Class of 85

Yesterday I was cleaning out some boxes in my garage and ran across my old high school yearbooks. It's been years since I've looked through them. Man, does time fly! I can't believe its been almost 23 years since I was paroled (graduated) from the California Public School System.

One of the most striking things I noticed was how lax attitudes were towards things people tend to "freak" over nowadays. There were pictures of kids wearing Copenhagen "painters caps" (jocks of course). One kid was wearing the same Copenhagen cap in virtually every picture he was in! There were a couple of pics of the same kid, with a couple of buddies, all holding up there cans of Copenhagen! Too funny! Of course the jocks always had the obligatory chew can circle worn into the back pocket of their 501's. You'd never see that today. there was also a really funny pic of a bunch of "popular" kids, sitting in a hot tub. A couple of the girls were holding wine glasses (what dorks!). They were all "living the good life" obviously.

Those were the days! Days when kids could get away with wearing all sorts of "cool" t- shirts and other things to school. Stuff like "Budwiser", or "Miller High life" t- shirts. "Mr. Zog's Sex Wax" t- shirts. "Big Johnson" t- shirts. The always smooth "Joe Camel" gear was worn by many a stoner, when they weren't wearing a "Blizzard of Oz" shirt. Punks wore Dead Kennedy's and Black Flag t- shirts along with spiked bracelets and dog collars.

The haircuts are hilarious! We were nuts (idiots really), just like todays kids. Kids in the 80's had "Wedges", "Flat tops", "Mullets" of various length's were in vogue for much of the 80's. "Spikes" & "Mohawks for the punks. Stoners wore their hair long and every Cholo had their hair slicked back, sometimes with a hairnet. The Cholita's had crazy looking "bat wing" hair, while the stoner chics sometimes dyed their bangs or the side of their hair blonde. Black guys were especially fond of Geri Curl!

There were lots of tight Levi 501's. OP t- shirts, pants, & "nutter" style cordoroy shorts. Vans & Nike tennis shoes. Sperry Topsiders. Sleeveless "muscle shirts". Plaid Shorts. Izod & La Tigra Polo style shirts (with the collar flipped up). Varnet & Ray Ban sunglasses, hanging from your neck on a cord. Painters caps. Green hospital scrub tops. Converse Chuck Taylor hi tops.

Concert t- shirts were huge. Lot's of Van Halen, Journey, Scorpions, Def Leppard, Ozzie Osbourne, Rush, Loverboy. I remember I had one for the Police (and Oingo Boingo).

Hiarious.

As for me, I thought I was cool (an individualist). Really, as I look at pictures of myself, I was just as pathetic as everyone else trying to fit in with their friends. I was really into SKA so I tried to dress the part. I had a wedge style haircut. I went "thriftin'" at the local thrift store in search of 60's style Mod/ SKA clothes. I could by my annual wardrobe for about $50.00, which was a plus. I had piles of vintage Penguin shirts. Suit pants. Knock off Clark's boots (and some saddle shoes). Converse hi- tops (including some hideous multi coloreds). Suspenders that hung down. Vintage button up sweaters. Dark sunglasses. that was my uniform for the most part. I remember being in a roomful of friends one time and someone was going on and on about how stoners and jocks were conformists because they all looked alike. I started laughing as I looked around the room and pointed out how we all looked basically the same!

More yearbook laughs. Was there anything lamer than "Air Guitar" contests? Guys wailing away on tennis rackets and broomsticks! playing trash can drums! One year a group of friends and I were Icicle works. The next year we were Depeche Mode. Just like everybody else, we were too stupid to be embarrassed. At least our pics aren't in the yearbook.

Why were jocks always wearing girls clothes on stage in some of these photos?

People wrote the lamest, insincere crap in your yearbook every year as well. "Have a great summer". "Call me" (but no number, what would they say if you did?) "You're such a great friend". (I barely knew you?) "Party Hardy!". "Smoke Dope!" (some stoner wrote that).

Some of it was surprisingly quite profane and illegal. I'll spare you the details.

Our school had a couple of smoking areas. One was off to the side of the school, the other was by some fake well on the quad. Teachers and students, lighting one up. Lots of kids had cigarette lighters. Whether they smoked or not. Which reminds me, do you remember cigarette machines? I can remember my uncle, who was a couple of years older than me, buying smokes out of a coin fed machine at a store one time.

What was up with the lame "Best Dressed" type props they'd pay to the popular kids? Completely lame. "Best Body"? HaHaHa! "Nicest Smile"? "Most Athletic"? "Nicest Hair"?
"Prettiest Eyes"? They seemingly made a catagorie for each of them. What about something for the rest of us? "Poorest"? "Crappiest Car"? "Drunkest"? "Most After School Jobs"?

We had donkey basketball in our gym.

Every year, we also seemed to have at least one student get killed somehow. Hit by drunk driver. Hit by car. A pretty cheerleader was riding in a car that somebody randomly fired at. The bullet killed her. Very sad indeed. The memorial pages are nice. I hope their friends still remember them.

