50 years ago I was 13 years old in the eighth grade. I was quite popular, voted Class Clown with Gwen Gawricki and Class Pals with Scott Schmedes. I was friends with most every one in my class, liked by Sister Kristen as well as some of my teachers excepting Mrs Luciano who had it in for me and was cruel. I wrote about her a few weeks ago and no need to dig her up again.

I did visit Scott at his home a few times, I don’t think he ever came to mine which was fine since hardly anyone ever came over. John Loiacono came over once to attempt to copy an Elton John T-shirt I had with Indian Ink. It didn’t turn out well. There were a few classmates from my end of town, Michelle Kwiakowski, Walter Hass, Frank Mallia, Luanne Lovato and Olga Lombardo.

I did see them from time to time, in fact I went to high school with Walter and Frank. There were a few other classmates from St. Francis who continued on to Paramus Catholic but once in high school we really had nothing to do with each other. As far as I’m concerned that was their choice, not mine.

One particular classmate who went on to be a helicopter reporter was Tom Cominsky. Tom and I were close enough to sing a capella Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. That went over so well, teachers would take me & Tom out of class to sing in front of the teachers in the hallway. And like Walter and Frank, Tom didn’t have much to do with me in high school.

It was the beginning of the end of my age of innocence. I did play the role of Jacob Marley in the Christmas play to Tom Cominsky’s Ebenezer Scrooge. But I could not be heard as I was a bit overwhelmed by stage fright and could not project my voice.By the end of summer things started to go sideways for me, so much emotional and physical turmoil and I could not talk to anyone about it.

I did enjoy the time at St. Francis de Sales. I would get to the school a little bit earlier and sold school supplies with Scott Schmedes before the start of classes. There were a few class trips in those days. Sturbridge Village in Masachestettes, the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium and Rocking Horse Ranch which was the first and only time I had rode a horse, which I almost fell off of once the horse started to trot fast as we rode on the side of a hill.

My right foot came out of the stirrup as the horse picked up speed, and I hung onto the saddle horn and was able to climb back over and placed my foot in the stirrup once more. It was frightening and perhaps it was a near death experience, but it was exhilerating. I would have like to have ridden a horse again but the opportunity never came up.

There was a graduation party at the North Pole Restaurant in Lodi followed by a bunch of us kids, escorted by our parents to a Route 46 diner where we loaded up on sugar and soda and listened to Henry Gross singing Shannon over and over.

I never saw Scott Schmedes again after 1976. I did go to CYO, Catholic Youth Organization a few times but could not reconnect with these classmates. Too much time had passed in just a few months. Some classmates passed away, some are supporters of the idiot in the White House which might as well be the same thing.

I saw some classmates having girlfriends in June 1976 and I thought I should have one so I asked Donna Rinaldi to be my girlfriend and she said yes. Donna lived on the other side of town. I hung out at her house were her older brother listened to the Chorus Line soundtrack over and over.

But it turned out that a long distance relationship was too much for either of us to handle. I did see Donna years later when she worked at the Mini Mart in Saddle Brook. I exaggerated my life at that point, which meant I lied about things. I went back and told her the truth minutes later which more than likely caused Donna to think I was insane