Since graduating in 1968 I have been to zero class reunions. I figure those in attendance would be pretty much of the same clique that I was never a part of. Ya know, the "incrowd", the cool people. My popularity was in the bottom 5% anyway. I mean, how do you catch up on 50 years of stuff? Ridiculous.
I was going to let them have it, for all the stuff I endured in high school. I listened to the Doors on the way there, after having drunk about 3 glasses of wine. I was going to take the microphone from the band, and give them the "Jim Morrison rant" (look it up). After I got there, a guy gave me another glass of wine, and I literally passed out. Such was my fiftieth.
In this case, I was actually glad. They were not the same people, and were concerned for me. I was "convicted" of holding onto a grudge way longer than I should have.
Seriously, though, I think Poe was a tortured soul. In a less kind moment I would say he was a freak laying out his nightmares so schoolchildren could have nightmares assigned to them like math homework.
He was an oasis in the desert of American literature as far as I was concerned although I never ever admired or liked him as a person based on his biography.
Yeah but then we wouldn't have this great memory to talk about. lol. Just goes to show that most of us never actually 'grow up', we're all pretty much the same people we were back in High School with varying levels of career success. Actually I think I might be regressing back into my second childhood now if in fact I ever did grow up.
As a "War Baby", I feel like I've personally experienced the theory of relativity. The vile transmutation into the abomination that America is now was meticulously manufactured by the Controllers who plan well in advance, often decades. Nonetheless it helps tremendously to keep a sense of humor as the ship goes down. Laughter and ridicule can be a potent force. Thanks, Don, for the trip down memory lane, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
"The vile transmutation into the abomination that America is now was meticulously manufactured by the Controllers who plan well in advance, often decades. "
I'm well aware of that. However, a blind man can see that America has been progressively transmuted into an ever increasing cesspool of crime, corruption, perversion, mongrelization, dysfunctionality, and tyranny over the years via a step by step insidious plan. I grew up in the post World War Two era and as flawed as it was, it was paradise compared to how things are now.
You are so very right! My mother graduated from a little Country Town High School in 1949 and she raised us to exist in a world that had been like hers. In her world, people were valued for their work ethic and for their kindness and personality. It was not so in our world where people were valued for their looks, their sports talents and their possessions. Because of this I can say that we were ill prepared in many ways for what was coming. I found it hard to enjoy social life in high school because I was not asked out by very many young men. My mother would actually say things like "are you being kind to others" (I tried very hard) and "are you reaching out to make others feel comfortable"? What my mother did not know is that Society had become almost completely looks oriented and no one--particularly young males--in high school cared at all about receiving any kindness from a girl they did not deem to be attractive enough. In a nutshell it was all about looks. Mother's world had already died. Class of 72.
Excellent comment, JoJo. Class of 69. Up until 1967 in Zoo Jersey, the public schools had dress codes. Boys had to have their hair trimmed and their shirts tucked in. Girls had to have their dresses and skirts minimum one inch below the knee. Failure to adhere to these guidelines got you sent home post haste. In a neighboring high school, a Jew named Micah Burton refused to trim his long sideburns and was expelled until he did so. With the backing of his father, he sued the school and the case wound up in the NJ Supreme Court. That court ruled that public schools have no constitutional authority to impose dress codes upon students. Immediately thereafter all Hell broke loose followed by race riots when MLK jr. got capped by the Cryptocracy. (His handlers & bosses). There must have been over 50 cops cordoning my high school on one day of particularly vicious racial warfare. Indeed, the 1960s was a decade of flowers, peace and love. For anyone who believes that, I've got a Covid vaccine to sell you.
As a retired teacher, I have some understanding of these things. Thank you for your kind words! Most people don't understand that the dress code not only keeps the student body appealing to look at and smelling good but also creates pride in themselves. Perhaps the most important part of the dress code that most people do not understand is that students need to rebel against something. Teenagers are apparently given the task to Rebel from some Rebellion deity. LOL. If you have a dress code, that's what they spend their time rebelling against and the cost is very low for the school…usually. If you remove the barricade of the dress code, then their Rebellion will seek to express itself at the next level up which is an inappropriate interactions with students and teachers. Dress codes are a shield and are greatly needed in school today but just try to impose one!
Very insightful about the dress code, JoJo. I was, of course, against such things as dress codes as a young radical. I now see the wisdom in them. The Catholics often explained their school uniforms by stating that if everyone wore the same thing, it would be harder for kids from wealthier families to bully those from poor ones. Thanks!
It was a Fool's Paradise. You of all people should know that Americans in the 1950's were rewarded for making the world safe for banksters and socialists.
I clearly inferred it was a paradise only in a relative, comparative sense. I know and have always known what America was and is juxtaposed to the lies and jingoistic propaganda spewed out by the usual suspects.
After you have passed through the Gates of Hell after being spiritually blinded by all the materialism and hedonism do get back to me about how wonderful it all was.
I reiterate, it was paradise compared to the satanic cesspit that exists now. I know that 100% of my contemporaries would agree with me. Naturally the pastors are not going to point that out. They promulgate the mind control religions of the Synarchy.
And I will reiterate. It was not paradise. It was a Bullyocracy. It was a Technocratic Jungle, a fight for the survival of the Richest. And others were looked down upon as Losers who did not make the Corporate Cut. And over it was slathered the thinnest veneer of Christendom. Post War America was nothing but a Whitened Sepulcher, full of rot.
