I read tonight that Marion smacked Union 43-23 for their homecoming
win. Funny how things don't change, some guard got to be King and the
coach's daughter homecoming Queen. Ironic to see that the coach's
daughter, Tony Perkins her dad, was a year behind me in high school.
I don't have much fond memories about high school. I wasn't the
pretty boy and most of the time I was fighting somebody or someone
everyday. Yup, even the eccentric Crabbass had someone who had the
misfortune to have a crush on me. I did things differently back then,
if I was interested in somebody I'd walk them home. Actually did that
as a freshman, walked Lisa Baumbarger home and then quit doing that, and
she remains pissed off at me to this date. Then again, I got to see
her in the music section in Target. Always seems like the jilted ones
always got revenge on me.
If anybody has known my history of life, they know too much about
Janice who had a big sized crush on me in my sophmore year and though I
did like her too, we never seem to get on the same page in terms of
dating or even going out. If anybody could be a steady GF at that time
(and that's debateable) it was my good friend Steve's sister Penny. A
tale of two different women, whereas Janice was the honor student, high
school cheerleader bla bla, Penny was more down to earth although a bit
on the chubby side. But of course back then she was a total sweetheart
and Mr. Crabb was basically a screwed up teenager back then.
Anyway, homecoming 1978, after last year of not asking Janice out,
she proceeded to make my years a uncomfortible two years. She didn't
have to do much, just shoot her eyes my way and give me a look and I
pussed out. And just to prove a point with me, seemed like God made her
a cook at Applegate's Landing and yours truly a dishwasher. So
bascially asking her to homecoming, she'd probaly say no but maybe she
would have said yes. But I do believe it was Penny that actually asked
me first so I said yes to her.
Applegate's Landing was a pasta place with a waterwheel in the bar
area and had a maze of tables and chairs and cubbyholes for people to
eat at. Everybody I knew worked there. Janice, my best friend Russ,
Cindy, a old girlfriend that moved to the other side of town but somehow
managed to come work as a dishwasher too. I was a senior that was
pretty much flunking out of six courses that I had to take and thus
working something like 25 to 30 hours dishwashing. I think I'd rather
pick cotton than try to wash dishes and getting splattered by the
beverage stockers that the waiters and waitress would fill up and then
move over to the other side. Fucking degrating work, I worked alone
half the time and trying to keep up with shitloads upon shitloads of
dishes and silverware. So since Penny was dressing up for the occasion,
I tried to ask for that night off. And of course the bigshots said
no. Nevermind the fact that senior homecoming dances are once a
lifetime they didn't want me to have the night off, so unfortly my night
was washing fucking dishes while everybody else got to go to
homecoming.
I think I did go to the game to which Marion won 48-14 over Vinton.
Kim Ryan was the queen and Joe Ickes was the king. I've known Joe over
the years and Joe is a fine guy though he lives in town I haven't seen
much of him. Kim moved to Iowa City and became a realtor.
So here I was the next night washing fucking dishes and cussing out
the powers to be. But the one thing I do remember was that Penny waited
for me in the front of the area for about two hours till I got off from
work and she actually dressed up and looked pretty nice. And here I
was, covered in grease and a dirty pasta splattered shirt and pants and
we managed to spend a night over at Steve's apartment watching movies
till about four AM to which I drove Penny home and kissed her on the
cheek and thanked her for waiting and for putting up with a greasy
dishwasher. It was a nice night, I think the harvest moon was out.
Thirty years later.....Applegate's was brought out by Carlos O'Kellys
and usually the place is packed. I wasn't much into pizza so I went up
there and they stuck me way in the back in a cubbyhole next to the
kitchen area. They changed the building somewhat but it's still a maze
of seatings and remains a nice place to go eat. Of course, i had the
usual solitary fly that seem to bother me whereever I go but I thought
about the times of 30 years ago and what should have been a special
night for a senior and his date. I do think had me and Penny stayed
together how things might be different. She went on, got married to
somebody and then got divorced and I caught up with her on my 10 year
reunion and spent a trumatic three weeks together, broke up and then
somehow got back together one more time in 93 but you can't go back to
the past. I wished it could have been that girl who was waiting for two
hours for me to get off work. There are ghosts from the past that are
still there in that building from the Applegate years, the patiently
waiting girl and the overworked dishwasher.
After Penny and I went seperate ways in 94, she eventually got
married to another guy and they are still together. When we broke up a
second time I was very angry at her for the way things went the second
time around but again you can't make somebody love you. Anyway, Penny
still lives in town and gets her car worked on by my brother and on some
days when I go visit him theres a chance I might run into her but I'd
rather not. She did ask about my whereabouts and I'm sure Rick told her
about my life and being a bargain hunter. I think we'll civil now but
I did see her over at Villa's Patio one night when I was eating in the
smoking section for reasons unknown. But she didn't see me. She has a
son that plays football for Linn Mar I think and he's a senior but I do
remember playing cars with him when he was about three years old.
As for Janice, she left town sometime in the 80s and got married and
probaly is living the life that she wanted. I haven't seen her since
high school and if we ever did meet again I'm sure we wouldn't know it.
Perhaps it's better that way.
It's a small world if you think about it. Although Penny and I
didn't couldn't make things work in the two times we got together since
Homecoming, I rather much perfer remembering her as she was, dressed up
in the full moon light waiting.
And as I paid my bill for the mexican food at Carlos O'Kellys and
left for the door, I could picture her still waiting for me to get off
work. I wish we could have gone to Homecoming Dance but that was 30
years ago and it's all a mind dream. But it reminds me still that Penny
is a good woman.
I think life is better since leaving Applegate's. And I hope that I never have to deal with being a dishwasher ever again.
Especially, in a place where an ex GF is a cook and giving all these pots and pans delievered to you with a smirk.
Happy Homecoming!
