Home for the Summer

Dad and I left Columbia mid-morning on Friday for the drive back to Muskogee for the summer.  Driving through Missouri, even on the interstate, is a beautiful drive.  Since Dad was not much of a talker we sped along in his 1960 Studebaker Golden Hawk with not much conversation.  The further we got away from Columbia the more I already wished I was back there. The positive thoughts about going home for the summer and how fast the summer would pass were quickly fading.

During that drive there were a lot of questions I could have asked my Dad.  Being at school and hearing other girls tell about their families and hearing bits and pieces of their conversations with their parents on the phone I had begun to realize that I actually knew very little about my parents.  Growing up I was told by my Mother that all families had their disagreements and I guess I figured all families had their little secrets. Somehow I got the impression that other families had a lot more fun and a lot more conversation than mine. Never did ask why Dad came to pick me up instead of Mother or both of them.  

Mother was pleasant when we arrived and I snapped into my best smiling behavior. If it was hard for me to not "rock the boat" for a week during spring vacation three months were going to be very difficult.  At least I had a job six days a week and brother Kenny to help me out.  On Sunday Kenny drove me out to Meadowbrook Country Club to see Bob, my boss.  He was happy to see me and I was to start as the lifeguard on Tuesday.

There was just on slight problem with the job.  My hours were to be from 10:00 to 12:00 and from 1:00 to 7:00 Tuesday through Sunday. Sunday evening I brought up the subject of how was I going to get to and from work since Mother sold my beautiful faded red 1954 Chevy convertible when I left for college.  Mom, Dad and Kenneth all had to be at work at 8:00.  Sounded like a problem to me.  Ahh, but Mother had the answer.  She would drop me at the club on her way to work a little before 8:00 and someone would come pick me up at 7:00.  Wow, that was going to be fun. I smiled and agreed to the plan thinking what in the world was I going to do for two hours before I was actually supposed to be at work?

The first week went reasonably well. I got my usual severe burn which required me to only wear bathing suits at all times and sleep sitting on the living room floor with my head on a pillow on the coffee table.  Once several layers of skin burned off I had my California Beach tan and all was fine. One day it rained and I got to sit in the clubhouse and play cards all day with Bob. Then one night everyone forgot to pick me up and I waited until 7:45 to call home.  Slowly the conversation got around to me needing a car since I was so much trouble.

My salvation was that Barney called once a week and sent me a dozen red roses for my birthday.  He had signed up for nine hours in summer school which was a lot for the classes and homework he had to do.  
Even with all the studying he wrote letters and sent cards and I did the same. 

Mother was a little miffed about the flowers and I told her they were from a friend but I was sure she had read the card before I got home.  
It was interesting that she never asked about him and I did not offer any explanation. There was just no way I could tell her about him or how much I loved him.  That was simply not something she would have understood since she had never liked anyone I had ever dated.


Dad I and went car shopping and I ended up with a new 1965 green Volkswagon.  Amazing that the car payments were only $52.00 a month with Dad co-signing the note. At least I had transportation to get to work at the correct time and home.  The one thing I discovered was that there really wasn't time to run around town and that I really didn't have any friends to hang out with.  In the course of the time I was at Stephens I had completely lost touch with all my high school friends.

My neighbor, Tom, who was a year younger than me started coming out to the pool in the afternoons which was fun. There was a small grocery store in Muskogee called The Palace that would not sell cigarettes to minors but they certainly would sell beer to them.  Tom would go to the Palace and buy a couple of bottles of beer, then go to the A&W Root Beer stand and buy cones of root beer, pour it out and fill them with beer.  It was probably pretty terrible for the only lifeguard on duty to sit in front of the kids and drink "root beer" but it was rather fun and no one ever drowned.

Seems like I remember Mother totally hating all the time I spent at the stock car races the summer before.  Interesting that Bob came out to the pool one Friday morning and said I had a phone call.  He watched the kids and I answered the call from Mother.  She said that they needed a Trophy Girl for the races that night and she volunteered me.
Nice when your Mother works for the newspaper that owned the radio station that broadcast the races and found Trophy Girls.  She told me I needed to go to Mr. Darrel's Beauty Shop at 7:00 to get my hair done and be at the races by 8:30. This was not exactly on my list of things to do for the evening but I knew better than to decline the order. What girl would turn down something like that plus getting her hair done for free?


Some how I managed to survive the month of June without causing too much family turmoil.  Barney called and said he was coming to Muskogee between summer school semesters.  I was overjoyed to be able to see him but at the same worried about Mother's reaction.