Nah, I disagree. You were blessed to live in an exceptional place. And, yes, Lady Poverty is a Good Woman, who keeps us aloof from the dangers of the World. But most Americans want nothing other than their materialism and hedonism, their sports, their frivolities, and etc.
During WW2 the Churches were full of women praying that their sons and husbands would come home. But after they did the churches were empty, and the stadiums were full.
The church buildings of all mind control/mind fuck, IRC 501(c)(3) religions of the Synarchy should be transitioned into something more useful and beneficial. Like whorehouses.
The Church buildings are all Gay Whorehouses for the Satanic Pederasts. We know that. Do not confuse the Institutional Churches with the One True Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ. (That includes the Vatican- infested with Pope Frantic and his Satanic Pederasts.)
Which Bible? There are literally dozens of them with different translations and hundreds of interpretations. As an Aryan, my true Bible is my genetic memory.
Class of 1975 here, Don. I went to my 30th reunion and have not / will not attend another. The ones that show up are the woke snobs that want to show off their material possessions.
In my case, Horatio, the ones that showed up weren't really popular, but were involved in activities like school floats, various committees, etc. I guess the ones that enjoyed HS, unlike many of us. Thanks!
Long ago I made a differentiation between "popular" and "well-liked". "Popular" in high school today does not necessarily mean that everyone likes you-- it just means that you have a status and that you are considered to be one of the cool kids for some reason. Being "well-liked" means that you are, at least in most cases, easy to be with and accepting of others combined with a desire to contribute to various committees and organizations. You, as a parent, want your child to be well-liked. It is almost a curse for them to be popular.
Class of 1975 here too. I went to 15th reunion, no others and will likely not attend my 50th. Don't want to waste my money traveling to Michigan since I live in Virginia now. I was shy as a mouse then and so definitely not popular. Hated high school cliques too.
I always think of the quote, "when Alexander the Great was alive the world could scarcely contain him, when he died a coffin was sufficient." May be paraphrased, since I can't remember the exact quote.
Too funny. I was class of ‘71 and sat mine out. Didn’t even go to HS graduation. As a military brat in a small town I just didn’t belong and felt like it was a waste of time. Ended up in USN in early ‘72. Just posted something on my stack yesterday and referenced song Where Rainbows Never Die by the Steeldrivers. Check it out- lyrics.
Our graduation theme song was one of those sappy '70s hits, "We May Never Pass This Way Again" by Seals & Crofts. It was sufficiently sad enough to make me feel depressed on graduation day. Thanks, Eric.
Hey Eric, Another '71 here, skipped all re-unions as well, including med skool. I always figured there was a reason I never kept in touch with those folks. Based on the stories here, bingo.
Maybe we '71's who have never met should get together for a re-union. Like Steven Wright might say, "I like to reminisce with people I've never met."
Fellow Army brat here. We moved to small town Bowling Green, Ky in 1971, and Dad commuted home on the weekends from Ft Campbell. Talk about culture shock; I never fit in either. Class of ‘77, but graduated early in Dec ‘76; I couldn’t wait to get out of high school.
I never went to a class reunion, mainly because I never got an invite after the 10 year. I didn’t go to the 10 year because I didn’t think my peers would have changed enough in only 10 years. I was right according to a friend who went.
My class failed to have another reunion after a low turnout to the 20th. We had around 450 classmates, and maybe 25 people showed up.
A few years later, someone decided we needed one, so they put together a Fuck it, We’re 50! reunion in 2009, the year most of us would turn 50 years old. I decided to go to that one. It was fun, and about 75% of the attendees gave up only socializing with their old cliques and mingled with everyone. I was glad I went, but have no plans to attend the 50th in a few years if they have one. I still don’t fit in.
Btw, I adore the Steeldrivers and know that song well.
I understand, Daniel. I felt that way after my 10th reunion. I remembered why I didn't like high school. But I thought that 50 is a real milestone, that should be celebrated. Thanks.
"So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”
― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
But in this regard, that high water mark was our freedom, and it did peak somewhere in the late 70's, 'ish? As expressed in music, poetry, cinema, and the general discourse of those of us alive at the time.
I often try to figure-out "when" it ended, or "what" was the first indication that we were headed to where we are now. Certainly the first time someone said "politically correct", or maybe when they re-wickered the movie rating system to include "PG-13"?
Not that it matters much now, because it isn't like we can go back in time and prevent the current tyranny, by pulling it up by the root.
Just think, when George Carlin did his bit about "The seven words you can't say on television" ... it was funny! Now, it's more like 700 words, things, concepts, phrases, etc., that you cannot say in any form of public discourse, lest there be consequences.
I've mentioned this before, but all one need do is go back and watch some cinematic release versions of the movies from about 1970 to 1976/78, to see just how much more free we were.
And what's worse? If something doesn't change, and soon, imagine what the class of 2024 will be saying about now, in 2074!? How bad will it be then?
To quote Henry Rollins- "Memory paints the past in gold".
But goddamned it, things really DID used to be better!
I think you have it right, Myriad- our freedom probably did peak around the late '70s. Imagine if a right-wing Carlin came out today, and produced a comedy routine around all the things you can't say now. Carlin's forbidden words were all considered profanity. Today, we have a whole lot of clean, but forbidden thought. Thought Crime. Thanks!
Our "Freedom" ended a long time ago- before any of us were born. But the enforcement in the old days was way more subtle. As SHeeple, we policed ourselves very effectively.
