Remember When

Ok, it’s May, and we all know what we did during the month of May. Starting with May Crowning. Oh what an event that was. Although it was a parish and school event, it really was an “8th Grade Event”. It was all about our times and us. The year was ours to rule and cherish. 

It started off with the voting process. What excitement and anticipation wondering who would be elected the May Queen. It was a religious and secular event all rolled into one. Part Beauty, Talent, and Personality Contest. It was an event like” Polish American Idol”.  For me it was the time I could secretly vote for the one 8th Grade Girl I truly admired, which really meant I had a “secret crush” on. When the 8th grade girls came to each class holding their names cards in front of them all dressed up in their best clothes, they took my breath away! You could only vote once so you really had to make it count.

By the time I was in middle school (6-7-8 grades), the hormones were really kicking in. I was in the 7th Grade, but my room was a split class with 8th Graders. It was hard being a 7th Grader when you had 8th Graders in the same room. Sister Michelle was telling the boys about deodorants and suddenly Health Class took on a whole new meaning. We found out the birds did more than fly and the bees did more than make honey!  Sister Michelle was teaching us how to square dance in the cafeteria. We finally could have legal contact with the other sex! No wonder we got the deodorant lecture! We boys were on fire!

Okay another special and sacred event was the 8th Grade May Crowning Party. Following the school and church events, the 8th graders had their own special class party. This was usually at the May Queen’s parent’s house, or at school. It entailed food, dancing and socialization. My class was lucky because we not only had a party after May Crowning, but also a picnic at Forest Hills Park that weekend.

Our next great event after May was over was the annual “School Picnic” at Geauga Lake Park in June. Was that bus trip hours long, or were we just anxious to get there? We must have covered every song we learned from those Music Books, including “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”. The day went too fast. We ran ourselves ragged and were exhausted when we returned home.

We went on everything at least once and our favorites more. Some of my favorites were the Clipper, the Bug, Fun House, and the Oh My God, daring “Surprise In The Dark”.  Would you dare to go with a girl on that attraction? What if Sister Rosemary, or Michelle saw you come out of there with a girl next to you? Worse than that, what if anyone else saw you? The rumors would be rampant and your reputation might get stretched a little.

But just maybe you only held hands, or gave a kiss on the cheek, or just put your arm around the person. Honest that was all I ever did.  Besides that, you were never supposed to “Kiss & Tell”, or were you?  Not only that, but what if your mother found out? Enough said, my lips are sealed and your secrets are safe.