Jan 1987:
I spent the first half of the month job-hunting, then finally got a call from Manpower, to go temp at a craft factory. I enjoyed it; after being trained on the project we would be packing, my brain decided to go 'creative'. I had taken a notebook with me to leave in the break room, so during the two 15-minute breaks and my half hour lunch time, I would write down the scenes I'd created in my head, and 'Love On The Rocks' began coming together.
The weather at this time was horrible. Snow, ice, and I had to leave the house at 6 am in order to make it on time. When JF's birthday rolled around the 4th week, the roads were so bad on Friday, my dad actually forbade me to go. Fortunately, by noon the next day, the temperature rose, and my parents allowed me to drive down.
I arrived just as he and one of his friends pulled up with a carry out pizza. I silently laughed as JF tried to get rid of his friend ASAP, nearly shoving him out the door with the pizza after putting his half on a platter! I'd never seen a guy so anxious to be alone with me before.....it reaffirmed we were still going strong!
Finally, after his buddy got the message and drove off, JF pulled me into his arms and kissed me....then got confused. My shirt had buttons in both front and back, but the back ones only went up to the shoulder! After a wonderful reunion, and his pizza forgotten, he took me to dinner, then to a local bar, The Railroad Inn, and introduced me to rum and coke. We then went across the street to The Roundup and danced before going back to his place.
I didn't want to leave the next morning, but knew I had to, since I'd spent most of my money on gassing up the car. I was only getting paid $4 an hour, and already owed Dad at least $20 for the phone bill. It felt good to be back in JF's arms again after a 5 week absence; we made plans for me to return at the end of February.
Next Month: Heartache
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Present Day:
2017 is off to a bad start. Last year, I was reeling from the fact we'd lost both David Bowie and Alan Rickman; this year I've lost fellow classmate Craig Clifton, elementary school principal Mr. Kendall, drama coach Tom Prill, math teacher Mr. Skibinski, and now our #1 Band Mom, Carla Jones.
I've known Carla since I was a teenager. She and Mom became good friends when Carla's husband Al was hired by JHS, and they chaperoned many band and orchestra trips. Carla had a wonderful sense of humor, and she and my mom's birthdays were only a week apart, so they would often celebrate together. Carla's son Andy and I were the same age, but really couldn't stand each other; I got along better with his younger sister Anna.
Carla taught me the basics when I tried out for the Flag Corps, and she picked me up from summer school when I'd have to be back at school two hours later, and my mom was busy.
Everyone loved her VW bus, Wolfgang von Bus aka 'Wolfie'.
I think I irritated her once when I didn't listen to her warnings about a certain classmate.....but I managed to prove her wrong.
She also helped manage my wedding reception nearly 26 years ago.
At any rate, I'm headed up to Lafayette for Carla's funeral, and to lend my mom some support, since this makes the 3rd friend she will have buried this week.
RIP.
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