I grew up in a beach town on the Florida gulf coast, and I'm still here, though I rarely go to the beach anymore. I know what you mean when you talk about it being crowded. It seems that it's been taken over by "hispanics" beginning in the 80's and increasing exponentially ever since. It had a great small town vibe back in the 60s and 70s. I would've been class of 74 if I hadn't dropped out in the 11th grade. I never liked school very much. Never went to a prom or reunion. I used to think I was fat if I had the tiniest little roll over the top of my hip hugger bellbottoms. By today's standards I was skinny. I just can't believe how fat the kids are nowadays. Anyway, it was good times and we had GREAT music! Concerts were cheap back then. The good old days! So glad to have had them.
You're like me, Annette. I live in the same county I moved to with my family when I was two years old. Reminds me of the great line from the early Simpsons episode about Homer's HS reunion, when he won as award for "the graduate who traveled the shortest distance to be here." Thanks!
1974 was a different time Donald. A different planet. Nothing is the same. It has all been transformed, literally, into a unrecognizable hellscape. At least I have something to hold onto from that time, memories and my classic 1974 "Spirit of America" Impala. Both in excellent condition, but both relics.
I know, it makes me ill. The new cars, I have one, are just spy platforms. They have wifi, cameras in the rear view mirror, microphones listening, tracking, just like cellphones. I hate driving it and regret buying it. I am literally about to take it to shop and have all of that garbage removed if I can. The whole console and dash gutted, new mirror, and my own music installed. It's just too much. The spying by car manufacturers is out of control too.
You know, your comment made me think, that is a great business opportunity for someone with the right skills and knowledge. The dealership certainly will not do what you are looking for. Nor will any shop I am aware of. But I have to think there is a substantial market for people that would like to have a new car minus the full spectrum dominance surveillance and control systems. If it isn't already, such modifications will quickly be criminalized, but it could be a good business otherwise.
Don's Custom - Late Model Deep Cleaning and Dedigitization Services
Triple D Autos for short. Has a bit of a 70's ring to it.
I'm researching now what wires to cut, what modules to disconnect, and I will do it myself. If successful, yeah that would be something, and if not the vehicle will be destroyed. Oh well.
High school was not a pleasant experience for me either Don. Class of 71 (barely). I was always trying to fit in. Ran from one crowd to another trying to be cool. I did make a few friends but they’ve faded long ago. Those with money were getting new cars for their 16th birthday. One guy named Lars got a brand new Cougar CR7, Jet Black, red leather, console shifter, 8 track player. Being one of ten kids money was scarce. I got a job pumping gas at the Shell station around the corner from our school. Bought my first car from my older sister, 61 Chevy Biscayne beater. I loved it. I will admit I was a shit student and never applied myself. Considered myself stupid. So when all my friends were going off to big colleges, I said fuck it and enlisted in the Marine Corps.
I did go to my 20th reunion. I was recently divorced, one year sober and scared to death. I actually wore a suit and tie. Everyone knew I was sober. Word gets out you know. I also went to my 40th and reconnected with a couple that we’re friends with today. They convinced me to go to the 50th and that’s it.
There’s this core group where High School must have been the high point of their lives. Maybe it was. Good for them. It wasn’t for me but I wouldn’t change a thing. God bless you Don. Spotted you right away you handsome devil in black.
I was in the class of '71. I guess I've always been a different kind of rebel as well as a loner. I've always thought drugs were stupid because I was blessed with a good brain and couldn't see doing anything that might mess with it. I disliked the old establishment teachers for their arrogance and I hated the new "cool" teachers with their paisleys and sideburns because they were so shallow. The only decent one in the whole school was the vice principal. He wouldn't get a job now because he knew what was going on and in my conversations with him he was not afraid to say so. I hope he lived to a very happy ripe old age. They definitely don't make many like him. I didn't go to grad as I had to work. I either worked or lost my job. It was a definite no brainer. As soon as I could afford to I left for the North and never went back. While I bear no ill will to any of my fellow students ( I never bothered keeping in touch with any of them) I'm willing to bet I have had a better life than most of them and I'm not talking monetarily. I'm probably in better shape than all of the jocks and can run most guys in their forties into the ground. I think we should all leave the past in the past otherwise you may risk ruining the good memories of the people you hung with back then. Congratulations on staying healthy and happy for this long in your life. I wish you many more good years.
If you look on a map I'm about an hour out of Dawson Creek right on the B.C. Alberta border. The few people you meet up here are mostly indigenous in this area mostly Metis.
Everyone is brainwashed differently by the media. Even revisiting the favorite TV shows, leaves a psych message in our subconscious.
All Tavistock victims of programs.
Bill Murray in Scrooged approached it with the Ghost of Christmas Past, thinking that he hit the ball that won the game, when it was just a scene from a TV show..
My sister, older by 15 months, and I graduated from high school together in 1974 (she repeated her sophomore year and that's how we ended up in the same grade, long story), and even though we were in the same grade, the same homeroom for God's sake with the same last name, no one knew we were sisters. For 3 years. Neither of us attended a 50th reunion, in fact I am sure there wasn't one. I often think about how much things have changed since 1974. The music, the food, the environment, the water, even the medical care was much safer back then. Nice walk down memory lane. Thanks.
