On the show today is Aretha...

In 1970, I was a sophomore in high school, Sanger High School, the Apaches, it was the last year I was in the marching band. Which meant that I was not able to get a date to the after football game dance because I had band hat hair and I couldn't sit with my date at the football game. And if you weren't a band chick NOBODY thought the band was cool. I wanted to be a rock n roller. But I played trombone and the Rolling Stones didn't have a trombone part in their band. But I was starting playing a guitar that I bought from Sears and Roebuck (I wonder what happened to Roebuck) and singing in the talent shows. I weighted in at about 95 pounds so I looked a lot like Mick Jagger. I still had a metabolism even though I was daily hanging out at the Dari-Delight, ordering a chili burger or a double cheese burger and chocolate milkshake (that was when they still used ice cream). But they kick me out because I drove in the parking lot once and drove out without stopping. But you see I realized I didn't have my wallet and needed to rush back to the Mr. People's yearbook room to get it. Where I was a photographer and a writer, well not really a writer more of an opinion columnist which I wrote one attacking the military industrial complex and Clovis Unified's dress code.

Two years later I would graduate at the top of my class, well maybe not the top of the class, well actually I freakin' passed by grace or maybe her name was Shirley... yeah that's it, Shirley Slusher, the woman who taught me something and gave me some self confidence, unlike a certain Spanish teacher named Augie ____. Okay, it is my responsibility to learn and not just be a hippie and work for George McGovern and protest the war in Viet Nam...

Sorry. I've got some issues I need to deal with...

Anyway, I sure loved Aretha.