Being as I am a hopeless nostalgic — not to mention the incredibly odd mutant who actually, for the most part, liked high school — I couldn’t resist the latest meme from Jaquandor, which he titled “My So-Called High School Life.” I am retaining that title, despite its derivation from a TV show I never watched, for lack of any more clever ideas.
- Did you date someone from your school senior year?
Sort of. I’m not sure “giving a girl a ride after school every day and detouring to the park for an hour of necking before you manage to get her home” qualifies as “dating.” Sure was fun, though. - Did you marry someone from your high school?
I haven’t married her, but I do seem to be spending my life with someone from my high school, yes. - Did you car pool to school?
No. - What kind of car did you drive?
A brown 1970 Ford Thunderbird with leather seats. - What kind of car do you have now?
A red 2003 Ford Mustang convertible with leather seats. What can I say, I like leather seats… - It’s Friday night… where were you (in high school)?
Hm. Home, probably, watching Miami Vice. - It is Friday night… where are you (now)?
At The Girlfriend’s place, watching our time-shifted recording of this week’s Lost. - What kind of job did you have in high school?
When I was around 16, my junior year of school, I worked as the projectionist at a run-down single-screen movie theater called the Cameo. It closed down in the fall of my senior year (I think… I didn’t keep a journal back then, and it’s hard to recall), and I didn’t get another job until I went to college. Honestly, I didn’t need one; my parents were generous. - What kind of job do you do now?
I’m a proofreader for an advertising agency. All things considered, I’d rather be running projectors. Not that you can really earn a living wage doing that, or that there are even many human projectionists left now that theaters are automated and/or going digital. It’s all computers now, baby… - Were you a party animal?
Um, no. The one time I went to a beer-blast at my friend Kurt Stephenson’s house, I was only there for a half-hour or so, and I spent the whole time worrying that my dad was about to come through the front door and drag me back home, kicking my ass all the way (Kurt lived two doors down from us). The funny thing is, Dad told me years later that he knew exactly what was going on at Kurt’s place and figured it was just one of those rite-of-passage things, I was safe because it was only a short walk away, and he’s never understood why I didn’t stay and have a good time. About the time you think you know your parents… - Were you considered a flirt?
Probably. I was certainly trying to be. - Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
Nope. - Were you a nerd?
Well, yeah, even though I didn’t really look like a stereotypical nerd. I looked, in fact, like a mullet-headed, Camaro-driving rocker boy. I just happened to have a Heinlein paperback in the thigh pocket of my cargo pants. - Did you get suspended or expelled?
Nah, I was a good kid, despite the long hair and teenage pimp ‘stache. - Can you sing the fight song?
I couldn’t in ’87, I sure can’t now. - Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)?
Mr. Harvey, the creative-writing teacher who encouraged me to try my hand at fiction; Mr. Bridge, the AP English teacher who was always on about “literature-with-a-capital-L” while secretly reading sci-fi novels in his office; and Mr. Edmunds, the debate coach I ended up disappointing with my lackluster showing. - Where did you sit during lunch?
Usually with my friends at a smallish round table near the soda machines, towards the “front” of the cafeteria (i.e., the end opposite the serving lines. I’ve always been a creature of habit. - What was your school’s full name?
Bingham High School. - When did you graduate?
1987. - What was your school mascot?
The Miners, owing to the original Bingham High being built for the children of company men who lived in a company town located up Bingham Canyon. (My Bingham High was built in 1977, down on the valley floor and miles away from the original. The old Bingham lived out the rest of its days as a middle school and has since been demolished.) - If you could go back and do it again, would you?
Yeah, I probably would. Maybe. I guess it would depend on the circumstances. I’d certainly like the chance to do certain things again, or make sure they turn out differently. - Did you have fun at prom?
Sure. I didn’t know the girl very well, so it was a little uncomfortable, but we had a pleasant evening. - Do you still talk to your prom date?
Nope. Haven’t seen her or heard anything about her in years. - Who was your best friend?
I actually had a group of best friends, with all of whom I still maintain some degree of contact. I think they know who they are… - What did you want to be when you grew up?
By high school, it had become pretty obvious that I wasn’t going to end up a starship captain (or even a mere astronaut, the more likely possibility), and I’d decided to become a best-selling novelist instead. Well, in as much as I ever actually decided anything. The truth is, I really had no idea what I to do with my life. I had a lot of fantasies, but no practical ideas, not even on how to make the fantasies come true. I still don’t, to my deep shame and regret. - Any regrets?
Not becoming a best-selling novelist. Oh, you mean about high school? Sure… I regret taking so long to ask Sheryl Sheppard for a third date (by the time I got around to it, she’d decided I wasn’t interested and moved on). I regret spending so much time on girls who didn’t like me, and not enough on those who did. I regret not exploring more college options (like actually being willing to consider going to one far from home). I’m sure I could come up with others if you gave me enough time; I’m big on regret. - Biggest fashion mistake?
Hm. Well, it was the 1980s, so current wisdom snark would hold that everything I wore then was a mistake, but I don’t see it that way. Yeah, the fashions of the ’80s were extreme and look impossibly dated now, but at the time, they were just clothes. I wore what everybody wore. That said, I might’ve had better luck in certain regards if I’d listened to the immortal words of ZZ Top — every girl’s crazy ’bout a sharp-dressed man — and cleaned up a little more. I tended to stick to concert t-shirts and jeans-styled pants (if not jeans themselves) whenever possible, while dudes in button-down shirts, pleated pants, and even (shudder) sweater vests walked away with all the chicks. - Favorite fashion trend?
I liked acid-washed jeans and parachute pants (in their original, tight-fitting, be-zippered configuration, not those bizarre tent-sized things MC Hammer popularized) and my PCH beachcomber pants with the drawstring belt and the Don Johnson-style white sportcoats and the rock-and-roll fedoras. Oh, and of course, the ubiquitous Members Only jackets. On the ladies, I liked jelly bracelets and studded rocker belts (now being sold to our children at Hot Topic locations nationwide!) and parachute pants (again!) and, of course, the early-period Madonna look. - Are you going to your next reunion?
Probably, as I’ve been to the three we’ve held so far. - Who did you have a secret crush on?
I always wore my crushes on my sleeve. I’m sure everyone knew exactly who I was interested in… - Did you go on spring break?
No, I don’t remember spring break being a big deal in my day. Which makes me sound old as dirt, but c’est la vie.
And this concludes that little walk down memory lane. I’m going to go see if there are some damn kids on my lawn so I can yell at them now…
