The Party

The Parents

     "I'm sorry that you are disappointed, Millie", her mother said as Millie stomped out of the room.   Mrs. Brock turned and looked at her husband sadly as she sunk into the couch next to him.  She hated disappointing Millie, but lately it seemed to be necessary more and more often.    Where had the last 16 years gone?  Life was so much easier when Millie was happy just to go for ice cream or to the zoo.  Now it was boys and parties; parties that she and her husband didn't approve of. 

     Millie had told them about tonight's party nearly a week ago.   She had been so excited, telling them that everyone would be there - especially all the important people.    She just had to go or her high school career would be over!  She was always so dramatic.  They hadn't given her an answer but instead told her they would let her know later.

     Knowing most of the other parents, Mrs. Brock had checked around to see what she could learn about this party.   What she learned was that it was not a party she was going to let Millie attend.  She knew that Mr. Brock would back her up on this.    They had discussed the party at great length.  They knew Millie would be furious but her safety was much more important to them.  They could handle her anger.

     It seems the party was being held at the home of the Bartons.  One of the boys was a year older than Millie and had a couple of brothers who were also high school age.   It was a well known fact around town that the Barton boys openly smoked and drank.  Not only that, but apparently, the parents allowed the boys to drink at home, furnishing the booze for them.   The word had already circulated that there would be a keg at this party.   In spite of, or maybe because of this, the brothers were quite popular at school.

     Mr. and Mrs. Brock were not prudes, nor even tee-totallers.  They shared an ocassional glass of wine or drank a beer at times.   But they were adults.   They would never approve of teenagers drinking.  That is a disaster waiting to happen.   What could those parents be thinking?  The danger in that situation was unfathomable.  They loved Millie way too much to let her attend that party. 

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     Millie had heard all the buzz around school about the party.  It was to be THE PARTY of the year!  All the in-crowd would be there.  She couldn't believe she had even been invited.  After all, she was barely 16 and just a sophomore.  Most of the kids going would be juniors and seniors.  This was her big chance to be somebody;  to be one of the popular kids!

     How could her parents be so unreasonable!  They always treated her like a baby!  Just because there would be drinking going on didn't mean she had to drink.   She was almost an adult.  She could take care of herself.  They were going to ruin her life! 

     She had stomped out of the living room and slammed the door to her bedroom.  Life was so unfair.  She cried as she flung herself across the bed.  Now all chances she had of being popular were gone.  Her parents were so mean.  How could they do this to her?  Didn't they love her?



     This piece is purely fictional and was written in response to this week's GBE2 writing group's prompt - Write a story from 2 perspectives.

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

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U is for Under the Big Tent

     Every generation of teenagers has their favorite hangout.  Even within a generation favorite hangouts may vary according to geological locations.   My generation was no different and for many teens of my day our favorite hangout was, without a doubt, the skating rink.

     Growing up in a small town we didn't have a lot of options when it came to hangout spots.  There was the local restaurants, the movie theater in a nearby town, or the skating rink.   In the winter we were forced to go inside to the first two choices but when spring brought warmer weather we could hardly wait till the skating rink was up and ready to go.

     We didn't have the luxury and convenience of an indoor skating rink where we could skate year round.  Our skating rink was a huge circus size tent that was constructed every spring in a large lot down by the river.  From my upstairs bedroom window in the house we lived during my mid to late teenage years,  I could actually watch the progress as each board of the wooden floor was laid in place.  The anticipation grew as I watched, checking each day in hopes it would be finished.  I loved the skating rink and so did nearly every kid between the ages of 5 and 20 within miles.   It was the one place you could go alone and yet never feel alone.  Better yet,  you could go with a date or a group of friends.   You could always find a friendly face.

     George Tower, the owner, offered skates for rent but most of us had our own skates.  The girls skates were usually white and every year we would buy a new pair of fuzzy pom-poms to tie on the toes, each trying to find a new color different from everyone else.  The last ones I remember having were a soft baby blue.  I loved those pom-poms!

      Our skating rink may not have been fancy by any standards, but it was our magical place.  It was where we hung out, skated, laughed, cried, made friends, lost friends, found boyfriends, lost boyfriends.  It was our place to be kids, to grow up and to learn about life.  It was the place that kept many kids out of trouble and where others got into trouble.  It was the place to be...it was our place.

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

Kat

Photos courtesy of Microsoft Office Free Clip Art    

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Q is for Quarry and Days Forgotten

     In 1885, The J. B. Speed Company opened the Milltown Quarry in the small town located on the Blue River in southern Indiana where they manufactured some of the best limestone found.  Workers for this company were treated well, paid salaries larger than competing quarry companies and often rewarded their employees with large bonuses.

     In 1901 the J. B. Speed Company purchased land along Speed Road in Milltown, built houses and rented them to their workers at reasonable rates and opened a company store.  In 1924 the company donated land for the new school which many years later I graduated from.

     I know by now you are wondering what kind of memories  I have of a quarry that operated before and after the turn of the century, right?  Maybe you're thinking I must be a lot older than I look; really preserved well?  Not exactly.  Let me get to the point.

  

     First off, my Grandad Seacat was one of the workers at the quarry.  He is in the above picture that was taken sometime early 1900s.  My Grandad is the last one on the right in the first row.  This was my mother's dad.  Grandad Seacat is the only one of my grandparents that  I got to know very well.   The rest of my grandparents died at various times when I was younger.  Grandad Seacat was quite a character whom I   will tell you about sometime in another post.    For now we are talking about the quarry.

     In 1953 (the year I was born), the quarry closed leaving large open caverns abandoned in the hillside along the highway that by-passed Milltown.

    

     This is what it looks like today, but not the way I remember it.  Back in the day when I was a teenager the caves were still open with roads leading from the highway right into the caverns.  Some of them you could drive quite a ways into.  This was one of THE hotspots for parking, I mean exploring!  Very educational.  Of course, I don't know from experience, just hearsay.   Okay, maybe I saw the inside once.  True story.  I was on a double date, first time I'd been out with this guy.  By the time we got to the quarry we had pretty much decided we were better friends than dates so while the other couple made out in the front seat we sat and talked.  That was it.  Actually, he later ended up setting me up with one of his friends.

     Teenagers today don't have the chance to watch for bats in the caves, much to the relief of their parents, I'm sure.  Another part of local Americana gone.   And, as you can see, I really do have personal memories of the old limestone quarries that sit today as a reminder of days gone by.

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

Kat

          

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