10th grade - 1972

If you've been reading this blog you've heard me mention the fact that my mother separated from my father and moved us to Albuquerque my sophomore year of high school. Coming from Santa Rosa with a four year high school where the student population (for all four years) was about 350, I was enrolled in Sandia High School where the student population for this three year high school was somewhere around 2500. Talk about culture shock.

Several things in this photo tell a story. One, you can see the door to the downstairs bathroom where in a time before cordless phones, let alone cell phones, I would take the phone into the bathroom and lock the door and call Marilyn back in Santa Rosa and we'd cry together for hours. This regularly got me in trouble not only for the phone bill but also because the telephone cord would be stretched across the short hall from the kitchen to the bathroom making it almost impossible to walk down the hall.

Notice the attire. First of all - the glasses...oh my gosh, I can't believe how "in style" I felt in these frames. After all, they were a drastic improvement over the cat frames I had previously. Then there was the red paisley bandanna, typical hippie attire for that day and time. I always wore a either a blue or red bandanna, my mother hated it. The tank top was as daring as I got back then - I felt very exposed in this top...ha ha! On my right arm was my POW bracelet and on my left arm was a very nice turquoise and silver bracelet. This bracelet was stolen from me in 1980 and I still scan eBay in hopes that I'll see it up for auction - I loved this bracelet.

And of course, the Levis. I loved my Levis. I wore them all the time. Like most of my friends I had several pairs. Some had patches I had sown on to imply "holes". Some had been embroidered with little flowers and some had been intentionally vandalized to make them look worn out. It was not uncommon to have things written on my jeans. Lots of things. Names of would-be boyfriends, peace symbols, slogans (Make love not war) gossip and on and on. My mother detested Levis but I loved them and still wear them.

During this time there were always some very brave and shapely girls in school that wore midriff tops and hiphuggers, showing off their belly buttons. I always admired their bravado but knew my mother wouldn't go for that.

And of course the pants had to be bell bottoms...had to be...and maybe if you could find them or get someone to make them you might even have what we used to call elephant bells where the bottom edge of the jean's seam had been spit open and a triangular piece of fabric inserted to make a wider bell bottom. Oh yeah - now you're talking...

But the last thing I want to draw your attention to is the "far out" portable radio sitting on the floor behind me. My grandfather got me that radio for Christmas and it was the best gift ever. It had a long plastic strap and I could carry it like a purse over my shoulder as I walked to and from school each day. I know it looks big enough to park a Hybrid car in but back in those days it was really cool.

Oh yeah, and in case you're wondering...it was totally AM Radio! Ha ha! Casey Kasems' top 40 all the way.

This is a picture of my friend from Sandia High School, Denise, and me. I can almost bet you we were headed to hang out at the small strip mall across the street from our apartment. We met in my Biology class and she frequently visited Santa Rosa with me when I went back for a visit. She even dated several guys from my hometown over the years. Denise remained a close friend for many years, even after I returned to Santa Rosa. Somehow over the years we lost track of each other in the 80's. Isn't that odd? I would have never thought that I'd lose touch with her.

It amazes me how young I was in these pictures..was I really ever that young?