I was in a deep REM nap when I began to dream about some of the shenanigans I participated in during High School!
I loved High School! It was so much fun! My Freshman year even had hazing! I remember walking around Kimball High School, and Seniors would stop you and tell you to do 10 pushups, or to hop down the hall on one foot. Not knowing any better, I played along. I felt some pressure as this was a large school with large classes. Our High School had hundreds of students. It was a 5-mile walk to school from my home (but it was not uphill both ways.) I disliked taking the school bus; it was noisy and crowded. My Dad would drop me off on his way to work, and I would walk home. I remembered how much I wanted to be a senior; they seemed so cool together! We did have various groups such as Frats ( well-dressed, well-heeled kids,) Greasers (Tough kids that smoked and wore a lot of black & leather), Nerds (Kids that just didn’t seem to fit in dressed weirdly and read a lot of books) And Jocks (Football, basketball, baseball, wrestling guys!) I never found a home in any of these groups, but I enjoyed spending time with each of these very different social styles.
I found my home with the Theatre Club, an eclectic group of many groups; all loved acting, building sets, music, lighting, etc. I made many friends. Each year of High School, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, & Senior years put on a drama & a musical, all had many learning lessons; my favorite, by far, was my Senior Year! Unlike my Freshman year, where I was a bit overwhelmed by the size of the school, both logistically and by the number of kids, my Senior year was full of fun & harmless shenanigans!
I used to borrow my Dad’s dress shirt, tie, and sports coat, put them on, and run into the boys smoking Johns and yell out, “Put those cigarettes down!” everyone jumped up, and the flushing commenced. Then they would see it was me, and it was time for me to exit quickly and run down the hall. I was always joking around. I spent a lot of time in the weight workout room and was buff in those days. I benched 320 pounds, and everyone knew me and my humorous antics. We had a theatre that sloped down toward the stage. I challenged the football team that they could take a full run at me as I waited at the bottom and stated that no one would be able to knock me over! About 6 took me up on the challenge, and I was able to fend them all off! My friends and I formed the “Fearsome Foursome” that “Toilet Papered” many homes that year! I wrote and directed 2 plays in my senior year and became President of the Theatre Club.
We piled 21 kids in my first car one night, for which I paid $65. A Plymouth Belvedere with the Big Fins in the back was as heavy as a tank. We drove out to a spooky old church. We walked by it on a very spooky knight, with the bright moon shining, the wind blowing the clouds, and the reflective light dancing off the turrets decorated with gargoyles. While there were many shenanigans during my Senior Year, none were malicious, no one ever was hurt emotionally or physically, and no property was damaged. Another highlight was that I was asked and agreed to student teach a class on communications (under a teacher’s full-time oversight) for a group of challenging kids that were considered hard to teach. It was quite a learning experience, and I developed my love of teaching. I wanted to be a teacher, but the economics of getting a teaching job in the 1970s was quite challenging.
I did have the opportunity to be a full-time sales trainer and develop workshops for many Fortune 500 companies. I have mostly outgrown doing shenanigans, but I still enjoy putting on workshops for compensation and donation, giving back to our community! It is very rewarding! I’m sure that many of you have fun stories to tell about your High School years! By reading this, I hope you have fun reminiscing!
“Remember, every day is a gift! Some are just a little more fun to open than others. – © Joel M. Vernier 4/5//2025 Author of: “The Guinea Pig In The Freezer.” joelmvernier@aol.com
