{"id":342,"date":"2011-06-07T10:32:54","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T14:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=342"},"modified":"2025-05-02T11:40:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T15:40:00","slug":"chapter-14-farewell-john-lennon-hello-columbia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=342","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 14: Farewell John Lennon; Hello Columbia"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Ninth Grade<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10122\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10122\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10122\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/trapper.jpg\" alt=\"IMAGE CREDIT: ACCO BRANDS, via Mental_Floss\" width=\"400\" height=\"358\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/trapper.jpg 480w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/trapper-300x269.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10122\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IMAGE CREDIT: ACCO BRANDS, via Mental_Floss<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The school year began uneventfully,<\/strong> following the typical retail dash for school clothes and supplies.\u00a0We raided Woolco for Trapper Keepers and notebooks.<\/p>\n<p>I was assigned to Mr. Hegedus\u2019 homeroom.\u00a0He was always so funny in Science class.<\/p>\n<p>On the wall was a clever little poster of Mickey Mouse wearing a lab coat, which read:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Mickey was a chemist.<br \/>\nMickey is no more.<br \/>\nWhat Mickey thought was H<sub>2<\/sub>O was H<sub>2<\/sub>SO<sub>4<\/sub>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>One perk didn\u2019t escape me\u2014we were now the top dogs at HJHS! The little seventh graders scurried like rabbits underfoot, while some of us looked like Steelers recruits.\u00a0The range of pubescent growth (and lack thereof) was apparent within those walls. One kid my age, Jim B, looked as if he were 8 \u2026 freckles and all.<\/p>\n<table class=\"floatleft\" border=\"0\" width=\"300\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"2\" width=\"60\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/td>\n<td width=\"414\"><strong>Funkytown<br \/>\n<\/strong>Lipps Inc<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375886788807\" class=\"{skin:'black', animate:false, width:'120', volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Lipps-Inc-Funkyown.mp3\">Lipps Inc &#8211; Funkytown<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>This was an older song, but it always reminded me of this awesome trip:<\/p>\n<table class=\"floatleft\" border=\"0\" width=\"300\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"2\" width=\"60\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/td>\n<td width=\"414\"><strong>Magic Man<br \/>\n<\/strong>Heart<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375886788807\" class=\"{skin:'black', animate:false, width:'120', volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Heart-Magic-Man.mp3\">Heart &#8211; Magic Man<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Surprise Flight to Nassau<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_563\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-563\" style=\"width: 335px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-563\" title=\"Bahamas tourism slogan\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/better-in-Bahamas.jpg\" alt=\"Bahamas tourism slogan\" width=\"335\" height=\"277\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-563\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bahamas tourism slogan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One day in October 1980, I accidentally discovered a surprise plan for a trip by spotting the tickets on the coffee table.<\/p>\n<p>We were headed for the Bahamas over the long Thanksgiving weekend!\u00a0They indicated reservations for three adults and two children on a Delta flight out of Newark.<\/p>\n<p>I was immediately hyped but didn\u2019t let on to Steve. I also wondered who the third adult was.<\/p>\n<p>That became apparent on Thanksgiving morning when Mom and Dad brought us (with luggage) to Nana\u2019s house. We were going for a four-day stay there over the holiday weekend. This wouldn&#8217;t have been the first time Mom and Dad jetted off for some couple time, so no suspicions arose.\u00a0 (Steve still was clueless at this point but I played along \u2026 I was not about to spoil this for my parents.)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17570\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17570\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17570 size-full\" title=\"DC-8-61 &quot;Super DC-8&quot; In flight\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/delta-dc861-jet.jpg\" alt=\"(Delta DC-8-61 aircraft (Tom Hildreth Photography)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/delta-dc861-jet.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/delta-dc861-jet-335x106.jpg 335w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/delta-dc861-jet-600x189.jpg 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/delta-dc861-jet-768x242.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17570\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Delta DC-8-61 aircraft (Tom Hildreth Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Instead of dropping us off, Nana got in the car with us (plus suitcase of course) and we headed for the airport.<\/p>\n<p>Well, Mom played this out to the hilt as our \u201csuspicions\u201d mounted, now announcing there was going to be a surprise as we parked and started shlepping suitcases.<\/p>\n<p>There was much laughing and feigned astonishment (on my part) as we later found our seats on the Delta DC-8-61. We were giddy with excitement!\u00a0<em>We were going on the plane!<\/em> I was immediately fascinated with flying.