Way too many moves!
But finally got into a comfy place...in a home and school!
Met some good friends and classmates....and a variety of teacher spectrums!
Did a variety of off-school activities like soccer, bowling, scouts, and martial arts.
Moved into junior high and increased my human acquaintanceship.
Hold on to your Trapper Keepers...the exciting conclusion to the 80s is about to come....
(Batman theme plays)
Ah, my mind is odd...and occasionally scary, especially to people trying to sell me religion, extended car warranties, or a home security system. Yes, we are arriving in the last part of the 1980s, a decade that many of us in my generation consider the best of times, me included. The music was great for the most part, the TV shows were pretty good (depending on your taste), and politics...well, there are some changes in recent opinion to that uber Republican decade and to Ronald Reagan himself. That said, from a kid's perspective, it was the best time to grow up, particularly in southeastern Pennsylvania. With that, let us move into
1988
As this year dawned, my sister and I were on the last day or so of having the house to ourselves, as our parents had ventured to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl, since their alma mater Michigan State had made it to that honorable bowl game of bowl games. We had the VCR set to tape it on New Year's day. Now, here is a bit of devilish thought on my part...if I could go back, I'd sabotage that recording, Why, you ask? Becuase for the next several months, my dad watched and REWATCHED that game...as if there would be any other outcome than MSU winning over USC, like the space-time continuum had altered before the next viewing. That tape got watched so many times that the audio began to fade over time...to my delight! My dad also had a record (as in vinyl) of college fight marches, which he played while washing the cars on weekends. And people thought I was weird in terms of enjoying TV theme music!
For some reason in early 1988, I was not all that motivated to do schoolwork, at least well. I was too much onto being a goof-off with my pals, who often liked to goof off, but managed to keep a better balance. My folks even made a little money arrangement for the 3rd quarter with me so I could earn some good bucks for As and Bs. While my smarmy ass said I could do it, by early April it was clear I was depending purely on luck rather than conscientiously doing what I needed to do. The 3rd quarter report card was a stinker...now, I have never earned an F in my life, though a few D's on that document grounded me in terms of high-falutin' attitude.
Also in April, we went on a day bus trip to New York City. There was not a whole lot of time, but we saw the United Nations, the Empire State Building, and Trump Tower, to my recollection. I definitely remember it was rainy, so we did not do that much walking.
In the last quarter of the school year, my efforts definitely increased and by the end I had a good report card. It was also a positive ending to my time at Wilson Central. In later years, after I had moved west, Central had become part of the high school, and a new junior high was built in Lower Heidelberg.
In the summer, we had another big family vacation...to Los Angeles! We had a good flight there and spent a few days roaming the area, including Marina Del Rey and some of the Pacific Coast up to Malibu, Knott's Berry Farm, Beverly Hills, and Universal Studios. We also took a side trip up to Las Vegas. In 1988, hotel rates even on weekends were reasonable. We stayed at the Sahara Hotel. My sister and I hung at the pool while my folks played a bit. We went to some buffet or another for dinner and walked the Strip a little bit. What I remember from that is that none of the modern gaudy buildings that are here now weren't in Vegas then.The next day, we went to Hoover Dam and did the whole tour...a dream to an engineer...in other words, my dad loved it! We returned to L.A. that same day and found a new hotel not far from the airport.
One other thing we did requires some background. There was a show on cable then called "Time Out for Trivia", a typical small studio operation hosted by KABC sports reporter Todd Donoho, where he gave sports trivia questions that were answered by call-in viewers. My parents had met with him (he was pretty accessible) on their Rose Bowl trip, so we arranged to come and be spectators on a show. My dad and I both had Time Out for Trivia t-shirts for the occasion.We still have the VHS tape.
Sad news came that summer about my Grandpa Fitz. He had developed a rapidly developing cancer and things were looking grim. In August, my mom and I went to Michigan to see him. He was at Beaumont Hospital (where I was born). It amazed and saddened me to see how weak he had become in his hospital bed. Terry and Erica were in town also. During that trip, I was at the hospital here and therem including a 70th birthday party at the hospital. Most of the time, Erica and I wandered to the mall in Troy across from my grandparents' apartment. One day, my aunt took us to Boblo Island, an amusement Park on the Detroit River.
On the last day there, we said goodbye...I didn't realize it would be the last time I would see my grandfather.
