Flashback Friday

Aug 1984:
This month was full of activity.  I went on a double date with friend A, her hubby, and their friend AP.  We went to the drive in to see Bachelor Party and Porky's 2.....but I fell asleep during BP!  That didn't deter AP from asking me out again, and this time we went to see The Muppets Take Manhattan.  The following week, we went tubing down the Wildcat Creek.

I had a good rapport with his younger brother, E, and invited him to go with us.  But when we were suited up and ready to get in the truck, E was looking unhappy and still in his clothes.  He said A had told him to stay behind.  Red Flag #1.  I had a feeling something was up.

When we arrived at the river, A showed me how to climb into my tube....and I promptly sailed downstream.  He had to scramble to catch up with me, and about an hour into the trip, he got quiet.  Red Flag #2.

He hemmed and hawed around, and I had a feeling I knew what was coming.

Sure enough, the words I'd been dreading:  "Will you be my girlfriend?"

I took a deep breath and in the kindest tone I could muster, reminded him I was leaving for college the next week and was going to meet a lot of people.  I didn't feel right to be tied down; didn't think it would be fair to him.  He agreed, and we finished the trip.  He took me home and said we'd keep in touch.

We never did, though, and I learned of his death last year.

The following weekend, I left for VU.  I was the first one to check into our room, and chose the upper bunk on the left hand side.  I'd brought a bit too much, so Mom and Dad took several things back home.  A little while later, K arrived and took a bed on the opposite side.  Toward late afternoon, EC checked in, but left her things on the same side as K, since her sister was moving into IU.  We'd get to know each other the next day.

K introduced me to her friend GF, and we attended the Back To School dance, and even met two guys, who invited us back to their room.  I think we played cards, then we returned to our room.

The next day, EC and EY arrived, and we soooooo hoped the cute guy with EY was her brother!!!!  No such luck; he was her boyfriend.  GF introduced us to another friend, and we toured campus, registered for classes, bought our books, and got to know one another.

EY had no qualms about sleeping underneath me, though she and EC soon discovered they were more alike, and attracted the same sort of guys.  They soon began spending more time with the Sigma Pi guys, and decided to become Lil' Sis's.

Ever meet someone and just know you're going to be friends?  Several weeks before, EY had called me, and we'd spoken for two hours.  She said she barely spoke to EC for maybe twenty minutes.  So even though I knew EY and I would soon be close friends, I didn't get mad when she began spending all her time with EC.  Maybe they'd bring a guy around who'd like me?  (Hey, it could happen!)

K and I got along, though she was more of a partier than I was.  We did cause some hilarity in front of one of the coed dorms when GF's friend SL took us out to eat in his orange sports car with the leopard skin drape in the back window.  SL got out, accompanied by four girls (EC had declined), and someone yelled, "It's Guido, the Killer Pimp!"

Classes began, and Life settled down.

Next Month:  Early Dates and Wrong Choices

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Present Day:
The first week of home schooling has gone well.  I'm concerned about W's reading, but I'm sure we'll get everything figured out soon.

Karaoke Songs for Tomorrow:
Heartbreaker (Dionne Warwick)
Heart and Soul (T'Pau)
Heaven (Bryan Adams)
ET (Katy Perry)
Gloria (L. Branigan) (Warm up)

My mom's been in and out of the hospital the past week, with back pain.  She was supposed to be released yesterday, but her pain was so bad they kept her one more day.  She's now on the strongest dose of the strongest medication they can give her.  Her doctor's on vacation, and her next appt is the 19th.  I don't know if she's looking at back surgery or staying on the pain management.  So keep her in your prayers?