COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, JUNIOR HIGH

1965-1968:

Junior high was a frightening time in my life. I was comfortable in elementary school; one classroom, one teacher, and I had risen through the ranks with all the same kids. All of a sudden I enter a completely different world. 6 different classrooms, 6 different teachers, and new kids thrust into one building from multiple other elementary schools.

With 5 minutes between classes, I was positive I would spend the next three years in detention for being late constantly. I thought it was unreasonable to expect that 5 minutes was sufficient enough time to leave one class, go to your locker to get the next hours books, go to the restroom if needed, and be in your next class ready to go. It was shear fright!

7th grade was also the first time a boy noticed me as a girl. Mark McCline starting leaving me notes in my locker. You know the kind, "do you like me? check yes or no". I was still in my tomboy stage and had no interest in the opposite sex other then their pitching arms. I finally told him to stay away from me. The next year I did a complete turn around and developed a genuine 8th grade crush on Mark. Too late, he had already moved on to someone else.

During the summer between 7th and 8th grade I blossomed. It didn't bother me until the fall I entered 8th grade. In 7th grade I was flat chested and felt a little left out since all the other girls had already started to fill out (some even back in 6th grade). I was ok with that, though, because I was still happy being a tomboy, and who would want to play baseball with someone with boobs? Jim Nellermoe loved to tease me about my chest (or lack of). He would always wait until I was at the opposite end of a hall and then yell out in the loudest voice he could: "Hey, O'Neill, your living bra died!". But, that was Jim, so it didn't bother me at all. He was a necessary irritant in my life and he wouldn't leave it until after graduation, or so I thought. Even after I was married, with 3 kids, he popped in for a short while. (Don't let your imagination go wild! My husband and I bought a house right across the street from Jim's mother and he would come visit once in a while.)

Only my closet friends saw me during the summer between 7th and 8th grades, so the majority of the school did not see me develop my bust until we entered school the following fall. The last time they saw me I was flat as a board. All of a sudden I had the biggest chest in school. Actually, it only seemed that way because the rest of my body stayed small. I was very short, and very thin, so the boobs looked way out of proportion for the rest of me. Rumors ran rampant that fall. I was accused of everything from stuffing my bra to wearing falsies. I noticed other girls staring at me while I undressed for gym class, trying to catch a glimpse of me to see if 'they' were real or not. Needless to say, 8th grade was not a good time for me.

9th grade brought Jeff Briggs into my life. He and his friend, Donny Korsgaden would follow Cindy Olson and I home every day after school. Cindy and I often stopped at Zayre's and they would follow us around the store. Finally I got Donny alone and gave him my phone # to give to Jeff and the rest is history. I spent that whole year fixated on him and nothing else in the world mattered to me. Oh, silly me. A few years ago I caught up with him and all I could think of was Garth Brook's song: "Unanswered Prayers".