That's not surprising, Lynn. Most kids are only interested in their cliques. One guy that was in my homeroom all 4 years was at the reunion. I said hello to him, and he looked at me blankly. "I recognize the name," he said. We had several conversations in HS. I guess my memory is better than some. Thanks.
As a graduate from the class of '77, my 50th reunion is still a a few years away. And I have no plans to attend. I flirted with attending my 25th, but the engagement cost was outrageous. I did not even go to the Homecoming Game. No thanx.
For the most part, I was a Straight Catholic Boy. No sex. No drugs. Not even Rock and Roll. Parties, especially beer parties, were nothing but trouble. (I did listen to Boston Pops' versions of Beatles songs, does that count?)
A football player was voted Homecoming Queen. Egads. Head for the Hills. That would have been my exit ticket right there.
My first and last car was a Yellow Ford Festiva that rolled rubber down every Interstate, every Federal HIghway, and most State Highways. Not only did I change the oil and tires, I change bearings, brake pads, rebuilt engines and transmissions- everything but the steering column . (They say those last forever unless you have power steering.)
I did enjoy my high school years, learned a lot, and had a history teacher who was a bona fide Conspiracy Theorist. We studied both the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita. I learned about Albert Pikes letter regrading three world wars in 1974 and, YES, the letter was in the British Archives from 1927. I knew about Lord Milner's Planning of WW1 before James Corbett was born.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us. You are our only hope!
What did the teacher say about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion? Apparently people are supposed to believe it is a forgery by the czarist secret police. Even if true, it still seems very accurate. Which brings up maybe it isn't a forgery.
The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is a vague outline of The Plan, without delving into specifics. Its purpose was to enlighten the Sheeple about ends, without discussing means- except in the most general of terms. The same applies to the Permanent Instruction- which is much more interesting than the Protocols, and much closer to the pulse of Armageddon.
Many stories as to the origin of the Protocols are extent, and all probably have a kernel of truth.
The Russian Czars were in on The Plan. They went underground after the Bolshevik Revolution- not murdered like so many believe.
I did not go to my 50th reunion. With the exception of a very small handful of people (most of which I am not in contact with, nor even know how to contact), I care not at all what any of my classmates have been up to. Coincidentally, I also worked in a hospital when I was a teenager, and I don't remember leaving early from my shifts. I do agree that life was better, simpler, and less constrained in the early 70s than now.
Like you, I graduated high school and smoked 50-cents-a-pack cigarettes (True Green 100's, don't ask) in 1974, did not go to any dances or to graduation, and bought my first car the same year (mine was a 1968 white Triumph GT6, voom). Unlike you, I did not attend my 50th high school reunion (major "no thanks" to that). Thank you for your charming essay and taking me right back through your time machine -- and thanks as well for including the photo of your reunion (but yikes, lots of folks wearing seriously bad clothes).
GT6- wow. I would have loved to have a car that cool, Leara. The closest I ever came was when I bought a new '77 Toyota Celica liftback. 5 speed. AM/FM. Top of the line for Toyota at the time. I loved that car. Thanks!
Although it looked hot, the Triumph wasn't that cool after all. I bought it knowing jack about cars, getting no guidance, and a year later the thing was sputtering and got sold for half of what I paid for it. Buh-bye college tuition payment. Dude, you must have been so dang proud to be able to buy a NEW car just few years out of high school! Quite an achievement. And you were cool!!
Since graduating in 1968 I have been to zero class reunions. I figure those in attendance would be pretty much of the same clique that I was never a part of. Ya know, the "incrowd", the cool people. My popularity was in the bottom 5% anyway. I mean, how do you catch up on 50 years of stuff? Ridiculous.
Good points, Crixcyon. I guess we expect people to grow up eventually. Some never do. Thanks.
The trick is growing up without growing old.
Casey Stengel
As in 'growing old is inevitable, while growing up is optional?' For sure.
I've grown old without ever growing up. I guess I missed Casey's trick or never tried.
"Fellas, You can't forge a Birth Certificate." - Babe Ruth 1935
Tell that to 0bama.
haha, I was just about to write your first line word for word. And what followed echos my situation and sentiments perfectly.
I imagine Class Reunions are just a continuation of the same pecking order pre-graduation. I also imagine the washouts never attend.
I was going to let them have it, for all the stuff I endured in high school. I listened to the Doors on the way there, after having drunk about 3 glasses of wine. I was going to take the microphone from the band, and give them the "Jim Morrison rant" (look it up). After I got there, a guy gave me another glass of wine, and I literally passed out. Such was my fiftieth.
That's quite a story, James. Many of us have had our best laid plans foiled by alcohol. Thanks!
In this case, I was actually glad. They were not the same people, and were concerned for me. I was "convicted" of holding onto a grudge way longer than I should have.
Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
Ambrose Bierce
Some of our best laid plans are also fueled by alcohol.
But rarely.
Some of Poe's most horrifying stuff was inspired by alcohol withdrawal.
Should have kept drinking.
Seriously, though, I think Poe was a tortured soul. In a less kind moment I would say he was a freak laying out his nightmares so schoolchildren could have nightmares assigned to them like math homework.
He was an oasis in the desert of American literature as far as I was concerned although I never ever admired or liked him as a person based on his biography.
Had he not been around, maybe room at the oasis would have been filled by a writer of uplifting tale? He was a great writer.
Good point! Lol.
He drank himself to death at 40.
There is some disagreement about that.
Hope he found peace. Nice he didn't write more to torture more.
