{"id":365,"date":"2011-06-07T11:54:55","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T15:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=365"},"modified":"2025-04-23T15:15:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T19:15:35","slug":"chapter-16-adios-junior-high-romance-blooms","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=365","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 16: First Love"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Spring Blush<\/h3>\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>Urgent<br \/>\n<\/strong>Foreigner<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375807790294\" 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\/Foreigner-Urgent.mp3\">Foreigner &#8211; Urgent<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">&lt;span style=&#8221;display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;&#8221; data-mce-type=&#8221;bookmark&#8221; class=&#8221;mce_SELRES_start&#8221;&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;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<figure id=\"attachment_6679\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6679\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6679\" title=\"Atari Space Invaders\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/atari-spaceinvaders-300x196.jpg\" alt=\"Atari Space Invaders\" width=\"400\" height=\"263\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/atari-spaceinvaders-300x196.jpg 300w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/atari-spaceinvaders-600x393.jpg 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/atari-spaceinvaders.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6679\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">We were hooked on Space Invaders!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Junior High ended on a half-day in June.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>We ninth-graders lounged around outside in the sunshine and went around getting our yearbooks signed.\u00a0Looming ahead was a stretch of summer, and high school in the fall!<\/p>\n<p><em>Gemini Dream<\/em> by the Moody Blues, <em>The Stroke<\/em> by Billy Squier, <em>Jessie\u2019s Girl<\/em> by Rick Springfield, <em>Too Much Time On My Hands<\/em>\u00a0by Styx,\u00a0and <em>You Make My Dreams<\/em> by Hall &amp; Oates were popular.<\/p>\n<p>I bought a 45 record of Foreigner\u2019s <em>Urgent<\/em>, and played it hundreds of times in my room while dreaming of Mike.<\/p>\n<p>That summer, Mom helped me sell my stereo, originally her old portable from the \u201850s. It had a turntable, AM radio and attached speaker.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6683\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6683\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6683\" title=\"Battlezone\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/battlezone-machine.jpg\" alt=\"Battlezone\" width=\"400\" height=\"825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/battlezone-machine.jpg 400w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/battlezone-machine-145x300.jpg 145w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6683\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike&#8217;s favorite game at the Mall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She spotted me the difference to buy a newer one (from the \u201870s) at a local garage sale, using my allowance. This \u201cnew\u201d stereo had TWO speakers, FM Radio and turntable, with a headset. <em>Urgent<\/em> sounded amazing on it!<\/p>\n<p>All summer, Mike and I saw each other nearly every day. One time, he came with us to go to Kutztown, Pa. to see Crystal Cave and also their annual Fair. He went down the shore with us, and joined us for some other fun things.<\/p>\n<p>After the South River fireworks, we indulged in a few of our own downstairs in our family room. Mom caught us with the lights out and to say she wasn&#8217;t pleased would be putting it mildly.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;d make out on the sofa down in the rec room, and one time Phil Collins&#8217; <em>In The Air Tonight<\/em> was on.\u00a0That song always brings me back to that scene when he murmured, &#8220;I just can&#8217;t hold you close enough.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Being alone was a trick with my brother around. He was always trying to spy on us and catch us in a compromising position. Once, I saw him peeking through the vertical blinds downstairs, and I got up to snap them shut in annoyance.<\/p>\n<p>I went with Mike on his daily paper route, collecting from the customers, often ducking into the woods on Prigmore Street for a quick rendezvous.\u00a0I was mortified one afternoon when the guy who owned Sheldon Motors, on the other side of the woods, caught us and shouted, \u201cNone of that! Get outta there!\u201d\u00a0Mike thought it was hilarious. I was incredulous at his insensitivity toward my feelings of embarrassment.<\/p>\n<h3>My First ASTA Conference<\/h3>\n<p>That summer, Miss Morrow, my violin teacher, encouraged me to attend &#8220;ASTA&#8221; (American String Teachers\u2019 Association).\u00a0It was a week-long conference, held at Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) in August.<\/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>Too Much Time On My Hands<br \/>\n<\/strong>Styx<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375807822323\" 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\/Styx-Too-Much-Time-On-My-Hands.mp3\">Styx &#8211; Too Much Time On My Hands<\/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>It meant being away from home, which I\u2019d demonstrated that I could handle pretty well when I went to Camp Fairview in 6th grade.\u00a0My mother thought it was a good idea\u2014 another step for me to take as a musician, and toward my independence.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_581\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-581\" style=\"width: 1153px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-581 \" title=\"ASTA\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/ASTA-teresa.jpg\" alt=\"A group of us at ASTA. (Photo courtesy of Teresa Grisham Van Eps)\" width=\"1153\" height=\"979\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/ASTA-teresa.jpg 544w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/ASTA-teresa-300x254.