1. Bishop Rudy made us earn every cent it was going to take to go. He had us host a luau. He did a pig roast. I loved that guy. He was a short fillipino man who still retained a heavy accent. He would talk endlessly about "the yoots of the church." That and say things like, "Lionel Ritcheeee might seeeeng better, but I'm much better loooooking." The fact that he had nearly every single drawer of his bishop's desk chock full of candy didn't hurt, either. He had a line of kids a mile long outside his office after church every Sunday.
2. We caravanned in various large vehicles. It was a blast. Pre-seatbelt law days. Eating Frostys and Saltines and then pretending to throw it up into a paper bag - in view of the cars behind us.
3. We stopped in Boise to spend the night. The boys stayed at one house, us girls at another. We ordered pizza for dinner. And got stuck in the absent owner's Craftmatic Adjustable Bed. I have never been invited to stay in anyone's home in Boise since.
4. We stayed in Bountiful at someone's home that Bishop Rudy knew. The wife was a hypnotist. They had a pool. We went to temple square on Sunday morning. When we got back the adults had naps and told us that we couldn't go in the pool on the Sabbath. Unfortunately, they didn't think of how inventive we'd get. They hadn't said anything about being pushed into the pool. So they woke from their naps to see about 30 kids in their Sunday best floating around the pool. Good times!
5. They made us stay in the dorms. Deseret Towers. A whole floor to ourselves. We'd ride the elevator to a floor which was not ours, let the doors open, scream as loudly as we could, and then push a bunch of buttons so the people on that floor couldn't tell where we were from. I don't think we had to worry, there really wasn't anyone else staying in that whole dorm. And breakfast. They had those cool cereal dispensers. Captain Crunch on tap!
6. Vivian Cline. Oh my goodness, I wanted to BE Vivian Cline. And I know all the other girls did too. And probably a couple of the boys. She was so polished. So amazing. So pretty. To this day, I always put my bottom in the car first and I never dive in head first - all because Vivian Cline said that your date would never want to see your bottom sticking out of the car as you tried to get in. Because, she said, girls have hips and when we bend over, out bottoms expand. The mental image was truly frightening to all of us girls. As it was, I'm sure to the drivers of the cars. I'm sure it took us twice as long to get into the cars after that class with Vivian Cline. I had my doubts as a teenager, but have really come to see the wisdom of this after having had a child.
7. Little Cottonwood Canyon. We stayed at a cabin owned by the hypnotist and her husband. It was so beautiful. I've never seen so many hummingbirds in my life. To this day, I think that an A-frame cabin in the woods is one of the most beautiful things ever.
8. I got thrown up on in the car on the way home. And then the guy biked over to my house only a couple of hours after we got home to "pick up" something her "forgot" in our van. He ended up being my first boyfriend. We'd hated each other at the beginning of summer, liked each other in the middle of summer, and by the end of summer, hated one another again. It was an on and off again romance. (He pretty much made my life a living Hell the last few months I lived in that town. I try not to hold a grudge, but sometimes I want to call his wife and tell her what an ass she married. I try also to remember that we were just teenagers, but it doesn't help much.)
5. Tasting my very first Hawaiian Ice. Magical. Is there anything better than Tiger's Blood?
6. The dance. Oh heavens. It was fun. All those cute boys from Southern California. I don't care what anyone says, those boys were so cool. With their bleach blond hair and their nice clothes. It was the first time I realized you could be Mormon AND cool. I still remember sitting in the darkened Wilkinson Center, dishing with my best friend about how amazing it all was.
7. Our Etiquette Dinner. It started out fine but ended badly. We all thought it was funny to play songs on the rims of our crystal goblets. The adults were not happy about that.
8. Am I dating myself if I tell you that this was the summer that Oliver North spent testifying before Congress? The adults seemed to watch endless C-Span while waiting for us to get going for the day.
9. The trip to Lagoon. That was a blast. And, weirdly enough, we didn't drive Bishop Rudy crazy because it wasn't the last trip he took us on that we went to an amusement park. The man must have had nerves of flipping steel I tell you.
It was a fun trip. I still love to think back on all the adventures we had. Even though I'm no longer a practicing Mormon, I still have great fondness for the things I did as a teenager in the church and I hope my niece has as much fun. And I also hope she stays strong in her beliefs. I'm confident enough in her choices that she will.
1 comment:
It's funny that several of your 'memories' triggered some of my own.
Those were the good old days when Lionel Richie was indeed dancing on the ceiling and pretending to either barf or be dead in the car when other cars were passing.
We were so cool back then...
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