Going to Town

Written for Week #43 GBE2 Prompt - Shenanigans

     Remember when you were in high school and in every class there was that one person who always did everything  by the book.   They always did their homework on time, followed all the rules, worked after school at a job, never went out partying where there was drinking or drugs, never smoked, made good grades; in other words, was a boring Miss Goody-Two-Shoes.

B - O - R - I - N - G !

     Well, in my class, that boring girl was me.  I was that workaholic who never seemed to have time for fun.  I never wanted to do anything to disappoint a teacher, and certainly would never have thought of upsetting my employer.      I worked after school and weekends at the local drive-in restaurant; sometimes it seemed like I spent more time there than at home.  But, above all, the one person I never wanted to disappoint was my mother.  Mother and I were great friends as well as having a mother-daughter relationship.   Because I had worked since before I was 14 and had always been so responsible mother never gave me a lot of rules to follow.  She always told me that she trusted me as long as I never gave her a reason not to.  That meant the world to me and I was very careful that I didn't do anything to make her not trust me.  Even though she never gave me a curfew if I was doing something that I knew I would be out later than usual I always called her and told her (and that was before cell phones!).   So now you're thinking, boy, she really was boring!

     Okay, for the most part, I probably was boring.  But, believe it or not, there are a few things in life that could cause even a Miss Goody-two-shoes to cross over to the dark side and break the rules.  For this at the time, 16 year old it was

Three Dog Night!

     I was one of those teenagers that loved nearly all music so it was always hard for me to pick favorites, except when it came to Three Dog Night.  I love, love, loved their music and had a huge crush on Cory Wells, one of the lead singers.  So started the downfall of Miss Goody-two-shoes.

     It was late summer, 1969.  Three Dog Night were going to perform at the Kentucky State Fair in Freedom Hall.  Herein lies the problem.  It was the Kentucky State Fair, which meant crossing the bridge to Kentucky...in Louisville.   Living in a small town in southern Indiana, the biggest city I was allowed to drive to was New Albany.   Now that may be just a bridge crossing from Louisville, but when you considered city size and traffic  they were worlds apart.   To us, going to Louisville was like most people going to New York.  Therefore, anytime you said you were going to town, it meant you were going to New Albany.  My mom didn't even drive across the bridge.  We only went to Louisville when dad was with us to drive.  You get the picture.

     But this was Three Dog Night!   I had to find a way to get there.  Teenage mentality took over.  My friend, Diane and I told mom we were going to town.  In my teenage reasoning, it wasn't really lying.  We were going to town, we just didn't say which town.    I knew mom would let us go because  she was great about letting me have the car.  I felt really bad, but not bad enough to not go.  So off we went to the BIG city of Louisville and to the fairgrounds.  My first driving experience in that much traffic!  Luckily, we made it without incident.

     And, boy was it worth it!   There were no chairs, everyone stood up and we were within 3 feet of the stage.   The concert was amazing!  I even imagined that Cory looked right at me a few times when he was singing.  It was this teenage girl's fantasy come true.

     Okay, so my wild-child side didn't last long.  I told mom the truth after-the-fact because my conscience got the better of me.  Since I fessed up and we had made it without any wrecks or muggings or anything bad, she didn't punish me.  I was so relieved.  But even if she had, it would have been worth it!

     Maybe it's impossible for a Goody-two-shoes to completely turn over a new leaf, but, the occasional shenanigan sure made life a lot more fun!

  

Until next time...that's my view.


Kat