to realize we had no time. Somehow I made it to the airport at 5:30 AM to make a 6:00 AM flight. The security guards kept my pipe lighter and I just made the flight without even sitting down in the waiting area. I was in Washington, DC at 7 and Orlando at 11. After a few bungled connections with the seller I left Orlando at 2 PM and after driving through a lot of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and almost all of North Carolina got home at 1 AM. I spent about $100 on gas and food and arrived with half a tank of gas. Total cost $9230. Look around and you'll see similar cars for $12,000. Would I do it again? You bet.
Spelling Bee 1956
It was a lock! I would win the 6th grade contest. The auditorium was full and my Mom and Dad were there. I knew I could spell better than the girls. There were no other boys who would last in the Bee. I already had plans for the Kodak Brownie camera and flash attachment. We went through dozens of words and the contestants fell just as I had planned. We were down to three and as I figured the girls and I were the only ones left. Now it was down to two contestants and I was full of myself until I was given BOUQUET to spell. It was pronounced “Bo Kay” and I bit. B-O-Q-U-E-T was my confident answer and I was out. Why didn’t I ask for another pronunciation?
I won a lousy wallet that was green and had a tab to hold it shut. It was an early attempt at unisex because the tab was retractable. Gone were my dreams of that Brownie and all the pictures I planned to take all because of one lousy U. Public defeat in the 6th grade comes hard and the agony is still memorable 55 years later. I got the Brownie camera for Christmas that year.
Cuban Heels
"Sale, sale, sale". Fat Daddy was spinning the soul hits to Baltimore. It was 1961 and I was barely 16. He said I needed to get to Manchester Shoes and I believed him. It meant a mile walk to the bus stop and an hour ride to Howard Street in downtown Baltimore. I made it without event and as soon as I looked in the window I was in love. They were green suede with side laces, wooden heels and a sole made of some kind of black plastic that wrapped up to caress the leather tops. It took more than a week's pay from my 55 cent an hour job as an usher at the local movie theater. I thought the shoes looked great with my tapered slacks. I wore them all through the school year until they were replaced in the Spring by black back buckle high top pointed toed demi boots. I never did own a pair of Cuban Heels. My love for shoes continued until my 30s when I got the requisite wingtips, tassels, deck shoes and penny loafers which I still wear today.
1960s
1960s fashion
1960s music
1960s hair style
1960s artifact celebration cool encyclopedia event grooviest people sixties
1960s husband treat
1960s car
1960s time line
1960s clothing
fashion in the 1960s
1960s label record soul
1960s clothes
1960s movie
the 1960s fashion sourcebooks
1960s invention
1960s gift groovy up wrap wrapped
1960s tv show
1960s 1970s 60s 70s birth culture grannis leroy photography photography surf surf
1960s history
1960s bicycle in making music white
1960s art
1960s toy
1960s fashions
1960s furniture
top 10 music hit of the 1960s
1960s food
1960s song
1960s hippie
1960s b hit r
1960s family
1960s costume
1960s drag ford in performer racing total
1930s 1960s music piano
1960s fashion mod
1960s dress
1960s bunny girl pin up yeagers
1960s popular music
1960s counterculture
1960s archive dragsters photo slingshot
1960s entertainment
1960s man fashion
1960s culture
1960s fashion fashion sourcebooks sourcebooks
1930s 1960s collectible fun kitchen towel
1960s furniture op pop
1950s 1960s comedian funny rebel seriously
1960s catalog clothing fashionable from mid sears
1960s 70s francisco mayor san
1960s 70s ads magazine male man mystique
1960s hair
1960s television
1960s make up
1960s style
1960s era
1960s 1970s collector guide memorabilia toy tv
1960s band
1960s hit
music in the 1960s
1960s womens fashion
1960s fads
1960s hippie fashion
1960s girl
1960s essay huron launched port revolution statement that
1960s furniture interior
1960s doll
1960s tv
1960s tv super hero
1950s 1960s
1960s 1970s disposable fare horror trashfiend
1960s in issue major
1960s 1970s advertising advertising archive hose i pantie survey volume
1960s woman
1960s 1970s
1960s catalog clothing fashionable from late sears
famous people of the 1960s
1960s ken merry prankster
1960s francisco mayor san
event of the 1960s
1960s bruce has in nauman no rose tooth
1960s archive car drag floppers from funny photo racing stockers super
1960s mod
1960s shoes
1960s art nerve optic perceptual
1960s cartoon
1960s mann pop
1960s bethlehem slouching towards
1960s slang
1960s 1970s artistic chic early fashions late psychedelic
1960s ads
music from the 1960s
1960s 1970s grannis leroy photography surf
1960s picture
1960s bob dylan messenger wicked
1960s rock and roll
sports in the 1960s
life in the 1960s
top song of the 1960s
1960s portrayer rogers sally tv
1960s age american contradiction culture in thought
1960s 1980s critical formation from in racial social state thought united