My mother reminded me that I had played taps at during the Memorial Day service when I was a teenager. She said I told her that I would never do it again. I'd forgotten all about it. My girlfriend's dad, Efford, was a trumpet player. He came to the ballgames and set in with the Pep Band. He loved playing his horn and he was very good. For some reason he couldn't play at the cemetery, so he talked his son & me into it. Nick (the guy on the left) played near the the soldiers and I echoed back from the edge of the cemetery. After a little thought I remember why I hated it. Being an airhead kid, I didn't take into account that even though it was May, the early mornings could be very chilly. I probably went out there in shorts and froze my knees off.
I don't know why I ended up playing the trumpet, though technically I had a cornet. When we started band, we blew in several instruments and the band instructor told Mom what instrument would be best. Instructors always told me that I had good tone, I think it really meant that I couldn't count. I did play first chair as a senior. It must have been experience that got me the gig, not talent.
Efford also gave me my first job. At 14, I didn't really even know that I wanted a job. He asked if I'd come to work for him at the meat market on Saturdays. I worked 8-5 for a $1.00 an hour. He had me using the electric slicer to slice cold cuts and bacon. Lunch meat didn't come pre-packaged. We wrapped it in plastic and then rubbed it over a hot iron to seal it. My other job was to cut up whole chickens. They came packed in ice in a big box. Oh, they were soooo cold! I wonder if that's why the cold hurts my hands so much today? My friend, Cindy, Efford's daughter worked there after school and Saturdays, too. She got to run the band saw and the meat tenderizer.
Those machines were so dangerous. It's a wonder neither of us lost a finger. We wore white butcher's coats that were longer than our dresses. Those were still the days when we didn't wear slacks to work or school, but we wore skirts as short as we could get by with. I worked there until I was 16.
I'm looking at my hairdo. I probably used Dippity-do and slept in plastic rollers to achieve that look.
5 comments:
What a fun post! It's been a long time since I thought of dippity-do! When I saw your post title, I could not imagine what to expect!
Thanks for this "blast from the past." The photo is wonderful. You were beautiful then, and you're still beautiful now. It's easy to understand why Mike fell in love with you! I might add we're all glad he did.
Thanks for the memories. I attempted to play the cornet when I was in high school: it was my brother's instrument. I never did master it.
It is a wonder that more women from our generation don't have sleep disorders from sleeping on those dreadful curlers. I had the wire and mesh ones that used the plastic picks. Ouch!
I played the trumpet in school. Loved it. I played 1st trumpet for 3 years in high school, at least that's what I remember it being. I've read that sometimes we remember things we like for longer times than they really were.
I also know just what you're saying about the chickens. After running a grocery store with a meat market in it, I don't care if I ever cut up another chicken. I like to buy them cut up or have Al do it.
You look like a beauty queen!
I played Cornet from 6th grade through about the 10th. The reason I played it was because that was what the school had available the year I decided to take band. I played in the marching band a couple of years, then my mind got on other things (probably boys).
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