He was one of many superbly talented individuals who became self-destructive. His command of English was unparalleled.
I do not disagree.
Staying Home in Bed would have saved you some gas money.
Yeah but then we wouldn't have this great memory to talk about. lol. Just goes to show that most of us never actually 'grow up', we're all pretty much the same people we were back in High School with varying levels of career success. Actually I think I might be regressing back into my second childhood now if in fact I ever did grow up.
As a "War Baby", I feel like I've personally experienced the theory of relativity. The vile transmutation into the abomination that America is now was meticulously manufactured by the Controllers who plan well in advance, often decades. Nonetheless it helps tremendously to keep a sense of humor as the ship goes down. Laughter and ridicule can be a potent force. Thanks, Don, for the trip down memory lane, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
We have to laugh at it, Hereticdrummer. Thanks!
You're welcome, Don, and thanks again. If they cut off our arms, we'll kick them to death.
"The vile transmutation into the abomination that America is now was meticulously manufactured by the Controllers who plan well in advance, often decades. "
Couldn't have said it better.
Thank you, Wilson.
What do you mean "transmutation"? America was created for its role from the beginning.
I'm well aware of that. However, a blind man can see that America has been progressively transmuted into an ever increasing cesspool of crime, corruption, perversion, mongrelization, dysfunctionality, and tyranny over the years via a step by step insidious plan. I grew up in the post World War Two era and as flawed as it was, it was paradise compared to how things are now.
You are so very right! My mother graduated from a little Country Town High School in 1949 and she raised us to exist in a world that had been like hers. In her world, people were valued for their work ethic and for their kindness and personality. It was not so in our world where people were valued for their looks, their sports talents and their possessions. Because of this I can say that we were ill prepared in many ways for what was coming. I found it hard to enjoy social life in high school because I was not asked out by very many young men. My mother would actually say things like "are you being kind to others" (I tried very hard) and "are you reaching out to make others feel comfortable"? What my mother did not know is that Society had become almost completely looks oriented and no one--particularly young males--in high school cared at all about receiving any kindness from a girl they did not deem to be attractive enough. In a nutshell it was all about looks. Mother's world had already died. Class of 72.
Excellent comment, JoJo. Class of 69. Up until 1967 in Zoo Jersey, the public schools had dress codes. Boys had to have their hair trimmed and their shirts tucked in. Girls had to have their dresses and skirts minimum one inch below the knee. Failure to adhere to these guidelines got you sent home post haste. In a neighboring high school, a Jew named Micah Burton refused to trim his long sideburns and was expelled until he did so. With the backing of his father, he sued the school and the case wound up in the NJ Supreme Court. That court ruled that public schools have no constitutional authority to impose dress codes upon students. Immediately thereafter all Hell broke loose followed by race riots when MLK jr. got capped by the Cryptocracy. (His handlers & bosses). There must have been over 50 cops cordoning my high school on one day of particularly vicious racial warfare. Indeed, the 1960s was a decade of flowers, peace and love. For anyone who believes that, I've got a Covid vaccine to sell you.
As a retired teacher, I have some understanding of these things. Thank you for your kind words! Most people don't understand that the dress code not only keeps the student body appealing to look at and smelling good but also creates pride in themselves. Perhaps the most important part of the dress code that most people do not understand is that students need to rebel against something. Teenagers are apparently given the task to Rebel from some Rebellion deity. LOL. If you have a dress code, that's what they spend their time rebelling against and the cost is very low for the school…usually. If you remove the barricade of the dress code, then their Rebellion will seek to express itself at the next level up which is an inappropriate interactions with students and teachers. Dress codes are a shield and are greatly needed in school today but just try to impose one!
Very insightful about the dress code, JoJo. I was, of course, against such things as dress codes as a young radical. I now see the wisdom in them. The Catholics often explained their school uniforms by stating that if everyone wore the same thing, it would be harder for kids from wealthier families to bully those from poor ones. Thanks!
It was a Fool's Paradise. You of all people should know that Americans in the 1950's were rewarded for making the world safe for banksters and socialists.
I clearly inferred it was a paradise only in a relative, comparative sense. I know and have always known what America was and is juxtaposed to the lies and jingoistic propaganda spewed out by the usual suspects.
But how wonderful it was for those that got to live in that fake paradise!
After you have passed through the Gates of Hell after being spiritually blinded by all the materialism and hedonism do get back to me about how wonderful it all was.
🫤
It was no paradise. It was a trap. And shame on the Pastors for not pointing that out both in word and deed.
I reiterate, it was paradise compared to the satanic cesspit that exists now. I know that 100% of my contemporaries would agree with me. Naturally the pastors are not going to point that out. They promulgate the mind control religions of the Synarchy.
And I will reiterate. It was not paradise. It was a Bullyocracy. It was a Technocratic Jungle, a fight for the survival of the Richest. And others were looked down upon as Losers who did not make the Corporate Cut. And over it was slathered the thinnest veneer of Christendom. Post War America was nothing but a Whitened Sepulcher, full of rot.
Still a helluva lot better than it is now.
Nah, I disagree. You were blessed to live in an exceptional place. And, yes, Lady Poverty is a Good Woman, who keeps us aloof from the dangers of the World. But most Americans want nothing other than their materialism and hedonism, their sports, their frivolities, and etc.
During WW2 the Churches were full of women praying that their sons and husbands would come home. But after they did the churches were empty, and the stadiums were full.
