Okay, so you know how I said that I was all macho-macho-man and didn’t care about Valentine’s Day and that I’m an unromantic freak of nature? Welllll, I think that I found evidence to prove that my avowal is not completely accurate (I know!). While searching my attic for mysterious treasures and rat droppings, I found a few items that could very well dispel my theory that I’ve never been a starry-eyed, goo-goo head. And the evidence is not the rat droppings, people.
To start with, when I attended kindergarten way back in the merry old year of 1932, I was obviously a willing patron of the day of St. Valentine…
I can clearly remember posing for this photo that appeared in our local newspaper. I was wearing my favorite Garanimals shirt and giraffe-coordinated pants, and the boy in the Cookie Monster shirt was my first love. I don’t quite remember why we were both picked to pose for this picture, other than the fact that we were the most endearing, delightful, and charming children in the entire elementary school, Amen. And we were in love. After the photo was taken, I’m pretty sure that we made out held hands all the way back to the classroom.
Around the time that I was in the 6th grade, I dumped Cookie Monster boy, and started going out with a young man who was apparently in the 6th grade martching band (that’s martching with a “t”), as evidenced by this highly romantic, yet perplexing letter here:
Perhaps this is not the best piece of evidence to show that I was once a romantic. Clearly, young Lulu was giving mixed signals. And yet, perhaps not. Because the next year (yes, an entire year later), I received another letter from my young devotee, which is written in such faint pencil scratch that I can barely make out what is written, let alone take a photo. But I’ll try:
Dear Lulu,
I hope that you ain’t still mad at me from last year. Math is boring! Is your phone number (555) 555-5555? I forgot. I have changed a lot so don’t be mad. I have band practice after school so I can’t walk you to the bus except on Wednesdays and Fridays. I’ll try to call you. I wish that you where in my homeroom. Gotta go now. See ya.
Please write back soon.
I’m not sure what to make of the letter, but whether he changed or not, I’m pretty certain that I didn’t write back. Mainly because of the use of the word “ain’t,” and because he was still in the damn martching band. Also, he folded his letters like a girl:
Moving right along to my 8th grade year, a young squire named Bill was in love with me (bless his soul). Poor Bill tried his best to woo me with his sloppy kisses (blah!) and bike rides through the neighborhood. But my resolve was strong. I would have no part of his romantic efforts. And it all came down to this…a message slipped under my door after a 2-hour note-passing standoff:
On the flip side of this note is Lulu’s heartless words, telling the pain in my ass to GO HOME.
Okay, my evidence is getting weaker by the moment.
But, wait! Here’s a little something that I found from the 9th grade romance department:
Bio-Rythms. These were so cool. Unfortunately, Stephen wore boots like these.
Hence, the romanticism went up in a cloud of smoke. Literally.
And in the 11th grade, romance reared its stinky, cologne-wreaking head again…
But Carl was a faux-romantic asshat, and I can’t stand the smell of Polo. Seriously, it’s been 21 years since I was in the 11th grade, and the freaking sample (shown in the picture) still has a strong scent!
So, there you have it people—evidence that Lulu might have one tiny, microscopic romantic bone in her body. Clearly the fact that I’ve kept all of this crap through the years has proved something, right? I mean, besides the fact that I’m a pack-rat…
Hahaha. I had a Polo sample that I sniffed and put under my pillow while fantasizing that my future boyfriend would wear it. Yeah. Loser. I know.
Oh my gosh, that’s hilarious! I’m impressed that you’ve kept all of that stuff! I’d love to find old “love notes,” I bet they are hysterical!
I LOVE this! Especially the folded letters — I had completely forgotten about that. I wonder if I could still remember how to do that?
Oh, and I got busted for meeting my boyfriend after school one time when I wasnt’ supposed to because he got his freakin’ Polo all over me!
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Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
That is too freakin’ sweet, girl. TOO sweet.
(I had/have - not sure since they’re in mom’s basement — 300+ letters from my guy that we exchanged while he was in Desert Storm. My letters? All hand stamped/numbered. His? Addressed to me with his last name, we weren’t married yet.)
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So those boots are an automatic romance killer? My hubby still has a pair just like that from his teen years, and I always thought they were cool. Did I miss something?
momhuebert’s last blog post..TT#22: Thirteen Books On My Desk
hahahaha! Aren’t all teenage girls so similar?! I am sure we have all had cologne samples at one point or another.
this just makes me wonder what kind of silly things I have in storage somewhere. LOL
One of them, I know is a firecracker. After my first kiss… with a boy named CARL (gag)… he gave me a firecracker to ‘remember the day’ (GAG!) And I probably kept it somewhere! (GAG!!!)
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All Adither & Leandra - what do they put in that stuff anyway? You can smell it a mile away.
Big H - I also have four years worth of journals that I kept from high school. Now, that’s some scary stuff and a topic for a later date.
Leanne - wow! You just blew my two little love notes out of the water! Very sweet story!
MomHuebert - well, um, at my school? If you wore those boots, it was a sure sign that you smoking something other than cigarettes.
Bad Kelly - what is it with boys named Carl? Frickers.
You heart breaker…although I daresay it was a good idea to dump the guy who wore those boots. I mean, I thought only Pocahantas wore those! But I so have a soft spot for the martching band nerds…I was one of them, too. You might want to get GR to take up the tuba.
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Susan - I really have nothing against marching band nerds. Hell, they probably had more fun in high school than I ever thought about having.
What a great post! I love that you kept all of that stuff.
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You were quite the little boy magnet weren’t you. I think I may have some notes somwhere in the basement. The last one I got was my ex-boyfriend from 11 years ago..he said that he “made a mistake” and wanted to know if it was too late.. The letter came last year, I’ve been married 3 years.. Yeah..guess it’s too late loser. ..Oh and it was printed in ink on notebook paper. He is 46 years old. It wasn’t folded like that though. Boys..they really don’t change do they?
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Wow, Lulu, you sure were a man-magnet. I couldn’t get a date to my jr hi prom until I asked my music teacher’s son. I think she made him go.
But then there was Desert Storm and my current beau went off to war… and I stole his Polo-drenched tshirt before he left, and WORE IT TO BED for weeks without washing it. Until it was so funky I put it in the drawer with all his letters.
I washed it the day he came back over a year later. We broke up a month later.
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I used to fold my notes that way!! But since I am a girl it’s ok right??
I recently came across a “secret admirer” note in the giant bag o’ notes I saved from high school…im definitely going to have to share. It’s priceless. And good for you for not answering Mr. aint.
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“Are we going together?” Ahahahaha!!! The sweet talker.
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Your little “valentine” pic is so cuteeeeeeee with the little boy.
Your stare looked so funny/but serious. Wonder what you were thinking at that moment. It’s great you have all your “old” stuff & great memories to share.
LOVE & HUGS
P.S………. LOL LOL LOL
(But, you know I LOVE YOU)
Thanks for explaining about the boots. In my hubby’s school, those moccasins signified a cool, individualistic, outdoorsy kind of person. Isn’t it funny how things get different connotations, depending on the place and time?
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