Terry and Erica came home with us. We made a little stop in Mansfield, Ohio to visit with my mom and Terry's cousin Tim Fitzmorris. I remember having a terrible headache when we got there, so I stayed behind while they went to a ballgame. The next day, we headed out and made our way back home to Pennsylvania.
A few days later, it was time for...drum roll...HIGH SCHOOL!! 10th GRADE!! It was the BIG LEAGUES!!
It was at this point in the Wilson school career when students from both junior highs came together for the final three years. Just like in 7th grade, I met a lot of new people...and reunited with others I had not seen since my Kindergarten days in Lower Heidelberg. There was of course Matt Brown, but also Sue Zimmerman, Heather Saggio, Jason Gibble, Valarie Kriner, Bobby Kalbach, Jason Hager, Aaron Klinger, and Amy Erb, to name a few standouts. I had expected to see another named Heidi Mumma, though I met her sister Gretchen in driver's ed class. Others I met for the first time were Adam Winchester, Tris Vaughan who would become a good friend in adulthood, Nikki Shenk, Tracy Gajewski, Linda Lee, Bill Ernst, Tracy Kleinsmith, Jessica Baum, Lee Miller, Sue Whitehead (who shared my birthday)James Noecker, Mike Miner, Vin Mingari, and Jason Mountz. In my BASIC computer class, I was with several seniors and juniors, one of them was a beautiful redhead named Jessica Shaaber....the funny things that pop up when thinking back!
For the starting lineup, I had...
In American hsitory (part deux) I had Timothy Kunkel. He wasn't too bad, depending on one's taste...a decent 1st period class. Kunkel was always clashing with Jack Ledbetter, which made for some interesting moments!
This year I had French 3, once again with Mademoiselle Williams. It was a pretty good class as I recall. Tim Rodenberger, Chris Myers, Troy Fisher, and I teamed up for a cooking lesson all in French one time. Karen Lewis, whom i had known for 7 years but not well, always seemed to be overly enthusiastic for that class while I looked for ways to get out of having to take another French class. Had I seen California in my future, I would have taken Spanish instead.
And then there was biology with Doug Dahms...a class act of a teacher! I do credit him for not killing me and staging a suicide via scalpel accident when I couldn't get the gist of the anatomy of a damn frog one early morning personal tutoring session. Other than that, the man gave grading curves on quizzes so it was all good. I never fared better than a C in there, but that was my science aptitude then.
Advanced English was with Frank Yusella, a man who, to me at least, reminded me of Pat Sajak. He was ok, I was neither turned off nor inspired in there.
For a mid afternoon delight I had geometry with math master John Magala, another classic Wilson teacher. This was a man who knew his stuff and knew how to explain it in a few different ways. On days after tests, he would show us Super Chicken or George of the Jungle on the VCR while he graded.
And then there was the BASIC programming class with Wayne Bradburn. He had a pretty good no-nonsense style which enabled me to learn a lot and practice. Sadly, nobody uses BASIC anymore, so it is nothing to stick on a resmé.
Of course, no high schooler could get away with not taking P.E. The nice thing about this was that we could sign up for different units based on our interests. I think the highlight of P.E. for me was tennis. Dave Hoffman and I had a lot of fun in that class. We had 2 teachers:Ms Reifsnyder and Mr Dadamio.
In October, my Grandpa Fitz passed away. Luckily, the cancer worked fast in him and he did not have to suffer for long. My mom was already there when it happened as my dad had taken her. He came backa few days later, picked me and Kristin up and drove back. I was a little more ready for this one than Bompa Moore's. There was a memorial service instead of a funeral, which helped a bit.
That Christmas, my grandma plus Terry and Erica came for Christmas. It was a crowded house for sure! My big gift was a weight set, seeing that I got so much out of it at school the previous year. Sadly, I didn't get into it that much. Well, that leads us without much ceremony into...
1989
An end of a couple of eras early in the year. Politically, Reagan was out and George Bush was in...which meant Reagan extension pretty much, just without the jelly beans. SNL got a rich 4 years off this term!
USA Network's run of "The Edge of Night" also ended in January, which meant no more tapings for me. I was still writing, though.
Things went pretty much in the school year as before. One cool thing I remember is that as spring came, I joined an intramural volleyball league in the evenings, run by Mr. Ruth. It was good to see him. We had a lot of fun! Derek Coller, Mark Dusko, Bill Ernst, and Tracy Gajewski were among the fellow players. On teh final night, we went to Pizza Hut to celebrate the end of a good time.
