A Senior Momentby Eva Pasco Author of "Underlying Notes" 
The year 1969 is most memorable to me as my last year at Lincoln Senior High,
and the start of my freshman year at Rhode Island College. Though I can now appreciate the
challenging spirit of the Sixties, you might say it eluded me while living
through the decade. Sure, I'll never forget Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon
and his famous words: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." I also admit to
following the Chappaquidick chronicles which drowned any notion Ted Kennedy might have had to run for
president. I watched Dustin Hoffman as Ratso in The Midnight Cowboy at the movie theater
with my first steady boyfriend.
Yet, Woodstock happened without me. Then as now I doubt I'd forego showering
or washing and coiffing my hair. I did faithfully write two cousins who served
in Vietnam, but remained neutral on the subject of the war itself. The My
Lai Massacre was a terrible blight in American history that did not tragically affect my
family.
I was too involved with amassing senior moments. No, not
the memory lapse kind, but twelfth grade fluff. World current events of the sixties
may be somewhat hazy, but my senior class trip to New York in May of '69 is vivid
as though it occured yesterday. The guys had to wear sport jackets and ties and we girls wore
dresses with hose.
I remember waiting at the end of my driveway in the burbs dolled up in
my ruffled aqua and white polkadot shift. Just as
the squeaky schoolbus plodded down Angel Rd., Gretchen, the neighbor's St. Bernard,
bounded across my yard. Jumping on me, she interpreted my frantic gestures to push her
away as an invitation to roughhouse. She wrestled my arm with her teeth, drooling slime over
it. I had mere seconds to get myself presentable with a tissue before boarding the bus.
Boy the times they are a changin'! All of Mr. R's senior class history students fit
comfortably on a single Greyhound with only one chaperone--Mr. R. We affectionately
called him "The Buddha" because he always sat crosslegged on a table during
lessons and his belly hung over his trousers. When we arrived in the big city, Mr. R kept the guys under close supervision to make sure
they didn't wander off to buy booze. We gals had free rein to go wherever we pleased until
boarding time.
My girlfriends and I were born to shop so strolled through the now defunct Orbach's
and other prestigious department stores. Then we picked a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown to
have lunch and busied ourselves with buying souvenirs. It never dawned on any of us to do something
stupid or crazy other than giggle and be loud.
Though I lament not being more involved in the political rustling of the sixties,
I cherish the carefree times and innocence retained in those senior
moments of 1969.
|
.jpg "Vibration of a Nation Video")
Don't Miss an Update: Subscribe for email alerts.
"A Delicious Decade of Music" Blog
|
|
.jpg "Carl Hoffman - 1968 - Vietnam")
Carl Hoffman - Webmaster 1968
Carl Hoffman - Webmaster - Today