And that was Paradise?
The church buildings of all mind control/mind fuck, IRC 501(c)(3) religions of the Synarchy should be transitioned into something more useful and beneficial. Like whorehouses.
The Church buildings are all Gay Whorehouses for the Satanic Pederasts. We know that. Do not confuse the Institutional Churches with the One True Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ. (That includes the Vatican- infested with Pope Frantic and his Satanic Pederasts.)
Crack open the Bible. it is all there.
Which Bible? There are literally dozens of them with different translations and hundreds of interpretations. As an Aryan, my true Bible is my genetic memory.
I was being tongue-in-cheek, Jo-Jo, which is difficult to convey in the cyber realms.
Class of 1975 here, Don. I went to my 30th reunion and have not / will not attend another. The ones that show up are the woke snobs that want to show off their material possessions.
In my case, Horatio, the ones that showed up weren't really popular, but were involved in activities like school floats, various committees, etc. I guess the ones that enjoyed HS, unlike many of us. Thanks!
Long ago I made a differentiation between "popular" and "well-liked". "Popular" in high school today does not necessarily mean that everyone likes you-- it just means that you have a status and that you are considered to be one of the cool kids for some reason. Being "well-liked" means that you are, at least in most cases, easy to be with and accepting of others combined with a desire to contribute to various committees and organizations. You, as a parent, want your child to be well-liked. It is almost a curse for them to be popular.
Class of 1975 here too. I went to 15th reunion, no others and will likely not attend my 50th. Don't want to waste my money traveling to Michigan since I live in Virginia now. I was shy as a mouse then and so definitely not popular. Hated high school cliques too.
I couldn't stand the cliques either, was pretty much a loner with just couple really good friends. We ignored the rest of them.
That works through the 20th reunion. As you get older the Toys do not really matter.
One would think, but not this crowd.
I always think of the quote, "when Alexander the Great was alive the world could scarcely contain him, when he died a coffin was sufficient." May be paraphrased, since I can't remember the exact quote.
Too funny. I was class of ‘71 and sat mine out. Didn’t even go to HS graduation. As a military brat in a small town I just didn’t belong and felt like it was a waste of time. Ended up in USN in early ‘72. Just posted something on my stack yesterday and referenced song Where Rainbows Never Die by the Steeldrivers. Check it out- lyrics.
Our graduation theme song was one of those sappy '70s hits, "We May Never Pass This Way Again" by Seals & Crofts. It was sufficiently sad enough to make me feel depressed on graduation day. Thanks, Eric.
Thank God Seals and Crofts never passed that way again. The Instrumentals for their songs were Classic Elevator Music.
Hey Eric, Another '71 here, skipped all re-unions as well, including med skool. I always figured there was a reason I never kept in touch with those folks. Based on the stories here, bingo.
Maybe we '71's who have never met should get together for a re-union. Like Steven Wright might say, "I like to reminisce with people I've never met."
I'll check out the song,
~~ j ~~
Fellow Army brat here. We moved to small town Bowling Green, Ky in 1971, and Dad commuted home on the weekends from Ft Campbell. Talk about culture shock; I never fit in either. Class of ‘77, but graduated early in Dec ‘76; I couldn’t wait to get out of high school.
I never went to a class reunion, mainly because I never got an invite after the 10 year. I didn’t go to the 10 year because I didn’t think my peers would have changed enough in only 10 years. I was right according to a friend who went.
My class failed to have another reunion after a low turnout to the 20th. We had around 450 classmates, and maybe 25 people showed up.
A few years later, someone decided we needed one, so they put together a Fuck it, We’re 50! reunion in 2009, the year most of us would turn 50 years old. I decided to go to that one. It was fun, and about 75% of the attendees gave up only socializing with their old cliques and mingled with everyone. I was glad I went, but have no plans to attend the 50th in a few years if they have one. I still don’t fit in.
Btw, I adore the Steeldrivers and know that song well.
Thanks for sharing that, Tracie!
If Bowling Green Kentucky is anything like Bowling Green Illinois or Bowling Green Ohio, you might want to consider moving to Mt Cresson.
I left BG in 1989, and never looked back.
Does BG stand for Big Government?
Nice tune!
I went to my 50th, but I learned what I had forgotten about people and I don't need to go again, I will remember this time...
I understand, Daniel. I felt that way after my 10th reunion. I remembered why I didn't like high school. But I thought that 50 is a real milestone, that should be celebrated. Thanks.
Great piece, and it reminded me of a quote-
"So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”
― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
But in this regard, that high water mark was our freedom, and it did peak somewhere in the late 70's, 'ish? As expressed in music, poetry, cinema, and the general discourse of those of us alive at the time.
I often try to figure-out "when" it ended, or "what" was the first indication that we were headed to where we are now. Certainly the first time someone said "politically correct", or maybe when they re-wickered the movie rating system to include "PG-13"?
Not that it matters much now, because it isn't like we can go back in time and prevent the current tyranny, by pulling it up by the root.
Just think, when George Carlin did his bit about "The seven words you can't say on television" ... it was funny! Now, it's more like 700 words, things, concepts, phrases, etc., that you cannot say in any form of public discourse, lest there be consequences.
I've mentioned this before, but all one need do is go back and watch some cinematic release versions of the movies from about 1970 to 1976/78, to see just how much more free we were.
And what's worse? If something doesn't change, and soon, imagine what the class of 2024 will be saying about now, in 2074!? How bad will it be then?