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-581\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A group of us at ASTA. (Photo courtesy of Teresa Grisham Van Eps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I spent the first week of August down at ASTA, and missed Mike terribly. However, I took to the experience like a dolphin to water, and made fast acquaintance of my roommate, Andrea M, and the other students. The ages ranged from beginner (9 or so) through 12th grade, with high school graduates and older returning as counselors.<\/p>\n<p>I bought a rainbow-page journal at the student store, and began what has continued over the years as \u201cThe ME Book,\u201d writing about my fun experiences at ASTA and my feelings for Mike.<\/p>\n<p>The conference was a nice mix of dorm life, various string ensembles, master classes, meals in the big dining hall, concerts and lots of free time as well.<\/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>In The Dark<br \/>\n<\/strong>Billy Squier<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375807867268\" 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\/Billy-Squier-In-the-Dark.mp3\">Billy Squier &#8211; In the Dark<\/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<figure id=\"attachment_2395\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2395\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2395\" title=\"me-mike-4\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/me-mike-41.jpg\" alt=\"Mike and me at Central Jersey Region II Orchestra Concert\" width=\"500\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/me-mike-41.jpg 400w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/me-mike-41-300x194.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2395\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike and me at Central Jersey Region II Orchestra Concert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Friday night was to be the big performance in the auditorium for all of the orchestras (junior, intermediate and senior, the latter in which I performed).<\/p>\n<p>The parents and families would attend the concert, after which the students went home. Gordon T (of junior high orchestra fame) was one of the directors in the program.<\/p>\n<p>I was on fire toward the end of the week because I knew Mike would be coming to the concert with my family. It was electrifying to see him again that evening.\u00a0I was dressed my best, and looking forward to performing with a top-notch group of my peers.<\/p>\n<p>I played my heart out in the concert, which featured great, memorable pieces, after which followed an emotional mass exodus of families and students. One of my favorites was Peter Warlock&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/EFwt6exTne4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Capriol Suite for String Orchestra<\/a> (particularly the last movement, <em>Mattachins<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>The rest of August brought an involuntary separation for us. Mike\u2019s family was planning a three-week cross-country trip out to New Mexico, their home state, and I sent Mike off with hugs and kisses.\u00a0I spent those three weeks listening to <em>Urgent<\/em>, writing in The ME Book, and other normal summer things like\u00a0going on the tractor-trailer with Dad and the pool with Joan and Leslie.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2369\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2369\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2369 size-full\" title=\"Me and Tractor 111\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/tractor-trailer-me.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Tractor 111\" width=\"500\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/tractor-trailer-me.jpg 500w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/tractor-trailer-me-300x288.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2369\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Me and Tractor 111<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I made meringue cookies and bought a 45 record of Alan Parsons Project\u2019s <em>Time<\/em> as gifts in anticipation of Mike\u2019s date of return, which finally arrived just before school started.<\/p>\n<p>Since Mike lived so close, we would often meet late at night by my fence for a risqu\u00e9 nightcap if the weather allowed. Thank goodness my parents never glanced out their back bedroom window! I&#8217;d have had my head handed to me, with an even worse fate for him.<\/p>\n<p>Around this time, Mom decided to get me a \u201cteen line\u201d for my room. In some sort of contest, she had won a telephone with a ringer that sounded like an electronic cricket (in a world of analog \u201cbell ringers\u201d, this was a novelty. (Now, the <em>bell<\/em> is a novelty. People use it as a cell ringtone.)<\/p>\n<p>So, the cool new phone took residence next to my bed, much to my brother\u2019s consternation. I paid for the service out of my allowance (payment for my chores), and babysitting money.<\/p>\n<p>Mike would call me during the night (I still recall the number, but won&#8217;t post it here thanks to\u00a0 Tommy Tutone<em>. <\/em>I didn&#8217;t mind the loss of sleep, and if Mom knew, she never did anything to stop it.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"Chapter 17: Fateful Turn; Warning Bells\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=370\">Chapter 17: Red Flags Everywhere<\/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>Spring Blush Urgent Foreigner Foreigner &#8211; Urgent&lt;span style=&#8221;display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;&#8221; data-mce-type=&#8221;bookmark&#8221; class=&#8221;mce_SELRES_start&#8221;&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;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} Junior High ended on a half-day in June. \u00a0We ninth-graders lounged around outside in the sunshine and went around getting our yearbooks signed.\u00a0Looming ahead &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=365\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Chapter 16: First Love&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14241,"parent":4,"menu_order":17,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-365","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/365","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=365"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17814,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/365\/revisions\/17814"}],"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\/14241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}