50th Class Reunion - Class of 1935

All the guys and gals that I had graduated with, from Jimmy Dorsey High School, back in 1935, Half a century later were dispersing all around us, surprising me with whom among my class was still alive. All of us, of course, were somewhere close to sixty-eight, accept for Ronny Melencamp. Ron was 82! He’d taken half his classes twice - plus one or two three times - and if ya’ needed help with homework...everybody knew - Ya’ didn’t go to him, and by the time he qualified for earning his diploma -- Ronny had 2 kids in Junior High! In my class - in seventh grade - he actually pinched the teacher! She slapped his face and yanked his beard so hard it made him cry. The chubby little redhead standin’ next to him’s a doozie - a cocky little so-n-so - and always chewin’ gum - Is Jeremiah Coleman...the only guy I know who had to take his freshman year again - for bein’ dumb! The skinny blonde in purple slacks, Sharon Tuscadero, got knocked up - at seventeen - by one o’ the cross-walk guards. I heard her son, in 1950, won the conference championship by kickin’ a winning field goal shot from - eighty-seven yards! The old guy checkin’ people in is Father Mondinaro - known by all who know him for his endless stupid jokes. He must be close to ninety-five, but claiming he’s been celibate, is…and I can prove it, dear...a seven-decade hoax! The fact is, Leonard Sexton...who I’m pretty sure I told you’s the only kid his mother, Margarita, ever had... Only ‘bout a year ago...while playing 4-man euchre...swore to us that weasley little booger -- is his dad! “Any way of provin’ that?” I couldn’t help but ask. “Wish I could,” he said…“but all I’ve got’s my mother’s word.” After hearin’ Leonard’s claim - dependin’ on the source - I’m now a bit less skeptical of rumors that I’ve heard. That’s “Freckles” Brown - a big time track star - standin’ in the doorway. Melvin is his real name. He rarely lost a race, But takin’ spills when hurdling on our - old style cinder track - was how he’d got his nickname --- those ain’t freckles on his face! By the time we graduated, Melvin’s cinder scars made it really tough for him to land a date for prom. His mother, I remember, was his date in ‘35...and if my eyes are workin’ right…I’m guessin’ that’s his mom Rollin’ in behind him. Damn...he’s doin’ it again! The woman’s on a scooter, but that’s Mrs. Brown, alright! I swear to God, that tub o’ lard and Melvin won the dance-off when Norma Jean done slid that fool - between her legs - that night! It’s hard to tell from where we’re at, but - trust me - once you’ve seen him really close, like - super close...I’m talkin’ eye-to-eye... As far as understanding how a major jock like Melvin’s never found a wife - and ain’t about to...you’ll know why. That big ol’ gal with platinum hair - fussin’ with her lipstick - if I’m not mistaken, is the kid who rang the bell Every day when class began - again when recess ended - and if she’s who I think she is, that’s Shirley Jean Burrell. See that little pipsqueak by the stage...that’s Clarence Buckley. He tells the folks who know him really well to call him, “Buck”, But if he fails to recollect that you and he are friends and - you walk up and call him that - he’ll hit ya’ like a truck! Mr. sequins - feathered hat and alligator boots - always won the championship for - “most obnoxious clothes”. I ‘bout died the night I saw him try to kiss a waitress down at Kroeger’s Deli and she damn near broke his nose! His father was the cop in Doon. His name is Rowdy Tucker. You’d never expect a lawman’s boy to do the things he’s done, But truth be told, they say his Pa was every bit as bad...and like I’ve often heard it said…like father…like son. The dude there by the ladies’ john is big ol’ Howard Goddard. He’d never get away with what he used to do - today. He’d hustle chicks by hangin’ ‘round the doors of women’s bathrooms, which is, he’ll proudly tell ya’ - how he cornered Anna Mae! But Anna passed away last year, so Howie’s runnin’ stag...and looks like he’s resorted to that desparate ploy of his. Had I never mentioned it you prob’ly wouldn’t have noticed...but...why d’ya’ s’pose he’s hangin’ around the “Lady’s” like he is? Not too bad a turnout for a class as small as ours - and everyone who’s still alive is here by now, I s’pose. Our 25th, as you’d expect, was almost twice this size, but - by the time our 55th reunion comes and goes - Which - if we do - a fiver’s - gonna be in 1990...Melvin’s mom and Leonard’s dad will likely not be there. And...if I’m gone...but Howie’s not...and asks you for a dance...as long as it’s a fast one, honey...I won’t really care! NOTE: If you enjoyed this little diddy, check out my far more elaborate AUDIO piece called simply - "50th Class Reunion". PS: I've now got 4 new Audio-CDs - @ 4 1/2 hours each = (62 diversely varied pieces). They’re listed on EBAY - under - “Mark Stellinga Poetry” - or available by simply contacting me at -- mark@writerofbooks.com -- should those of you who enjoy listening to poems as well as reading them - and particularly those of you that travel - care to be so entertained. (We use safe and simple - PayPal) There are a bunch of my pieces on YouTube as well --- Cheers, Mark