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"61\" \/><\/a>Breakfast In America<br \/>\n<\/strong>Supertramp<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375807433843\" class=\"{skin:'black', animate:false, width:'120', volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Supertramp-Breakfast-In-America.mp3\">Supertramp &#8211; Breakfast In America<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/p>\n<p>The last time I\u2019d been on a commercial jet was at 8 months old in 1967, when my parents brought Nana and me to Miami \u2026 needless to say, memories of that babyhood trip escaped me.<\/p>\n<p>I sat by the window during the flight, nose pressed to the tempered glass, as the clouds floated far below the wings. I absolutely loved flying.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17857\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17857\" style=\"width: 1046px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17857 \" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/nassau-british-colonial-hotel.jpg\" alt=\"Nassau British Colonial Hotel\" width=\"1046\" height=\"685\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/nassau-british-colonial-hotel.jpg 800w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/nassau-british-colonial-hotel-335x219.jpg 335w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/nassau-british-colonial-hotel-600x393.jpg 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/nassau-british-colonial-hotel-768x503.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17857\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nassau British Colonial Hotel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We stayed at the British Colonial Hotel, a grand and sprawling estate with multiple pools and amenities. The cruise port was nearby.<\/p>\n<p>From Wikipedia:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>The hotel was used as a filming location for the James Bond film <strong>Never Say Never Again<\/strong>, starring Sean Connery. The character Fatima Blush (Barbara Carrera) waterskis in front of the resort and onto the end of the pier, into James Bond&#8217;s arms, to the hotel\u2019s old gazebo bar (located on the left of the picture in the infobox). The pier was especially built for the movie and the hotel kept it.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Mom and Dad had chosen an amazing place. Within a short walking distance was the famous straw market, and we walked around looking for souvenirs. We swam in the warm ocean and the pools, visited an aquarium, and took an island tour. Our driver, Roberto, was funny and we had a great time.<\/p>\n<p>Once, about a dozen tame flamingos surrounded us, and Nana was spooked a bit. We thought that was cute.<\/p>\n<p>The travel slogan at the time was <em>It\u2019s Better In The Bahamas<\/em>. <em>Magic Man<\/em> by Heart always reminds me of that trip.<\/p>\n<p>Years later, my brother would tell me that he already knew about the surprise &#8230; at least <em>I<\/em> hadn&#8217;t been the bean-spiller.<\/p>\n<p>I turned 14 that fall.<\/p>\n<p>One day in late 1980 as I was folding laundry in my room, <em>Starting Over<\/em> by John Lennon came on and I remember thinking it was a pretty good song with a sort of \u201850s vibe. We were mere months from his senseless murder.<\/p>\n<table class=\"floatleft\" border=\"0\" width=\"300\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"2\" width=\"55\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/td>\n<td width=\"414\"><strong>(Just Like) Starting Over<br \/>\n<\/strong>John Lennon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375886788807\" class=\"{skin:'black', animate:false, width:'120', volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Just-Like-Starting-Over-John-Lennon.mp3\">(Just Like) Starting Over &#8211; John Lennon<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-565\" title=\"Time Magazine Cover\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/John_Lennon_Time.jpg\" alt=\"Time Magazine Cover\" width=\"335\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/John_Lennon_Time.jpg 297w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/John_Lennon_Time-222x300.jpg 222w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This happened in early 1981, and I came home from school to find my mother crying while watching continuous news coverage.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019d been a Beatles fan since their American debut, <a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=6734\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">having met them in 1964<\/a>. Everyone at school was talking about it. And then there were three.<\/p>\n<p>Interesting to note that while waiting for the bus in the mornings that year, I met my old kindergarten Sunday school teacher, Miss Larsen. She was sitting in a parked car sipping hot coffee, as a crossing guard waiting for the little kids.<\/p>\n<p>We got reacquainted as I sat with her in the warm car many times, and she reminded me of my impetuous insistence about Thomas Edison\u2019s role in creating light and my yen to baptize a baby.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d forgotten all about that!<\/p>\n<h3>Debut of Space Shuttle Program<\/h3>\n<p><!--[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fPDFFe7lYrY[\/embed]\n\nThis video clip is by some guy with an obvious flair for playing reporter but of the shirt-free variety.\u00a0This is how they made personal videos in 1981 folks. Pretty creative considering the available resources at the time.