Part Four. Kind of a Downer.

So much to say about the next phase of my life and so little time to say it. I don't think I'll get past the third grade in this post because it was probably one of the more difficult transitions I made. Obviously we moved a lot. Most of the time I think I made friends pretty quickly and easily but I must have started out on the wrong foot when we moved to Mtn. Home halfway through the third grade. The first two girls that befriended me were Danellia and Rafaila. Very sweet girls. They were way into horses and we spent our time during recess galloping around the playground. I didn't like horses and I didn't like galloping but my options were few. Even at that young age, I knew I was not part of the "in" crowd. One day stands out very clearly in my mind because it was a very BAD day. One of the popular girls finally paid attention to me and casually asked me to go back into the classroom with her during lunch recess. I would do just about anything at that point to stop the galloping so I followed her inside, knowing it was against the rules. The classroom was empty and she went straight to the teacher's desk to retrieve something that had been taken away from her earlier in the day. I just stood there not believing my eyes when Mrs. Cooper walked in the classroom door. We both spent the rest of the lunch hour with our heads face down on our desks without even the comfort of our arms for support. I never liked Mrs. Cooper and I never really made it into the "in" crowd that year either.

I was a good student and an avid reader and absolutely LOVED Pippi Longstocking. I'm pretty sure that's who I'm pretending to be in this picture:

I survived third grade and eventually made friends with Shawna McClaine in the 4th grade and she couldn't care less if she were popular or not. Thankfully that rubbed off on me and we would have been lifelong friends if she hadn't been killed in a car accident in 1989. She allowed me to be myself and she didn't play all the mind games that many of the other girls played over the years. I'll have to devote an entire post to Shawna one of these days because she definitely helped shape who I am today:

We lived in Mtn. Home for 7 years. When people ask me where I grew up I always say Mtn. Home because those really were my formative years. It was a small town and everyone knew everyone else. I dug out this picture of my 4th grade class and, just for fun, I'm going to try to remember something about each person in it!!

Starting with the back row going left to right:

- Raymond Demeyer: Really nice guy, good friend and now owns DeMeyer Furniture in Mtn. Home.

-Laci: She lived down the street from me and had a Ouija Board in her basement. She and her sister were convinced that their basement was haunted. I think it's safe to say their family was dysfunctional.

-Princess: That was really her name. And she lived up to it.

-Randy: The first boy to turn me down. Not the last.

-Tim: Tall, lanky, not very smart, always in trouble, always made me laugh.

-The last girl in the back row: She was new and I have no idea what her name is.

Second Row:

-Mrs. Ross: I loved her. She made up for every bad thing Mrs. Cooper did. She pronounced the word, wash, as warsh. I know because I got it wrong on a spelling test.

-Ramona: Jerked me around for years before I realized I just didn't need her as a friend. Thankfully I had Shawna!

-Richard: Had a terrible lisp and we all made fun of him. Kids can be so mean.

-Billy Baugh: Sigh. He was like the Fonz and girls swooned when he walked by. He lived on my street so we ended up walking home together and becoming good friends.

-Bobby: Very quiet, nice kid.

-Danny: I liked him when he didn't like me. He liked me when I didn't like him. We went back and forth like that for years. He was also the smartest kid in the whole school.

-Phillip: Very sweet kid, kind of nerdy. I had a secret crush on him in the 6th grade.

-Mr. Hawley: I managed to avoid the principals office so I have no first hand knowledge of his character.

Front Row:

-I have no memory at all of the first girl.

-ME!!

-Myra Dutton: One of my best friends all the way through the 9th grade. She was the most popular person I knew and she'd bring me in and out of her circle whenever the mood struck. Thankfully I had Shawna.

-Steven Davis: Poster child for Ritalin although we didn't have that then.

-The girl in the Brownie uniform: Can't think of her name for the life of me but we were friends in third grade, she was probably part of the pony club. Was it Rebecca? Laura? Hmmm. . .

-Carol Gerhardt: We were all envious that she could have friends stay the night on school nights. Of course, no one ever could because the rest of us weren't allowed. She committed suicide shortly after high school.

I had many friends in the other 4th grade class, including a boy named Randy Wells. Randy's dad was the town doctor and the Well's were highly regarded in the community. Randy and his dad were killed in an airplane crash when I was in the 4th grade. I remember being sad and confused and knowing it was a big deal when the school was shut down on the day of the funeral.

Well, I wrote more than I meant to and didn't realize when I started that death would come up so many times in this post. Kind of a depressing way to end it but that's how I remember it.

On a happier note, the quiz team is heading to the coast in the morning for our first quiz meet!! I'll have to re-visit my life story next week.