1961

I was not popular in high school.  My mother started me in kindergarten at the age of four.  So, I was always about a year younger than everyone in class.  In addition, I was a bit shy and a late bloomer.  None of this mattered much through junior high school.  However, when a new school was built in Norwalk (Norwalk High), my mother made a point of enrolling me there instead of old Excelsior High where most of my junior high friends went.  Although Mom always wanted the best for me, the transition from junior high to high school was difficult for me.  It seemed like I was everybody's little brother.  I did not feel I could compete in school sports.  I directed my limited athletic skills to the local bowling alley (Norwalk Bowl).  At the end of freshman year, I did not get a yearbook.  It seemed like one more thing that my parents really could not afford.  I never made that mistake again.

I bought a 1961 Norwalk High School yearbook on eBay this year for $25.  I always wanted one and finally got one.  To my surprise, the one I bought was owned by a friend of mine, LeRoy Crawford.  This book had somehow found its way into an estate sale in Spring Hill, Florida.  I knew LeRoy in junior high and the bowling alley.  We were not great friends in high school.  I was an academic nerd and he was a wannabe baseball player who had no time for books.  LeRoy did not graduate with the class of 1964.  He disappeared after sophomore year.

The 1960-1961 freshmen class also included my favorite person in high school - Sue Roberts.  She was full of energy and optimism.  Sue came to school every day with a glorious smile.  (to be continued in 1962)  [JAM 6/17/2019]