--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9750\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9750\" style=\"width: 335px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9750\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/time-space-shuttle.jpg\" alt=\"Space Shuttle Columbia on the cover of &quot;Time&quot;\" width=\"335\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/time-space-shuttle.jpg 400w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/time-space-shuttle-228x300.jpg 228w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9750\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jan. 12, 1981<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I remember thinking the Shuttle looked rather like a pregnant airplane with funny wings. It was the latest milestone for NASA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thirty years later, on July 8, 2011,<\/strong> the U.S. Space Shuttle Program launched its final mission.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/nasa-launches-space-shuttle-historic-final-mission-153202937.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Atlantis began its journey to the International Space Station<\/a>.\u00a0In my opinion, that marked a sad day for America.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2011-07-13\/atlantis-astronaut-space-moon-walk\/2792390\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Video of the Astronauts&#8217; final shuttle-era walk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I have observed an entire era be born and come to a close, including terrible accidents involving the shuttles <a href=\"http:\/\/space.about.com\/cs\/challenger\/a\/challenger.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Challenger<\/a> (1986) and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Columbia<\/a> (2003).<\/p>\n<p>Mom continued treatment and was admitted at St. Peter&#8217;s at times.\u00a0During one of her hospital stays, I made a sequel to the original <em>Mommy In the Hospital.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This version was drawn comic-book style and much more advanced than the one from 1977.\u00a0I drew a \u201cMommy\u201d character and Dr. Wu was in it, as well as inside jokes only our family could understand. Volume 2 was a hit.<\/p>\n<h3>A glass of soda-milk and a bedtime story<\/h3>\n<p>I started babysitting around that time.\u00a0Most were references through Mom or the church. My rate was $2.50, and $3.00 after midnight.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"61\" \/><\/a>What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin&#8217;<br \/>\n<\/strong>Stephanie Mills<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375807518303\" class=\"{skin:&#039;black&#039;, animate:false, width:&#039;120&#039;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Stephanie-Mills-What-Cha-Gonna-Do-With-My-Lovin.mp3\">Stephanie Mills &#8211; What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin&#8217;<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/p>\n<p>I took each job seriously, asking the parents for emergency lists and other important items.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-7280\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Babysitting-284x300.gif\" alt=\"Babysitting\" width=\"335\" height=\"353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Babysitting-284x300.gif 284w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Babysitting-569x600.gif 569w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Babysitting.gif 1668w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/>I sat for several families in East Brunswick, and another in South River.\u00a0The latter had three girls.<\/p>\n<p>Before bed, they always asked for a concoction they called &#8220;soda milk&#8221; (Coke or Pepsi mixed with whole milk). I kind of got hooked on it myself.<\/p>\n<p>I never took advantage of any house privileges when I was minding the kids and made a grand attempt to balance the fun with the authority.<\/p>\n<p>Two experiences stick in my mind: the South River family once asked me to baby-sit for their own children PLUS their niece and nephew one New Year&#8217;s Eve.<\/p>\n<p>That one got out of hand when the kids jumped on the glass coffee table, cracking it (no injuries resulted, but the parents were not pleased).\u00a0In retrospect, it took a lot of nerve to park five kids on me in the first place, and I don&#8217;t recall extra compensation for it either.<\/p>\n<p>Another was a five-year-old kid who had a bad habit of trying to feel up the babysitter. It happened several times before I gripped his arm firmly and told him to stop.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s just say I never got wealthy from babysitting. However, it was a positive experience, since as the youngest granddaughter, I had no other opportunities in caring for young children.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"Chapter 15: The Dating Scene\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=351\">Chapter 15: The Dating Scene<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13050\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/drum-avatar-thumbnail-sm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"75\" \/> <a title=\"Return to Memoirs\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=13681\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Return to Chapters<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ninth Grade The school year began uneventfully, following the typical retail dash for school clothes and supplies.\u00a0We raided Woolco for Trapper Keepers and notebooks. I was assigned to Mr. Hegedus\u2019 homeroom.\u00a0He was always so funny in Science class. On the wall was a clever little poster of Mickey Mouse wearing a lab coat, which read: &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=342\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Chapter 14: Farewell John Lennon; Hello Columbia&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14237,"parent":4,"menu_order":15,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-342","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=342"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17865,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/342\/revisions\/17865"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}