Friday, November 05, 2010
Flashback Friday # 18 ~ Jim's high school days as a senior
I decided to write this because I couldn't sleep. So I am eating some snacks (prunes, oysters and crackers, and a chocolate bar) and will write until I finish or get tired enough to sleep.
This happens every time the Mrs. Jim is off someplace overnight. But this time it will be for 13 nights as she has gone to London to visit the family there. That would be the grandkids, KP and BP and our daughter Karen and her husband Billy. Most of you know them.
I would have gone also but Adi, our Beagle Dog, became a cripple for some reason. The doctor said arthritis but she is all better now and you could not tell that she ever had leg problems. The doc was wrong I am thinking. But if she was correct in the diagnosis then I need to do what ever Adi did to get better. Besides Adi there are some other things I need to tend to that are keeping me here.
- - - - - - - - -
This is an old meme about our senior year in high school. Most of the others are writing about the early household voting rituals and info. But I don't remember much except that Mom and Dad did go down to the little red school house in the hills to vote.
I didn't vote until after I was married and out of the Army. By that time I was in my late twenty's. I think a lot of our young don't vote either in their first years as adults. Then I lived in New Hampshire and do remember voting for Barry Goldwater for president. I mostly vote as an Independent.
Politics weren't big in our family and they aren't very big with me either. I have been preaching (silently) at president B*sh even before he took office that his ideas would bankrupt our country and bring a recession. Sure enough it did. But he tried to make that work for our state before he left so what was new? My major was in economics and I have had slightly more Eco courses than I have of political science. I am not an expert but we surely did discuss these kinds of things in those classes.
None of the modern conservatives are conservative in my way of thinking. I believe a person or country should get all the reasonable income available. For the government this is taxes. Then spend it very wisely, pay off any indebtedness, and save a little for a rainy day. THEN we could cut taxes to the amount of money that conservative spending would need.
All about my high school senior experiences is what Linda wanted from us the week of May 21. Linda asked several questions then. Click her icon, right, if you want to read others or participate in this with a blog post of your own.
Linda's questions and my answers:
Tell about your senior year in high school. Were there any special traditions such as getting a senior ring? Were there lots of activities and parties as you neared graduation? Were you in any extra-curricular activities that had traditional "rites of passage" or "passing the baton" too the next class? Were awards given out - either serious or fun? Did you send out graduation announcements? Did your school have a Baccalaureate Service in addition to the graduation ceremony? If you attended church, did your church recognize/honor Seniors in any way? Did you keep your tassel - did you hang it from the mirror of your car or do something else special with it? What sorts of things did you get for graduation gifts? Was it a tradition to display the gifts in your home?
My Senior year was the second for me in the town school, Tekamah (Nebraska) High School. I had spent 10 years, grades one through ten out in two country schools. Since I was the oldest in our family the only tradition there might have been was set by my cousins.
I did get a senior ring. I still have that (no picture because the camera is in London with Mrs. Jim). To me it was the prettiest on there could be. The stone was artificial ruby with striation's (??) set in the school-wide format in solid gold. I gave it away once but got it back in exchange for another ring.
We also had senior pictures taken and of course I participated in that and got graduation cards and announcements. For these and the ring I spent my own money that I had earned from detasseling seed corn plants for Tekseed Hybrid Corn Company in the previous summer.
I didn't go to parties although I am sure there were a few. We did have a nice senior prom which I attended. I had chosen not to go in my junior year. Three of us fellows carpooled as Dad has let me use his new Ford. It still had the break-in oil with may two thousand or so miles. We drove a lot afterwards so I did have to disconnect the speedometer. That wasn't hard.
The prom itself was a nice dinner with a dance afterward. As I recall there was not a lot of drinking although I didn't hang around with kids that might have been drinking.
As you can figure out I didn't have a date. None of us three did. I was not dating in high school. I may have had a crush or two but never asked for a date. Girls didn't scare me though. I think I knew every girl in high school and was friends with quite a few.
We had both a Baccalaureate Service and a graduation. And both were in the High School auditorium. Now days the Baccalaureate cannot be held as an official school function since it has been ruled a religious service. I don't remember anything special happening in church for the seniors.