I wonder what's happened to some of these teachers? I really liked my art teacher, Mr. Meachem. Great guy, with cool Hawaiian shirts. Mr. Fox was a really nice History teacher. Mrs. Wade, my English teacher was great as well.

I didn't realize we had so many clubs. Latin. French. German (a guy wearing Liederhosen!). Spanish. Fellowship of Christian Atheletes. Science. Sci- Fi (are you serious?). MECHA (Scary!). Black Student. Asian. Brainy Kids. Ski club. Senior Men's Club (oh brother). Senior Women. Drama (HaHaHaHa!).

One quarter of the book is dedicated to sports. Young testosterone and peach fuzz moustaches. Too funny.

Band Kids. We used to call them band geeks (some were my best friends). They get the last laugh, now I wish I played an instrument.

Choral Kids. My sister was one. Those were some talented people. Their outfits in the pics are less than flattering.

Drama Club kids. Wow! That would be embarasssing! "I wear black because it reflects how I feel inside"...

Ha, that was fun. Welp, back in the box they go. I hope my kids get a kick out of their yearbooks when they're my age. Mostly Good memories, that was the 80's for me.

'Tis the Season

If there's one thing I hate, it's crowds. And I seem to spend an inordinate chunk of my life wading through them. Yesterday, Mrs. Roadie and I threw caution to the wind and joined the roving hordes of shoppers trying to finish their Christmas shopping (or in the case of the average American male, start their shopping). We trudged through various malls and stores. It was an all day affair. The only fun thing about it is being entertained by the oddballs that seemingly come out of the woodwork during the holiday season.

Wandering the stores and getting stuck behind people wearing novelty sweatshirts and antlers tends to suck the Christmas spirit out of me at the speed of light. I bet they have an outfit for every holiday, but Christmas is when they really get to let it all hang out. I was in the Dallas airport a couple of weeks ago and the senior citizen volunteers that man the information booth were sporting Rudolph noses that actually lit up, and enormous antlers (we're talking 5 point buck). They should've had their "greatest generation" membership cards revoked.

Occasionally you'll see a whole family gleefully "kitted out" in the lamest of holiday attire (there's always one kid who looks distraught. He knows his life is over if someone from school sees him). It's not enough for the parents to make fools of themselves, but do they have "pay it forward" and drag the children into it? I always find myself wondering about what these people do for a living. Aren't they worried that their boss, or a co- worker will see them? You wouldn't want them working for you, there's no telling what they'd do! Wonder if a client sees them? Would you do business with someone who'd employ somebody that lacking in common sense and humility? You wouldn't want them handling your 401k, let alone bagging your groceries.

You also stumble across "Gangstas" full of Christmas spirit as well. Timberland's. Baggy jeans held up by hand on crotch. Xxxl 50 cent t-shirt. Mr. T starter kit. Grill. Antler hat (worn crooked).

Have you ever seen a "Goth" kid making a Christmas statement? Knock off Doc Martins. Skin tight jeans (or parachute pants, if his girlfriend is wearing his skin tight jeans), Xxxl Rob Zombie t- shirt. Facial piercings. Antler hat (worn crooked).

One can observe some oddities whilst sitting in traffic as well. Yesterday I saw two cars with antlers hooked onto the driver and passenger windows. Last year we saw a biker astride his "hog" wearing his Santa outfit, complete with fake Santa beard. His pear shaped old lady was smashed up against him, wearing the obligatory Santa hat and Christmas light necklace (egad!).
Truck drivers apparently run these bikers over quite frequently. I've seen Santa smashed, spread eagle, on the grills of numerous 18 wheelers this year (along with two Grinch's). As if having a lighted Christmas wreath mounted on the grill of your 18 wheeler isn't bad enough.
I really feel sorry for those poor folks who, in an effort to make some extra cash (to pay for more presents), managed to scrape up a 2nd job at a local pizza joint or furniture store. Only to be sent out in the freezing cold wearing an elf suit and a spinning sandwich board.

There's also the poor fathers and grandfathers who, against their will, have been dragged out for a day of pure misery. They get the annual thrill of watching their bank accounts dwindle to nothing and their credit cards maxxed out. You see these guys faithfully manning their posts, the benches, chairs, and anything else with a flat surface big enough to handle a couple of cheeks. They're exhausted, depressed, and sometimes intoxicated. I can't blame them. Heck, they haven't even paid off last years bills. Later they'll be at home. Exhausted, depressed, and certainly intoxicated, watching lame Christmas movies! The brain numbing effect from the booze can inoculate you from the permanently brain numbing effect of the average Christmas movie. In fact, the typical Christmas movie is liable to drive you out of the house, running for the nearest mall.

Opinion's...

Someone once told me that "a man without opinion's isn't much of a man".

Sometimes in life, we must branch out and try something new. For me, this is one of those times. My hope is that you'll find my opinions (I certainly have a few) thought provoking and entertaining.

I have a wide range of interests, family, history, politics, religion, sports, music. I'll post as often as I can. It may take me awhile to "get the kinks out" as I've never had a blog, or anything similar before.

Thanks for visiting,

RR