| PHEW!! We made it!! I can not believe it is June and the end of the year is just a flash away. It has
been a great year with equally great students. I honestly can say I will miss this class. I hope
everyone has a fabulous summer. You should plan to read some really great books this summer.
Take advantage of the library's summer program where you can sign out 5 books for the summer.
Gordon Korman is a HOT author. All of his books rock so think about signing out some Korman
books before they are all gone.
Remember our COOL Island Party.
Mrs. Lasky
Personal narrative:
Coming of Age in Rotterdam
When I was twelve my friend Lisa and I got our first real jobs. No more babysitting for us, we
were headed for the big time. We were making over $2.00 per hour and dreams of mansions
and
luxury cars loomed large in our heads. We were the proud grocery baggers of the Army PX. The
PX
was a military grocery store near my home. Our salaries came from customer tips because the
PX
did not pay us. On average we made about 25 cents for every bag we packed. Now packing a
bag
might seem like a mindless task but there is a real art to it. We learned how to get the cans and
boxes to nestle perfectly and to judge the weight of each filled bag. We learned to pack the
cold
items together and the cleaning supplies separately from the food items. Last but not least we
learned the value of speed and smiles because the more bags we packed and the more we
smiled,
the more tips we earned.
It was a great summer. We made lots of money and I became best friends with Lisa. We
vacationed together, shopped together and we were basically inseparable. I have to confess
though
that there was a fringe benefit to our friendship and that was Lisa’s three, drop dead gorgeous
brothers. I was at an age when boys were no longer goofy jerks. Somehow at about eleven or
twelve
they became VERY interesting. One of Lisa’s brothers, Doug, was the kind of guy that girls just
dream of, tall and muscular with blond hair and blue eyes. I soon knew that I was hopelessly in
love
with dreamy Doug. Every time he was around my heart would beat a tune so loud I was sure
that
everyone could hear it. I used to get so nervous that all of the saliva in my mouth would dry up
and
my tongue felt like a large balloon. I think Doug thought that I had a speech impediment
because I
always sounded like a dope when he was near. Anyway, it became my mission that summer to
make
a good impression on Doug, the object of my affection.
I made an impression all right, one that I will never forget and one Doug probably won’t
either. It
was the night of Lisa’s birthday and I was invited to go to dinner with her family. Yippee, I
finally
have the chance to be near Mr. Wonderful and to impress him with my poise, beauty and sense
of
humor. Well, Lisa’s parents picked us up after a hard day of bagging at the PX and the plan was
that
they would drop me off at my house to change and return in an hour to pick me up for dinner.
An
hour passed and from the front of the house I heard the sweet music of their car horn wafting
through our windows. Lisa’s whole family including Doug was in the car. I was a happy gal that
night. Dinner was uneventful and I actually relaxed and had fun. I spoke to Doug and I didn’t
even
sound like a bumbling idiot. When the evening was over Lisa’s dad pulled up in front of our
driveway, or at least I thought he did. I got out of their car and in a charming and witty fashion I
waved goodbye to Lisa’s family including Doug of course when in a split second, the
unthinkable
happened. Laughing and feeling confident and happy, I continued backing away from the car
toward
what I thought was the openness of our driveway. Suddenly, without warning I found myself
hurling
through the air as I did a back flip over our hedges. Like an Olympic athlete experiencing the
agony
of defeat I landed on the ground with a thud and I prayed to God that under the cloak of
darkness
the occupants of the car did not see my colossally embarrassing flip over the hedges. God must
have been busy doing something important that night. About thirty seconds after I took flight I
heard a hugely wild burst of laughter and at that moment I must admit that I believed death
would
have been easier than facing Lisa’s laughing family again.
It has been over thirty years since my less-than-graceful hurtle over the hedges and I can
still
hear the laughter of Lisa’s family in my head reminding me of my life’s most embarrassing
moment.
I never bagged groceries after that summer. Lisa’s family moved to Arizona and I never saw
Doug
again. Somehow though, I will always remember that summer and smile. It was one of the best
summers of my life.
Life can be really funny sometimes. That PX store is now the district office of Schalmont
Central
Schools. That twelve year old, hedge flipping, love struck girl is now a Schalmont Middle School
teacher who attends meetings in the same building where she once bagged groceries over 35
years
ago.
Mrs. Perillo-Lasky
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