To quote Henry Rollins- "Memory paints the past in gold".
But goddamned it, things really DID used to be better!
I think you have it right, Myriad- our freedom probably did peak around the late '70s. Imagine if a right-wing Carlin came out today, and produced a comedy routine around all the things you can't say now. Carlin's forbidden words were all considered profanity. Today, we have a whole lot of clean, but forbidden thought. Thought Crime. Thanks!
Our "Freedom" ended a long time ago- before any of us were born. But the enforcement in the old days was way more subtle. As SHeeple, we policed ourselves very effectively.
I am a tad nostalgic about any movies before 911. I know I am wrong though they seem more innocent. Even though they were not.
I wonder if they seem more innocent because we were more Innocent in that era.
I grew up in a beach town on the Florida gulf coast, and I'm still here, though I rarely go to the beach anymore. I know what you mean when you talk about it being crowded. It seems that it's been taken over by "hispanics" beginning in the 80's and increasing exponentially ever since. It had a great small town vibe back in the 60s and 70s. I would've been class of 74 if I hadn't dropped out in the 11th grade. I never liked school very much. Never went to a prom or reunion. I used to think I was fat if I had the tiniest little roll over the top of my hip hugger bellbottoms. By today's standards I was skinny. I just can't believe how fat the kids are nowadays. Anyway, it was good times and we had GREAT music! Concerts were cheap back then. The good old days! So glad to have had them.
You're like me, Annette. I live in the same county I moved to with my family when I was two years old. Reminds me of the great line from the early Simpsons episode about Homer's HS reunion, when he won as award for "the graduate who traveled the shortest distance to be here." Thanks!
which can be a long way for the fattest / sorry.
I went to the Prom as a Junior and it was one of the worst nights of my life. I left after just an hour. My meal was a takeout.
1974 was a different time Donald. A different planet. Nothing is the same. It has all been transformed, literally, into a unrecognizable hellscape. At least I have something to hold onto from that time, memories and my classic 1974 "Spirit of America" Impala. Both in excellent condition, but both relics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlp0xLLznZc
Nice, Jean-Baptiste. It's amazing the kind of products those factories filled with "unskilled" laborers once produced. Thanks!
I know, it makes me ill. The new cars, I have one, are just spy platforms. They have wifi, cameras in the rear view mirror, microphones listening, tracking, just like cellphones. I hate driving it and regret buying it. I am literally about to take it to shop and have all of that garbage removed if I can. The whole console and dash gutted, new mirror, and my own music installed. It's just too much. The spying by car manufacturers is out of control too.
You know, your comment made me think, that is a great business opportunity for someone with the right skills and knowledge. The dealership certainly will not do what you are looking for. Nor will any shop I am aware of. But I have to think there is a substantial market for people that would like to have a new car minus the full spectrum dominance surveillance and control systems. If it isn't already, such modifications will quickly be criminalized, but it could be a good business otherwise.
Don's Custom - Late Model Deep Cleaning and Dedigitization Services
Triple D Autos for short. Has a bit of a 70's ring to it.
I'm researching now what wires to cut, what modules to disconnect, and I will do it myself. If successful, yeah that would be something, and if not the vehicle will be destroyed. Oh well.
1974 was actually not a different time in the sense that from 1962 you could see everything coming, especially after Vatican II opened.
High school was not a pleasant experience for me either Don. Class of 71 (barely). I was always trying to fit in. Ran from one crowd to another trying to be cool. I did make a few friends but they’ve faded long ago. Those with money were getting new cars for their 16th birthday. One guy named Lars got a brand new Cougar CR7, Jet Black, red leather, console shifter, 8 track player. Being one of ten kids money was scarce. I got a job pumping gas at the Shell station around the corner from our school. Bought my first car from my older sister, 61 Chevy Biscayne beater. I loved it. I will admit I was a shit student and never applied myself. Considered myself stupid. So when all my friends were going off to big colleges, I said fuck it and enlisted in the Marine Corps.
I did go to my 20th reunion. I was recently divorced, one year sober and scared to death. I actually wore a suit and tie. Everyone knew I was sober. Word gets out you know. I also went to my 40th and reconnected with a couple that we’re friends with today. They convinced me to go to the 50th and that’s it.
There’s this core group where High School must have been the high point of their lives. Maybe it was. Good for them. It wasn’t for me but I wouldn’t change a thing. God bless you Don. Spotted you right away you handsome devil in black.
I appreciate you sharing that, Dennis. Thanks!
I was in the class of '71. I guess I've always been a different kind of rebel as well as a loner. I've always thought drugs were stupid because I was blessed with a good brain and couldn't see doing anything that might mess with it. I disliked the old establishment teachers for their arrogance and I hated the new "cool" teachers with their paisleys and sideburns because they were so shallow. The only decent one in the whole school was the vice principal. He wouldn't get a job now because he knew what was going on and in my conversations with him he was not afraid to say so. I hope he lived to a very happy ripe old age. They definitely don't make many like him. I didn't go to grad as I had to work. I either worked or lost my job. It was a definite no brainer. As soon as I could afford to I left for the North and never went back. While I bear no ill will to any of my fellow students ( I never bothered keeping in touch with any of them) I'm willing to bet I have had a better life than most of them and I'm not talking monetarily. I'm probably in better shape than all of the jocks and can run most guys in their forties into the ground. I think we should all leave the past in the past otherwise you may risk ruining the good memories of the people you hung with back then. Congratulations on staying healthy and happy for this long in your life. I wish you many more good years.
