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August, 2000
8/7/00
With all the interest lately in the Seventies, I've become a little nostalgic. And, as a late "Boomer" entering middle-age (ack!), this is somewhat *expected.* (Though I'm loathe to admit it.) So, I thought I'd take a mini-tour through my high school yearbooks. Emphasis on mini. (You'll notice that the photographs are rather grainy -- well, someone on the yearbook staff must've thought embossed paper would be really neat. Alas, my scanner picks it up all too well -- and since I'm just learning Photoshop, you'll just have to deal with the ugly lattice-like dots. Oh. Well.)
Firstly,
let me introduce you to Sweetwater(SUHI) Union High School's mascot,
the Red Devil. Now, waaaaay back in the Twenties when the school was built,
Sweetwater's sports team name was...The Sweeties. Wussy name, huh? Well,
a lot of people thought so. Another -- preferably meaner
-- name was needed. Someone (I don't remember who, exactly) thought that
an appropriate name would be the Red Devils.
Mean enough, yes?
Well, as you might imagine, there was some opposition to the name -- devout
Christians thought that such a name might promote Satanism. Oh, sure.
Covens were sprouting up everywhere after that. Oh, sure. Anyway,
the name stuck despite the protests. What really pissed these Bible-thumpers
off -- the flag-corp was named the "Satanettes." Anyway, the
marble statue to the right (lovingly referred to as "The Devilhead")
looks pretty scary, huh? It sits on a granite stand in the main lobby/hallway.
And it's gonna stay there.
Now, for some random images...
Vocational Stuff
If you were
born after 1970, you will not know what this machine is. It's a 
keypunch
machine, kiddies. They were a hell (oops! no pun intended) of pain in
the ass to program. See, you'd make a "drum card" first -- which
was a kind of template with basic parameter information. Then, you'd curl
the stoopid card around this cylindrical thingie and then you'd load up
a stack of cards in the feeder and start typing and... Oh, never mind.
And guess what...there was no Internet. BOO!
Oh, those pep rallies...
Here are a few
guys (sophomores) having a jolly good time looking up the cheerleaders'
skirts. Who could blame them? When opportunity presents itself, why not
take full advantage? One of the guys (C.J.) was my brother Tom's best
friend. I was not especially fond of cheerleaders (if you were/are
a cheerleader, I'm sure you were nice. Sure). One of my fondest
memories was of a particular football game with Castle
Park High School -- a cheerleader somehow popped a contact lens into
the grass. All the cheerleaders stopped cheering so that they could go
down on hands and knees patting through the grass. I mean, really.
How did they expect to find a teensy-weensy hard contact lens in grass
thicker than a shag carpet? Anyway, I wish this particular picture had
scanned better -- I love the expressions on the boys' faces. They're saying,
"Our lucky day."
Anne As A Face In the Crowd...
You
can tell by these pictures that I was something of a loner. I hung out
at the library during lunch, pouring over one book after another. If it
weren't for books, I'd have gone completely bugf**k. I'm nothing more
than a speck in this picture. I no doubt am wearing a grim expression.
"Smile more and you'll have friends," my mom would tell me.
I wanted to tell her that no amount of smiling would make me appear "cool"
enough to attract actual friends. I was a social leper. And, to other
teenagers, it was a condition which was considered quite contagious. Don't
sit near the geeky/nerdy girl! Doncha know it's catching? Yeah, I
know what it's like to be called a "dog." So, you've gathered
by now that I didn't go to the prom. Oh what a big surprise. Even the
geeky/nerdy guys didn't want to take me. Eh, who wanted to wear some dumbass
chiffony number anyway?
This picture
is from my senior year -- still a loner. Notice how nobody's sitting directly
next to me? In fact, I was lucky to find a space in the bleachers with
a
"buffer zone" on either side. This would prevent others from
noticeably shuffling away from me should I happen to sit down next
to them. Which my fellow classmates often did. You know, I'd go entire
school days without talking to a single person. Sorry if I'm depressing
you. But that's how it was for me in high school. Thank Ghod I discovered
Science Fiction
conventions a little later on. You know what I was probably thinking
in this picture? "Jeez, I'd rather be in the library right now reading
some Steinbeck. Dammit."
Ah, what a sad lass...
"...I
learned the truth at seventeen, that love was meant for beauty queens..."
Here's my senior portrait -- I refused to smile, despite the photographer's
entreaties. Well...there was one photo where I actually smiled.
But I chose this one because I liked the way my hair looked. I should've
taken off the %$@! glasses, though. I'm so myopic
my eyes look like little piggy eyes. You can tell that I'm part Latina.
Yes, I am. My mother was born in Guymas, Sonora, Mexico -- a combination
of Castillian Spanish and Yaqui Indian. I'm also English, Irish and Scot
-- and German. I'm proud to be a mongrel -- hey, mutts live longer than
pedigrees, I says. Heh.
Scribblings in the senior yearbook...
Here are a few things people had to say when signing my senior yearbook:
"I'm really glad I got to meet you in Chemistry class. Because you're a real sweet person and a quiet one too. Good luck next year with everything you do and I wish you love and happiness always. Friends Forever, Oliva"
"You're so quiet. Got to watch out for the quiet ones. Have fun in whatever you do. Love ya, Tali."
"You're a real quiet person. It was fun having you in P.E. and Chemistry. Take care of yourself and be good. Friends, Debbie."
"I have been going to school with you for about 5 years now. You never say very much so I don't know how you feel. I pray that all of the Lord's most bounteous blessings will be yours. Sincerely, Twila."
"You are a very nice and quiet girl. I have enjoyed having you in my Chemistry class. Good luck in the future. Vicky."
"You've always been quiet and in the background. But people say that is the sign of a wise person. So I know you got a good start at life. Look at it with strong efforts and you're okay. Maria."
"It's been nice knowing a girl like you in Chemistry and English. You're a quiet girl but you're really nice. Good luck with your studies in the future. Gil."
"To a really quiet girl. But who is nice and sweet. I wish you all the luck in the world. Take care and be good. Your friend always, Lupe."
"You were kind of quiet in English, but you're a nice person. Best wishes to you always, Clyde."
"You're such a quiet person. But I'm glad I got to know you at least a little bit. I hope you find success in whatever your goal is. Have a nice summer. Friends, Cathy."
And, finally, my *favorite* of them all:
"I really don't know you too well but Tali wanted me to sign this. Good luck, Ruth."
You sense a pattern here? Do you *get* the contradictions? I mean, how can I be "quiet" and "fun"? Tell me how that works. And that last one. 'Scuse me, Ruth -- but I knew you in f**king junior high (that's "middle school" now)! Okay, so we weren't friends -- but you knew me. But Ghod forbid that you should scribble something in the nerdy/geeky girl's yearbook.
Someday I'll tell you about my ten-year reunion. It was sweet. Heh.
This page webbed by Anne Hutchins. Yes I did it myself. Honest. Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.