Thursday Thirteen #4

Thirteen Things About My First Schoolgirl Crush:

1. At twelve years old, I was very tall and very awkward, very silly, very giggly, very dyslexic; reading and talking was emotionally, very painful.

2. I had just started Jr. High school at James Madison Jr. High in Tampa, Florida. My birthdays always came a month after school started, so I wasn't twelve like the rest of my classmates at the beginning of the school year.

3. I had had several crushes on boys that school year, 1955/56, but I'm only telling about my first one.

4. His name was Johnny—something. He was a cute, curly headed kid, brown hair, I think, and he must have been taller than me, because I shied away from short boys.

5. He's the only boyfriend in my life that I still have a picture of. In the picture, he sat forward, his hand laced together, while silly old me, leaned against the porch post and had another giggle attack.

6. That year I got to have a large birthday party. And I got to send an invitation to Johnny. (In those days, we didn't call on the phone or just ask someone to a birthday party, without sending a written invitation.)

7. We played games, of course, had cake and ice cream and opened presents. We played spin the bottle I got to kiss him. That I remember well, a circle of kids on the grass, (this was at night) and when I spun the Coke bottle it pointed to Johnny. I'm sure I giggled my way over to him and planted a quick kiss somewhere on his face. I don't think it was the lips. My mom, and probably one or two other moms supervised the party.

8. Just being around a boy gave me a severe case of the giggles. He must have thought I had a few screws loose, or the cool-ade had been spiked.

9. At some point I wrote him a love letter. I have kept it all these years. Somewhat faded now, it was written in pencil and it had lipstick kisses all over the paper with red penciled hearts and arrows all across the top.

10. It said: The Way Love Begins and Ends. The first day of school I met Johnny and he didn't like me at first; he liked my girlfriend Joyce and I invited him to my birthday party and he gave me a pearl necklace. Something I had never had before and, of course, I thought 12 was growing old enough to go on dates and so I kissed him and he liked me more as he stayed and he followed [me around] the place that night. And I know he doesn't love me anymore, he is going around with Donna Ray Berg and I'm going to like Dickie, but love Johnny better than anyone else I know. In fact if he or I ever left I would never forget him. He probably won't even save me a seat on the bus or a place in line. He'll probably save Donna a seat on the bus and a place in line and he promised me at my birthday party to save me a place in line and a seat on the bus all the time.

11. I must have gotten over Johnny quickly though, because I went to my first formal dance that year with Dickie. That I remember well.

12. I'll describe the photo of my first formal—I'm not about to post it. Standing in the kitchen I stood with feet close together in low-heeled black pumps—I was already too tall and hated wearing anything but flats. I stood looking away from the camera—eyes looking upward focused on some distant spot, with red lips pursed together in a goofy smile. Hands daintily clasped together in a lady like fashion at the waist; fingernails painted red, of course, and my reddish-brown hair was short and tightly curled. The best, or worst, in my opinion, was the strapless, pale green taffeta, with green tulle overlay, cocktail length gown. The photograph is a bit faded now, but I had on sparkly earrings and a bracelet that must have matched.

13. Actually the dress was beautiful and pale green has always remained my favorite. The worst thing was that I had a figure that would not allow me to wear sweaters and get the attention of the guys the way my girlfriends did. I had to wear falsies!

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