As finals approached, the end of another time was ending, that of sharing classes with Dave Hoffman. His family was moving to Pottstown. A going away party was held at someone's house and right after the St Ignatius carnival, he was gone.
This summer, aside from martial arts, I needed something else to do. A job sounded in order. I tried at BK, but they kept stalling, so I applied at McDonald's and started pretty soon after. I will say this, working in fast food brings in some decent extra cash and helps one to realize that fast food is not a desired professional future, unless you want to come home smelling of grease.
We took a trip to Michigan in July, as far as I could tell just to go somewhere. It wasn't exactly a great trip. Erica was visiting and was fairly snotty. Going golfing with my dad was preferable.
Movies that summer included Batman, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Major League, Lethal Weapon 2, and Parenthood. Overall, that summer was taken up by the McJob, and it was a good change. Less can be said about summers over time, I suppose. It was time to get to the junior year.
New year, some new people, for better or worse. With that...
Starting in Chemistry with Mr Williamson! A very pleasant guy who mad elearning chemistry, especially balancing basic chemical equations, a snap! In this class I met a very sweet girl named Kris Koestel who sat in front of me. There was also a kid named Matt Stein who I had seen a few times the previous year, but decided to get on the "teasing-of-Moore" wagon. Eh, what can one do?
There was also Algebra 2 with Mrs Guigley. Like 10th grade English, I did not get much from this class other than laughs from the teacher's barely hidden 'stashe. She also lacked in the personality department, so we will leave it at that.
Once again, French with Madame Fisher. I had seen this woman snap once or twice before, but she had a few more moments in this year that seemed a bit scary. Apart form that, more of the same crap and I was glad to not take it again!
Right in that same circular pod was Advanced English with Mr Leininger. I really enjoyed this guy, he made English more fun than Yusella had. The reading selections were better as well.
Of course there was P.E. with Reifsnyder and Dadamio...same old...
Right after that was social studies, which was cut in half that year. Part 1 was with Mr William Morgan and part 2 (starting in February) was with Mr Bernie Stoppi. Nothing really notable except Morgan's classic speech style...he just had a way about him. In that class I met a nice girl named Tammy Adams who had a little bun in the oven. She, like Kris Koestel, I still keep up with on social media.
My favorite class, though, was journalism with Mr Wisniewski. Tris was in that class as well, plus a cool guy I'd seen at Central a few times, Ryan Mitstifer, and a fun senior named Josh Gilbert. Mr. Wiz taught us good basic journalistic techniques that helped get our articles in the school newspaper. He was also a good ear if we were having troubles.
That fall, I was also feeling a little hole in my life, as well as a curiosity...a spiritual curiosity. One of my martial arts classmates Mark Mountz encouraged me to go to church with him one Sunday, righ tnear us in fact. It was St John's UCC. I liked the minister, Reverend Bill Miller. He had a style that agreed with me. Also going to the church was Jeremy Bitz and, a pleasant surprise, Amy Erb. Through her, I met her 2 cousins, twins Ben and Bridgette Kozlowski. Soon after joining church I also joined the confirmation class where I met several other teens, including Ryan Corvaia and his sister Erin, Beth Falter, and others.
We all were in the church youth group, where we met monthly at someone's house for functions called Snack n Yaks...no, not a bulimic session! We snacked, we chatted with guidance from youth minister Tom Johnston, sometimes played games. Pretty fun as I recall.
In November and December, our Wilson Bulldogs football team was gaining steam! My dad and I went to the game against Coatesville where our team won against all odds, putting them in the state championship vs a western state team, playing at Hershey. It was a cold, snowy night, and apart from our team losing I definitely remember being cold, even for living in PA winters for a long time!
In December, I decided that I had seen enough behind-the-counter action at McDonald's so I called it quits. For some reason I do not remember much about that Christmas. Ah well, not all in life is notable.
And with that, my foray into the 80s is complete.
There are definitely holes in my recounts, and definitely omissions. For example, I admit freely that I started liking girls early...and often (really always) awkwardly. Anyone who reads this stuff and knows me in and out (to an extent) probably knows who I liked all those times, from the first entry to this one.
I also have had periods of highs and lows throughout life in terms of spirit...I realized much later that I was suffering from bouts of depression, probably longer back than I relaized.
Such is life!
At some point will come the 90s!
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