When school starts up in late summer it always breeds it’s own excitement. For a small town it is a calendar to live by until school is out in the Spring. Class mates re-kindle old friendships and check out the new kids that have come in over the summer. Our Senior Class was the largest registered in Cabool.

I had become very well acquainted my Junior year so the curriculum was not a total surprise my Senior year. Our class was something special from the time I became acquainted with it. A large group had been together since first grade and others had been grafted in and accepted as I was.

After organizing officers the class decided to go to Washington D.C. for our Senior trip. It would take a lot of money which no one had nor did the parents. We decided to work outside of school and put all earnings into the class fund. Along with the individual efforts we held bake sales, car washes, yard work, housework, whatever would make money for the trip. We had an aggressive group of kids who literally spent every extra moment working for the benefit of all.

The community became interested in it and had fund raisers and donation drives of their own. My boss, Verl Murr belonged to the Kiwanis Club and they were good contributors to our cause. Other organizations were just as generous.

Football season at the high-school and college level is the harbinger of Fall. Our Junior year the school team tied with a strong contender for the SCA Championship at our level. But the team we were tied with lost to a stronger team and because of the point system we were both knocked out of the running. Still, it was an honor to get so close for our small school. Sometimes winning isn’t everything….getting close can be just as exciting.

I continued working at Booker Drug and life was becoming more secure. On Saturday nights the school kids congregated at Teen Town which was a room above a business building. Most of us didn’t have cars or transportation so it was a good place to go. The school had a sponsor present and there were games, a ping-pong table, an old record player and some donated records.

When I stop and think about it I’m sure the teen-agers of today would think it pretty juvenile and generic. We ended up with all the boys throwing darts and playing ping-pong while the girls danced with each other. If a boy should agree to dance he was usually heckled by his buddies . Most of the boys came from farms and had little time to learn how to dance and didn’t see a lot of sense in it. I’m even surprised myself when I think how simple things seemed so grand at the time…..we were happy and satisfied with things the way they were.

I had moved from Mrs. Shepherd’s home during the summer of my Junior year. A nice family moved into our town and bought a grocery store. They bought a large house and rented the upstairs to one other person and myself. The other woman was older and had a wonderful kindly spirit. We had our own room and bathroom…it was wonderful staying there. Again, the rent was cheaper and I was in a very good situation.

I had always been an avid reader and began writing my thoughts and inspirational pieces. There was a cancer drive on and I wrote a piece for school. Our English/Drama/Speech teacher mentioned it to the editor of our town paper and he printed it. Needless to say it was a thrill for me and planted a need for writing throughout my life. It is a wonderful vehicle to test the waters of your own soul.

Reading and writing were my two best friends while away from home. I cannot measure the inner confidence it gave me and the determination to make my life better than it was. I suppose I was always a dreamer and star gazer. I knew somehow my life was going to count for more than just existing. I wanted to make a difference and set myself out to do it. I’ve never been sorry.

Until tomorrow,

Essentially Esther