Sounds like you came out ahead, Peter. Thanks!
I definitely have no regrets.
Living right is scads better than living rich. So, how far North did you go? Can you hear the White Wolves howl? Give them my regards.
I'm making a run for the other border.
If you look on a map I'm about an hour out of Dawson Creek right on the B.C. Alberta border. The few people you meet up here are mostly indigenous in this area mostly Metis.
I was '68. Went to two reunions.
You can never go home again.
Everyone is brainwashed differently by the media. Even revisiting the favorite TV shows, leaves a psych message in our subconscious.
All Tavistock victims of programs.
Bill Murray in Scrooged approached it with the Ghost of Christmas Past, thinking that he hit the ball that won the game, when it was just a scene from a TV show..
Our karma is too transcend it.
"Instant Karma is going to get you."
John Lennon
Good points, Bard. Thanks.
the roaring 60's paved the way
and the deviant 70's got us where we are today.
though I can also deconstruct 50's jewish cowboy shows.
cause it's the jewish revolutionary spirit
and everybody knows / Leonard Cohen song (singing for Israel)
My sister, older by 15 months, and I graduated from high school together in 1974 (she repeated her sophomore year and that's how we ended up in the same grade, long story), and even though we were in the same grade, the same homeroom for God's sake with the same last name, no one knew we were sisters. For 3 years. Neither of us attended a 50th reunion, in fact I am sure there wasn't one. I often think about how much things have changed since 1974. The music, the food, the environment, the water, even the medical care was much safer back then. Nice walk down memory lane. Thanks.
That's not surprising, Lynn. Most kids are only interested in their cliques. One guy that was in my homeroom all 4 years was at the reunion. I said hello to him, and he looked at me blankly. "I recognize the name," he said. We had several conversations in HS. I guess my memory is better than some. Thanks.
As a graduate from the class of '77, my 50th reunion is still a a few years away. And I have no plans to attend. I flirted with attending my 25th, but the engagement cost was outrageous. I did not even go to the Homecoming Game. No thanx.
For the most part, I was a Straight Catholic Boy. No sex. No drugs. Not even Rock and Roll. Parties, especially beer parties, were nothing but trouble. (I did listen to Boston Pops' versions of Beatles songs, does that count?)
A football player was voted Homecoming Queen. Egads. Head for the Hills. That would have been my exit ticket right there.
My first and last car was a Yellow Ford Festiva that rolled rubber down every Interstate, every Federal HIghway, and most State Highways. Not only did I change the oil and tires, I change bearings, brake pads, rebuilt engines and transmissions- everything but the steering column . (They say those last forever unless you have power steering.)
I did enjoy my high school years, learned a lot, and had a history teacher who was a bona fide Conspiracy Theorist. We studied both the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita. I learned about Albert Pikes letter regrading three world wars in 1974 and, YES, the letter was in the British Archives from 1927. I knew about Lord Milner's Planning of WW1 before James Corbett was born.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us. You are our only hope!
You always give us a unique perspective, WW. You had a HS teacher that discussed the Protocols of Zion? Wow. Thanks!
PEZ is so 19th(?) Century. UR has much more original and entertaining JDS. I'm a proud and traditional J, by the way.
What did the teacher say about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion? Apparently people are supposed to believe it is a forgery by the czarist secret police. Even if true, it still seems very accurate. Which brings up maybe it isn't a forgery.
The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is a vague outline of The Plan, without delving into specifics. Its purpose was to enlighten the Sheeple about ends, without discussing means- except in the most general of terms. The same applies to the Permanent Instruction- which is much more interesting than the Protocols, and much closer to the pulse of Armageddon.
Many stories as to the origin of the Protocols are extent, and all probably have a kernel of truth.
The Russian Czars were in on The Plan. They went underground after the Bolshevik Revolution- not murdered like so many believe.
I did not go to my 50th reunion. With the exception of a very small handful of people (most of which I am not in contact with, nor even know how to contact), I care not at all what any of my classmates have been up to. Coincidentally, I also worked in a hospital when I was a teenager, and I don't remember leaving early from my shifts. I do agree that life was better, simpler, and less constrained in the early 70s than now.
Maybe I was just lucky, Michael, and assumed it was standard for all shift workers then. Thanks.
Like you, I graduated high school and smoked 50-cents-a-pack cigarettes (True Green 100's, don't ask) in 1974, did not go to any dances or to graduation, and bought my first car the same year (mine was a 1968 white Triumph GT6, voom). Unlike you, I did not attend my 50th high school reunion (major "no thanks" to that). Thank you for your charming essay and taking me right back through your time machine -- and thanks as well for including the photo of your reunion (but yikes, lots of folks wearing seriously bad clothes).
GT6- wow. I would have loved to have a car that cool, Leara. The closest I ever came was when I bought a new '77 Toyota Celica liftback. 5 speed. AM/FM. Top of the line for Toyota at the time. I loved that car. Thanks!
Although it looked hot, the Triumph wasn't that cool after all. I bought it knowing jack about cars, getting no guidance, and a year later the thing was sputtering and got sold for half of what I paid for it. Buh-bye college tuition payment. Dude, you must have been so dang proud to be able to buy a NEW car just few years out of high school! Quite an achievement. And you were cool!!