We went racing outside to join the other kids. I don't know who was out there, cause we had just finished supper, and it was dusk. But we wanted to play hide n seek or Spud, and we had to have several kids to do that! There was the McGrath kids...several of them. They must have their homework done. Their mom won't let them outside until they finished their homework, too. There's Cathy, from across the street. The Enright girls....well, on e of them, and Larry Pomarico...That's enough for a game. Who's going to be it?? Looks like Chris is. He's counting to 50 and now I have to hide. Where should I go? I run off down the street towards a house across the street that is usually pretty quiet. I wonder who lives there? It's a white house, and there is a dog in the back yard.I must be quiet or the dog will bark. I find a crevice in the side of the house that I can squeeze myself into and then I wait for Chris to start looking for people. I hear him. He's finished counting. I can't quite tell where he is, or where he's walking. I listen intently and feel the tingling in my legs. It's kind of a rush waiting for someone to find you when you're hiding. I hated to be caught and I hated to get outrun when I'm running to the base. so I try to hide somewhere where they won't even find me. But the problem is, if I'm the last to be found, I'll for sure get caught or be outrun on the way to the base. I peek around the corner, and see that he's heading the other way down the street to look for kids. Now's my chance! I gotta take it! I run without even thinking about it.,.I take off across the yard, off the curb and into the street. I'm running towards the big tree that we used as base, and when he hears my feet hitting the pavement he turns around and starts running toward the base tree too! Oh I'm gonna make it! I'm gonna be FREE! I hit the tree with my hand and run past it, before he gets there! Whew! I hold off getting caught one more time!
My first year of high school was at George Washington High in Denver. All white kids. That was back when dress codes were still pretty strict and we couldn't wear jeans....really, no pants of any kind were allowed for women. I got sunburned really badly on my legs that year, though, from the medicine I was taking, and had to wear pants. Nobody said anything. It was kind of an uneventful year, and I don't really remember much about it. I remember having a friend named Mona..and a few other friends. That was one of the years that I didn't really like math. I had a teacher who, it seemed, thought he was pretty special. I got the feeling that, even though he was a small man, he was trying to over compensate for it by being arrogant and not helping us at our math. The campus was nice, and the school was fairly new.
The next year I went to East Denver High over on Colfax. That was a memorable year! Because of the mandatory desegregation in 1971, I was forced to go to East. It was predominantly black and Hispanic, and they wanted us all to integrate. I had to take the city bus to get there, and walk a few blocks on either end of it. It was ok, I got to see parts of the city I probably wouldn't normally have gotten to see. Had that time to reflect and talk to my friends. The building that East was in was an old building, and I guess it's still being used. It was a beautiful building, and it was in a mostly black neighborhood. Probably some Hispanic too.
I had a lot of fun there. The friends I made were good friends. I was on the swim team that year too, and we swam at GW's pool. I was in the best shape of my life that year, because of the daily workouts we had. I really liked the meets, and I specialized in the backstroke. We had divers and swimmers on the team, and I just had a great time hanging out with the girls and competing with other schools. I was also in the band, which marched at the football games. That was a lot of fun, too. We were like a family, just like the swim team. We went to all the games, and learned to have a great time watching football, marching, and playing.
Seems like I was really busy that year, between swim team, and band and school. But it was so much fun, and I have the best memories of high school that year.
Also in that year, 1971, a lot of racial issues were apparent. We had open campus lunch and I walked over to the Safeway to get something to eat with a couple other girls. On the way back, somehow we got involved in what I learned later was the beginning of a race riot. At least, that's what they were trying to get started. There was a lot of yelling, and I got hit in the head with a full can of pop. I am not sure what happened after that...if I told any of the teachers or my parents...but it was certainly an eye opener for me. Thankfully, I didn't carry hate with me after that...just the opposite, I think I could see and empathize with those who were angry. I have carried that with me over the years. I am able to look at life through the eyes of those who are trying to make a point, or who are disadvantaged in some way...oppressed....
How peaceful school in this small town I live in now seems. How uneventful and calm it all is. And I guess that's a good thing. I don't guess that people need to be exposed to hate and violence. But I do think that kids especially need to be able to see the other side of things, to see that there are people who are not so fortunate, that there are other ways of living and dealing with life. It seems when you grow up in a small town, and hardly ever leave, it insulates you from what else is going on. You can read about it in books but sometimes it's good to see it and experience it.
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