Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Boys of Summer

I've spent the past several days trying to piece together my sordid love life. I don't mind saying it's been a little scary. Those childhood crushes came to me pretty easily, but sometime around 10th grade things started getting blurry. It was then I decided any type of precise time line from this point forward would NOT be a good idea. For starters my memory is bad. Also, "overlapping" may present a problem that I am choosing to ignore.

My first serious boyfriend was Chris W. But Chris will require a detailed entry of his own so I'm leaving him out of this story. This story is about The Boys of Summer. An assortment of kids who came along during high school, and were as young, excited, and curious about life and love as I was. And none of us had any intentions of getting serious. Well, most of us didn't.

Having been unsuccessful at winning the charms of any of my previous targets, I knew it would be necessary to change my tactics. I developed assorted strategies for attracting and luring young men. My best friend at the time, Sammy lived on my street and attended the same school as me. Our neighborhood was a popular area for cruising. Sammy and I sat on my front porch almost every evening when it was nice outside. All sorts of people would drive by, see us, and stop to talk.

The first boy I ever went on a "car date" with was named Ron. We got pizza. He was also the first person I ever kissed. I did not know what I was doing. I attended a Junior Prom with a boy named Mouse while I was still a Sophomore. I went to 4th of July fireworks with someone called Chico. I once had a "pillow fight" (described later) with a boy who had come to visit with my aunt and uncle. I believe he may have been a distant cousin of mine. I choose to think it was by marriage. Once I met this guy named Kinky. He drove a blue Camaro. I didn't even know what the word "kinky" meant, but judging by her reaction, apparently my mother did. Kinky was 19 and had his own apartment. I was not even 16. I lied to my parents about how old he was but they weren't buying it. I know I drove my poor mother crazy more than once. I'm thankful that I stayed safe even though I naively put myself in a few unsafe predicaments back then.




One year my friend Kathie and I came up with a most excellent idea. Neither of us were cheerleader material, that was way too prissy. So we approached the men's baseball coach at school and told him we wanted to be statisticians! We told them we came in a pair though...if they took one they'd have to take the other. We got the job. What a brilliant idea!!! We got to sit in the dugout with the baseball team during every game! One time we got to go on a road trip with the team. We flirted unmercifully during the 100 mile bus trip, and that was only until it got dark outside!

My other technique was to lure boys to my house by telling them we had a pool table and that I was pretty good. They'd come to play and if I decided I liked them my strategy was to throw a pillow at them, thus ensuing a pillow fight, which usually led to a make-out session.


Finally, I had perfected the art of flirting and seduction! Man, if I could only have a "do over" on the Mustang ride with Mike!!!

I remember some of the Boys of Summer, but not all of them. I won't lie, there were a lot. But at that point in my life I wasn't doing anything more than kissing and maybe a fleeting grope here and there. Oddly, except for the aforementioned Kinky, most of the BOS were normal, good kids, not bad boys. It was all pretty innocent and a lot of fun. There will however, be no pool table in my house as my kids approach adolescence. I'm thinking of getting rid of the pillows too.


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