This summer (1982) was no different. I would do whatever was needed around the house and then take off on my bike. Yes it was only a 5 speed, but I made sure that was all I needed to be able to get around the hilly area in which I lived. I couldnt think of a better way to exercise to stay in shape.
The route that I took often times took me past Kris's home.. (the young lady I was dating at the time) One trip in particular sticks out in my mind. As I was biking by, I heard her voice and stopped. I went down around the back where I had heard her her Irish Setter, Cherokee, started doing the happy dog dance when he saw someone new around back. Kris was laying out working on her tan. I can clearly recall the orange two piece bikini she was wearing. I always thought that she had a very nice figure for a young lady. I quietly walked around the corner after a few seconds said, "Now for THIS I wish I had a camera." I never saw her jump so quickly as she shot of up out the chair. She grabbed for her coverup and hurriedly put it on. We talked for a few minutes and then I resumed my ride. The one thing that stuck in my mind though wasnt her appearance in the bikini as much as that was the only time I can ever recall her being unsure of act or respond. She seemed almost uncomfortable to be seen by me in that way. I guess that was the one time that we came closest to understanding the way that the other usually felt when we were together.
Then it was time for band camp for the last time as a student. We used to go to a YMCA camp that was nestled up in the Laural Highlands about an hour or so from home.
Then the school year started. Because of the way my classes were scheduled, I ended up in a watered down beginner's physics class instead of the more median class I had signed up for. In order to get into the advanced physics class which would be more my speed, I would have to drop my Spanish II class, which I did in a heartbeat. My two favorite classes that quickly stood out for me were the advanced physics class and my last class of the day, psychology.
The physics class had most of my friends in it and was basically just a continuation of the first year's physics class. The teacher actually made learning the concepts and ideas enjoyable with numerous hands on labs and a teaching style that at times could be best described as 'unorhtodox'. When we were studying sound waves, we had to get pop bottles and after filling them with different levels of water we were to play a song on them. Thus showing how the different water levels affected the sound pitch. You could quickly tell the band geeks in the class, after we had our bottles, we were using a tuner to make sure that the bottles were all pitched right. Yeah, geeks to the end, but geeks that had a slight advantage in this case. My lab partner Rob, who I had known since 4th grade and was probably my closest friend during school, and I decided to play it to the hilt with our song selection. Those people that werent in the band were playing Mary Had A Little Lamb, Hot Cross Buns, Jingle Bells, etc. Our turn came and we announced to the class that we were playing Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Ode To Joy. Rob played the most of the entire song on our bottles which we had set up resembling a keyboard. I stood off the side with an empty Pepsi bottle in my hand not moving. I had but one low note to play during the bridge before the melody resumed and I figured it would be comical simply to stand there and just blow one note while Rob was bouncing all over the bottles like a madman playing everything else. We finished our song and the teacher was very impressed. We got the highest score on that assignment, a 14.98 out of 15. The slight drop was because when I was playing the scale that was required before the song I started to laugh a bit and when my lips tightened in the grin, the scale went a little sharp. From what I understand, that teacher still tells the story of the kids that played Beethevon on their bottles when he assigns that lab for his classes now. Another time, the girls that sat in the front row would occasionally complain about the draft by the wall during the winter. Rob and I sat by the wall ourselves and figured to try to do something about it. In our book we found the drag coeficient for paper on wood and constructed a small sail out of paper. We placed it on our desk by the wall and released it 3 times. Each time we clocked how long it took to reach the end of the table. We then measured the length of the table. (Yes, we were doing all of this while the teacher was conducting class) We then knew, the distance travelled which was the length of the table and the time to travel it. We plugged those numbers into the old d= r x t formula and then applied the drag coefient we looked up earlier. After averaging out our findings, we raised our hands and told the teacher of our findings. I cant remember the exact measurement we came up with, but when we explained how we got our figures he was suitably impressed and gave both of us extra credit for putting the knowledge learned in class to a practical use. The girls that complained about the draft didn't speak to us for a while after that. I dont know why.
My senior year turned out to be one of the most fun times that I ever had learning. Often times its the teacher that can make the difference. Many times they dont get enough credit when they do something right, but society is quick to cast blame on them when the children arent learning as they should. It's a two way street. The kids have to want to learn what is being presented to them and the teachers have to want to do their best to help their students understand and grasp the concepts and ideas that they are putting forth. If either side isnt living up to their end of the bargain everbody loses in the long run.