I think my mom kept my tassel and I don't remember seeing it since I graduated. One of my graduation gifts was a passion pink and blue necktie. I think it may have glowed in the dark. Those were in fashion and I wore it to church until I stopped going in college. There was some money but I have forgotten how much.
I would like to tell about my high school courses as a senior. I took sophomore English as my sophomore teacher in the country ordered a junior English book and gave us junior English credit. That English course was mostly grammar and I am sure it helped me in my placement tests.
Another nontraditional course was sophomore Agriculture because I had to start with the freshman course when I came to town. The country school didn't offer it. I also took typing. There were only two of us fellows in that class. My typing speed, corrected, was about sixty words a minute. I still do pretty good.
Some time in the summer I received a tuition scholarship to the University of Nebraska. I had graduated within the top ___% of my class which made me eligible to test for that scholarship while I was still in school. Two of us from the forty-eight who graduated got this Regents' Scholarship that year.
All in all, my senior year was very pleasant. Mom has often said she never remembered me taking home any homework. I do remember having to go to the town library to find material for a paper once. Most of the time I would spend a major part of study period time in the school library either reading school books and magazines or some that I had brought from home.
Oh yes, a bunch of us skipped school one afternoon. My excuse was that I attended a farm auction. One other time we were excused for that because our ag teacher wanted us to learn from seeing a farm auction. It either worked or else no one cared.
This happens every time the Mrs. Jim is off someplace overnight. But this time it will be for 13 nights as she has gone to London to visit the family there. That would be the grandkids, KP and BP and our daughter Karen and her husband Billy. Most of you know them.
I would have gone also but Adi, our Beagle Dog, became a cripple for some reason. The doctor said arthritis but she is all better now and you could not tell that she ever had leg problems. The doc was wrong I am thinking. But if she was correct in the diagnosis then I need to do what ever Adi did to get better. Besides Adi there are some other things I need to tend to that are keeping me here.
- - - - - - - - -
This is an old meme about our senior year in high school. Most of the others are writing about the early household voting rituals and info. But I don't remember much except that Mom and Dad did go down to the little red school house in the hills to vote.
I didn't vote until after I was married and out of the Army. By that time I was in my late twenty's. I think a lot of our young don't vote either in their first years as adults. Then I lived in New Hampshire and do remember voting for Barry Goldwater for president. I mostly vote as an Independent.
Politics weren't big in our family and they aren't very big with me either. I have been preaching (silently) at president B*sh even before he took office that his ideas would bankrupt our country and bring a recession. Sure enough it did. But he tried to make that work for our state before he left so what was new? My major was in economics and I have had slightly more Eco courses than I have of political science. I am not an expert but we surely did discuss these kinds of things in those classes.
None of the modern conservatives are conservative in my way of thinking. I believe a person or country should get all the reasonable income available. For the government this is taxes. Then spend it very wisely, pay off any indebtedness, and save a little for a rainy day. THEN we could cut taxes to the amount of money that conservative spending would need.
All about my high school senior experiences is what Linda wanted from us the week of May 21. Linda asked several questions then. Click her icon, right, if you want to read others or participate in this with a blog post of your own.Linda's questions and my answers:
Tell about your senior year in high school. Were there any special traditions such as getting a senior ring? Were there lots of activities and parties as you neared graduation? Were you in any extra-curricular activities that had traditional "rites of passage" or "passing the baton" too the next class? Were awards given out - either serious or fun? Did you send out graduation announcements? Did your school have a Baccalaureate Service in addition to the graduation ceremony? If you attended church, did your church recognize/honor Seniors in any way? Did you keep your tassel - did you hang it from the mirror of your car or do something else special with it? What sorts of things did you get for graduation gifts? Was it a tradition to display the gifts in your home?
My Senior year was the second for me in the town school, Tekamah (Nebraska) High School. I had spent 10 years, grades one through ten out in two country schools. Since I was the oldest in our family the only tradition there might have been was set by my cousins.
