I thought I'd share my sixth grade photo. Go ahead and laugh about our outfits and hair. I'll wait. Although, for the record, this was BY FAR the coolest outfit I'd ever owned. It came from this very upscale boutique where my best friend Kim shopped. That's her in the red polyester jumpsuit. Oh, how I envied her wardrobe and the fact that her mom took her shopping at places like that. Not like in our family (hi mom! love you!!) where we shopped exclusively at Anthony's, which mortified me. Anyway, somehow I talked mom into buying me ONE outfit at this boutique. It probably cost more than anything she'd purchased for herself in her entire life. This is what I chose: yellow gouchos, cute matching top and I paired it all with yellow striped socks. And my hair? Stringy and yet oddly defying gravity by pulling to the left. Damn I was hot.
Now, our teacher, Mr. Gleason, was by far the coolest man on the planet as far as we were concerned. He was bald, smart, was a totally hip dresser (Turtle-neck and blazer? Very cutting edge!) and drove an avocado green Karmen Ghia. I mean, was there anything cooler in 1977 than an avocado green Karmen Ghia? Unfortunately, he didn't seem to like kids. In fact, his contempt for us was palpable. Once, he even pulled my hair. Anyway, there was one boy, Brian Duffy, who was the class clown and a complete Spiderman fanatic. He was the one kid Mr. Gleason liked. Look what those two crazy guys, one an 11 year old boy, the other a 40-something year old teacher, cooked up for our class photo:
Can you see it? Our beloved teacher, our role-model, is holding a HAND GUN to Brian's head. Aahhhh, those were the days.
Edited to add: Thanks, Jodi, for lightening this photo for me; it's much easier to see the weapon now!
5 comments:
ok Kate, you need to edit this photo some if you can (lighten it enough to see the gun and send it to Jay Leno.
Was it a REAL gun???
Jod, I tried to lighten it but couldn't. I'll keep trying.
As far as I know it wasn't real, but can you imagine?? It just blows my mind that not only did the teacher think this was a good idea, the photographer obviously agreed and the school principal didn't seem to mind. And today schools have metal detectors!
Um, why Jay Leno?
This is an hysterical post! Love everything about it, your memories about your (great, by the way) outfit. I remember having to shop and buy the same clothes as my best friend around that time, too, maybe a year or so earlier. She got red overalls. I had to have them, too. She got jeans with butterflies on the back pockets. I did too, even though, up until that time, I refused to wear jeans because I thought they were uncomfortable.
My sixth grade teacher was a man, too. He loved 50's and 60's rock 'n' roll and played records for us daily at lunchtime, but Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Takin' care of Business" was his favorite. We had at least a couple of sixth grade sock hops that our classroom hosted as well.
It wasn't until I was in college and ran into him at the grocery store one day that I realized how young he was. We had been the first class he'd had as a teacher, although he already was married with young children that year that he taught us.
Sweet Potato Pie: that's one of my nicknames for our younger son.
OK. I'll stop blathering on.
I got it lightened. I'll email it to you - you MUST send it to Jay Leno's show! You should re-post the lightened version - it's too bizarre!
Yea, that behavior wouldn't cut it today, would it?
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