Meeting the Future and Dodging the Bullets...

YouTube with traditional graduation march, as composed by Edward Elgar

Graduation could not have come soon enough for students and parents alike.  That cap-and-gown walk into the gymnasium was dignified, with a few smirks and sly looks.  We are outta here!

There were at least three girls that I knew for sure were in the family way, had a bun in the oven, knocked up, and pregnant. Not that this wasn't a surprise, being who they were and their reputations.  AND there were many more who were anxiously watching the calendars, crossing each day off, and waiting.  This, again, I suspected and heard the gossip, since no girl keeps that secret to herself.

Meanwhile, there were some parents with grim faces, clenched jaws, and hands balled up in barely contained fury.  These were girls' parents, who had seen the evidence bulging out.  Others were the boys' parents who forced confessions after talking with girls' parents.

AND THEN there were parents who discovered that their boys had made side trips to other schools, and this was a drama in itself.

Each of those parents were thinking: we raised up our kids right, in the fear of the Lord!... Whenever church doors were open, we sat in the pews singing hymns!... We went to church, youth group, church camp.... We had family devotions every night!...We prayed with them, saw them saved at the altar.  We did not talk about sex, because that would give them permission to "do it". HOW could this have happened?

Well, I will tell you why this happened:  All dating venues were off bounds since they were evil or sinful.

Bowling alleys?  They served beer there.  Movies?  Oh, heavens no--all those actors were sinners and who knows what the hidden messages might exist.  Miniature golfing?  Just the two of them?  They need chaperones for that, too.  Eat out?  Are you kidding?  We don't have money for that!   Dancing? That stirs up lust and invites the devil in.

All that was left was parking in a cornfield and making out, which means to kiss passionately and grope body parts. Oh, there were many many cars in a field, leaving farmers to wonder who smashed down corn stalks. All it took was a promise and a kiss, plus I'll marry you if you get pregnant.

When graduates marched out the gymnasium door, some knew that next week, they would be marching down the aisle, wearing a wedding dress in a lovely shade of ivory.

Traditional Wedding March, Mendelssohn, as played by Diane Bish

 Addendum: 
This was in my 1969 graduation.  Life was different then.  Birth control was for married women.  Pills prescribed were to them.  Buying condoms often required driving to the next state over. Yup, this issue was a non-issue, due to many factors.

W.Words: We're on the one road, maybe the wrong road....

Liam's grandfather had told him stories of life in Ireland, how farmers and their harnessed draft horses plowed land and brought in harvest. These images were so compelling that one day, Liam and wife Betty headed to the 'auld country themselves.

Irish Travellers

Liam rented a traditional traveller's caravan, and plodded out onto the dirt roads, being pulled by a harnessed draft horse, named Billy. Sean and Dermot, owners of Caravan Travels, watched them leave, whispering, They'll be stuck in mud before the day's out.

First few miles, Liam and Betty were filled with energy, singing every Irish song they knew, which were many.  Over the hours, as energy seemed to drop and sag, they decided that left lane at the fork looked more promising and shorter to the pit stop where other renters would gather and sing more Irish songs.

Mud grabbed their wheels which locked the caravan stock still, while Billy quite happily grazed at lush green grass.  Betty began to weep and Liam was dismayed, feeling betrayed by his grandfather's stories.
 

This dog can track just about anything.

Then, a fine old black and white tracker came bounding and howling to this miserable couple, followed by Sean in a Ford 150, who fixed the problem right and proper, pulling them out of mud, with a loud SUCK.

Back at Caravan Travels, Liam doled over more pounds to rent a mobile trailer, hooked on the trailer hitch of his rental car, and drove off in a bright red shade of embarrassment.

Tourists.  Dreamers.

The six italized words above are provided by River for the month of June.  In July, another blogger will provide 6 - 12 words, and/or a sentence prompt, to capture other bloggers to leap from their genre, and take a hack at poetry, prose, flash fiction, or whatever thrills you.  Post it in River's comment section, and/or link it back to your own site.  We want to enjoy your writing!

I've got the election blues...

source

Now the phone calls have started.  So far, strange, but very friendly people from the GOP have called me several times a day.  "Hello, mrs. kane, how are you today?"... pause to confuse me.. ." I am (lindsay, wendi, george...) and I want to encourage you to...do what?  I'll never know, since i hung up on him/her.

Soon, we will receive phonecalls from celebrities, honest to goodness hollywood celebrities. Depending on their political leanings, these sincere celebrities will encourage you to....do what?  I'll never know.

Today is California's primary election day, boy oh boy. If only there were a real person at the end of the other line, and I encourage him/her to ...do what? Will he/she hang up on me?

My head hurts. Commercials rip and destroy what our country represents.

But then....Silly me. I thought that elections were about freedom.

American Flag Marines honoring 9/11 on YouTube