I did get a senior ring. I still have that (no picture because the camera is in London with Mrs. Jim). To me it was the prettiest on there could be. The stone was artificial ruby with striation's (??) set in the school-wide format in solid gold. I gave it away once but got it back in exchange for another ring.
We also had senior pictures taken and of course I participated in that and got graduation cards and announcements. For these and the ring I spent my own money that I had earned from detasseling seed corn plants for Tekseed Hybrid Corn Company in the previous summer.
I didn't go to parties although I am sure there were a few. We did have a nice senior prom which I attended. I had chosen not to go in my junior year. Three of us fellows carpooled as Dad has let me use his new Ford. It still had the break-in oil with may two thousand or so miles. We drove a lot afterwards so I did have to disconnect the speedometer. That wasn't hard.
The prom itself was a nice dinner with a dance afterward. As I recall there was not a lot of drinking although I didn't hang around with kids that might have been drinking.
As you can figure out I didn't have a date. None of us three did. I was not dating in high school. I may have had a crush or two but never asked for a date. Girls didn't scare me though. I think I knew every girl in high school and was friends with quite a few.
We had both a Baccalaureate Service and a graduation. And both were in the High School auditorium. Now days the Baccalaureate cannot be held as an official school function since it has been ruled a religious service. I don't remember anything special happening in church for the seniors.
I think my mom kept my tassel and I don't remember seeing it since I graduated. One of my graduation gifts was a passion pink and blue necktie. I think it may have glowed in the dark. Those were in fashion and I wore it to church until I stopped going in college. There was some money but I have forgotten how much.
I would like to tell about my high school courses as a senior. I took sophomore English as my sophomore teacher in the country ordered a junior English book and gave us junior English credit. That English course was mostly grammar and I am sure it helped me in my placement tests.
Another nontraditional course was sophomore Agriculture because I had to start with the freshman course when I came to town. The country school didn't offer it. I also took typing. There were only two of us fellows in that class. My typing speed, corrected, was about sixty words a minute. I still do pretty good.
Some time in the summer I received a tuition scholarship to the University of Nebraska. I had graduated within the top ___% of my class which made me eligible to test for that scholarship while I was still in school. Two of us from the forty-eight who graduated got this Regents' Scholarship that year.
All in all, my senior year was very pleasant. Mom has often said she never remembered me taking home any homework. I do remember having to go to the town library to find material for a paper once. Most of the time I would spend a major part of study period time in the school library either reading school books and magazines or some that I had brought from home.
Oh yes, a bunch of us skipped school one afternoon. My excuse was that I attended a farm auction. One other time we were excused for that because our ag teacher wanted us to learn from seeing a farm auction. It either worked or else no one cared.
Labels: Flashback Friday, Jim in his Younger Days, School
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Jim, your snack combination sounds horrible to me. ;)
I'm sorry you had to stay home and glad Adi is feeling better.
Politicians rarely make a difference one way or another. They are mostly front men or women for the people behind the curtains who really do the work.
I'm sorry you had to stay home and glad Adi is feeling better.
Politicians rarely make a difference one way or another. They are mostly front men or women for the people behind the curtains who really do the work.
Nice memories (and good politics.)
Seedcorn manufacturers provide most of the jobs for teens in the rural midwest. That and walking beans and dairy queen are why midwesterners major in economics.
Seedcorn manufacturers provide most of the jobs for teens in the rural midwest. That and walking beans and dairy queen are why midwesterners major in economics.
I agree with Nessa on the snack. Except for the chocolate! :-)
Enjoyed reading your memories. How funny that your English classes got all out of order!
Enjoyed reading your memories. How funny that your English classes got all out of order!
Were the oysters smoked? If so, I'm in if you have mayo.
Your senior year sounded much like mine. I always took my homework home, and left it in the car until the next morning. I'm not sure why I did that unless I was afraid someone would notice that I never took anything home.
No parties for me either.
Your senior year sounded much like mine. I always took my homework home, and left it in the car until the next morning. I'm not sure why I did that unless I was afraid someone would notice that I never took anything home.
No parties for me either.
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