Looking Back

A look back
I found this on the blogs of Stennie and Kriz, and Stennie talked about the one she saw only did Ten Years, Five Years and One Year. She said she was “stretching boundaries” by starting at Thirty Years.

I am the old timer of my friends. They went back 30 years, and they were too young to remember anything….wimps.

Forty Years ago – 1965 This was the year I was in the third grade, and my teacher was a man who had some sort of bladder issues, because he was always standing in front of the room with his legs crossed like little boys who had to pee. This was also the year I met Chris K., the crush of my life (which ended ten years later) Gail V., my still best and oldest (due to duration) friend on the planet and the first year I found out that not all people liked Jews. Oh wait, I just realized, in New York, because the cutoff was Dec 1 for Kindergarteners to be 5, I was actually in the 4th grade. We moved to California a year later. (Hey, it was a long time ago…) So my teacher was Mrs. Polhemus, and she thought she was all that. The price of stamps went up that year, and the aforementioned Chris was the only person in the class who knew that the reason to increase stamps was to give the mailman a raise. She was so happy, she chased him around the classroom to give him a kiss. Yes, he was that cute. Can you say Mary Jane LaTurneau?

Thirty Years Ago - 1975: This was the year I graduated from High school. I went back to New York to visit aforementioned Gail and she invited Chris to her house for a party. He was very self absorbed, and could only talk about Rugby. The spring show was “Once Upon a Mattress” and I played Princess #12. I made out with my first Jewish boyfriend, whom my parents hated. (Yeah, I knew how to pick them back then…) Since I just returned recently from my 30 year reunion (OY) I can tell you that my senior year was dismal as far as connections with my classmates. Jon C. (a friend since the 7th grade) and I went to the prom together, and we remain friends to this day. I went off to college at UCBerkeley, that fall and turned 18 on election day!! I got royally dumped by my first real boyfriend at Christmas, more than likely because I wouldn’t go all the way with him. My friend Jill became a Moonie, and I was there to watch and be amazed at the whole process of her being sucked in, kidnapped by her parents and de-programmed. I met Bev, another life-long friend, and got involved with the college radio station.

Twenty-Five Years Ago - 1980: OK, so college went quickly, I did the 4 year plan. I was working for BofA and dating a man a few years older than I was. He was a wanna be rock promoter, making a living dealing pot. (See, I got a lot better at picking out boyfriends!) He took care of me, in a sort of Svengali-ish way. He had a problem with commitment, in that he stood me up for a lot of dates. He didn’t graduate from college, and his family was the poster family for White Trash Nation, but his mother and grandmother truly loved me, and I have never to this day been able to find a mother/grandmother of a man who loved their son’s choice as much.

Twenty Years Ago - 1985: I was engaged to my first husband. Even before we were engaged, he came and watched almost every rehearsal for “Children of a Lesser God” which I was stage managing. He came with me to my 10 year high school reunion and we both wore tuxedos. We went with Jon C and had THE MOST FUN staying overnight at the Beverly Wilshire, the scene of my prom, the same hotel where John Belushi had recently died. I spent that whole year planning my wedding, which took place early in 1986. I experience my first loss of a friend, to aids. I started volunteering with different Aids Awareness organizations in SF (where they were quite prevalent)

Fifteen Years Ago - 1990: This was the best/worst/most fortuitous year of my life. I had left that “personal effectiveness training” company, which had bordered on cultism, and began working for the most amazing attorney doing plaintiff medical malpractice.

Ten Years Ago - 1995: I did my first BTG show as the Queen in Alice in Wonderland. My first Bellingham friend, Kaci, moved away and I could not stop crying for three days. I met Mattie, and she became my new best friend. Baby Brother and Big Sister were in school, and I was working part time at the Synagogue. I didn’t go to my reunion, I had gone to my big brother’s the year before. We sat with Nina, my best friend since 10th grade, and three months later her husband killed her. My new passion became working with the community, educating about Domestic Violence.

Five Years Ago - 2000: This was the year I became the de-facto director of “Schoolhouse Rock” at BTG. The good thing about this show was that I met Jana, my music director and the bad thing was that the directing experience SUCKED!!! Jana and my Stage manager bought me rubber bands to wear as Behavior Modification so that if I ever wanted to direct there again, I could inflict the same pain more quickly. Did I mention I’m about to direct “Once Upon a Mattress” and that auditions are tomorrow? Mattie and I were still best friends, and my first husband and I were having problems. One day, I even took off my wedding ring and went to her house in tears. She asked me to not talk to her about stuff like that anymore. I felt like I got hit in the gut. What were best friends for? Things have never been the same. And then a door opened and I met Gregory, who has since become my new best friend. I started interpreting more in the public school.

One Year Ago - 2004: Why does it feel like 40 years ago was more memorable? Baby Brother started middle school, Big Sister went into high school. I still loved my job. I weighed 30 pounds less than I do today. I was suffering excruciating back pain every day and severe discomfort every month. In August, I scheduled the big surgery for December. It’s all just a bad memory now.

I love/hate the kinds of things you read on blogs where the last three words are “you are tagged.” Go for it.