Now it is back to High School at Nickerson, Kansas.

Well, I did digress there a little, but I am sure had I stayed on the ancestry I would never move on with this little tale.  Sooner or later you are going to know a very lot about me.  May not all be good either!

Ok, so now I am back in Nickerson and I must go to school, like it or not.  In Nickerson one class was as large as the whole high school at Plevna.  I came from a city where everyone knew everyone and now I was adrift in a sea of faces, very few of whom I had any idea who they were.  I very promptly fell in with the "wrong crowd".  Never knew there was such a thing, but there I was smack dab in the middle of one.

Now, you are probably going to wonder about this paragraph, but I swear it is all true.  At about this time Nickerson began building a new High School.  I think I went to the old building and the new building at the same time.  I think, but I am not sure.  I remember very little about the 2 1/2 years I spent at that school.  I remember that I flunked sewing (Home Economics), scraped by Algebra, English, History, Latin and Speech was a complete disaster.  I do remember that one of my new friend's dad made home brew!  As I recall, that was a tasty concoction.  I do recall sleeping through a lot of my classes.

I recall dating once or twice, but never dated anyone the second time.  I recall that Hutchinson Naval Air Station was still in operation during my Junior year and the neighbor girl married a guy from there and moved back to Indiana or some such place.    Her sister dated one of the "swabbies".  Not me man!  Those guys were way to smooth for this little hick, although I did meet one who was here from France and I let him kiss me! Mama mia!  That's a spicy meatball!  Also about that time something was going on overseas and several Polish guy wound up in our circle.  That is all I recall about that business.

Sorry to disappoint all ye who had faith in me, but this is the way it was.  I know there are those of you who recall every moment of your existence, but I am not sure of dates and events enough to elaborate.  I am pretty sure I was there and I am pretty sure I behaved fairly normally.  I do recall the "sock hops" at Memorial Hall (?) in Hutch and I recall a guy named Joey and winning several dance contests.  That Joey was into what ever we danced to back then.  I guess it was just plain old Rock and Roll. He and I were a perfect match and we had lots of fun together.  I do not recall ever kissing Joey and years later I learned why.  Seems he was the first gay boy I ever knew.  (You do realize names have been changed to protect the innocent?) Joey actually died from AIDS many, many years later, although this is all through the grapevine.  I never seen or talked to him again after our sock hop days, oh and the fiasco when he took me to Joyland in Wichita and I threw up on the Round Up.  We made a recording in a booth there and I kept that for many years.  Wonder where that went?

During my life at Nickerson High School there were several memorable events.  Elvis Presley hit the scene on the Ed Sullivan Show.  Oh, that was love at first sight for a lot of girlies!  My brother joined the Army, went to Germany and came home from Germany.  Momma finished secretary school and we moved to Hutchinson. 

I think my head is going to explode!  I better go let the ducks and geese out and do something mundane for a while!  Hopefully see you tomorrow!