“CONGRATULATIONS, YOU’RE 21—AND NOW YOU’RE A MAN!”—6th and final excerpt from Ch. 46 of LITTLE IDIOT: October 25, 1996: Star took her Geo Metro into Chapman Chevrolet in Tempe to have the alternator and belt replaced. Cost: $680. October 26th: in the afternoon went to a Tempe High Marching Band Boosters hamburger fry held in a parking lot on the north side of ASU’s football stadium. The temperature had started dropping earlier and the wind came up and clouds filled the sky. I ate inside my car because it was too cold to stay outside. Then it rained lightly so I thought the band competition would be canceled, but after a delay of about 40 minutes Tempe High performed a little after 8:00 PM. Star and Gina and I sat up in the stands on the west side of the field and nearly froze. Tempe High won a superior rating and April got to bring the plaque home for the weekend. The ASU Marching Band was the last to perform. Ryan Sauer was one of the trumpet players. The performance was so upbeat and rousing that I almost rushed down on the field to sign up. Monday October 28th: our 29th wedding anniversary. In the morning April was inducted into the National Honors Society. Unfortunately Star and I couldn’t attend the ceremony because of our jobs. October 29th: early in the morning April drove Gina to Skyharbor Airport so she could catch an 8:20 flight to Salt Lake City. As always I hated to see her go, but while she was back home she took care of all the requirements to be called to serve a mission. Friday November 1st: Star’s sister Elena called and asked for a blessing by the elders because she believed she had a voodoo curse on her. Elena was now living with her mother and so the elder’s quorum president in our ward and another elder went over to the house on Robert Road and gave her a blessing. She called afterwards to say she felt better immediately after the blessing. Star’s mother said she was so grateful that she gave the two elders a hug and a kiss. November 8th: Prairie Schooner rejected “Fort Apache”. Saturday November 16th: Tempe High’s marching band took part in another competition at Mesa Community College and April received her second award as a drum major. November 20th: attended a concert at Tempe High where April performed with the symphonic band. The last number was “In Memoriam: Dresden”, a composition inspired by the fire bombing of Dresden in February of 1945, during which 35,000 people were killed, including children. The music was powerful and extremely moving and brought tears to more people than just myself, especially as the band recreated the sounds and the cries of terror from the civilians of Dresden. November 23rd: ASU’s Sun Devils defeated the University of Arizona at Tucson and would go to the Rose Bowl undefeated with a record of 11-0. The next day ASU moved up in college rankings to the # 3 spot. Meanwhile, the Tempe High Buffaloes went undefeated in the regular season and had won its first two playoff games. November 24th: read Halas: An Autobiography by George S. Halas, who had been one of the founders of the National Football League in 1920 and for years he was a player/coach as well as the owner of the Chicago Bears. His autobiography included brief biographies of such famous players as Red Grange and the amazing Jim Thorpe, but Halas himself was a fascinating character who had me laughing as he related how he used to put itching powder on the towels in the guest locker room and during a game he would become so excited when one of the bears made a long run that he would sprint along the sideline shouting and encouraging the running back to keep it up and telling him which defender to watch out for. Friday December 13th: Star and I went to ASU’s football stadium to watch the state IV-A championship game between Tempe High and Glendale Ironwood High. April was there with the marching band and during halftime she was shown up close on a huge screen, but when halftime was over she left because she had had some orthodontic work done earlier in the week and as a result couldn’t wear her retainer and she didn’t want any of the band members to see her teeth without it. As for the game, it went into overtime and Tempe’s quarterback, Todd Mortensen, threw a touchdown pass to win the game, thus keeping Tempe High undefeated. On this same day my collection of stories was rejected by the University of Iowa. December 20th: submitted the final grades for my four English classes at MCC and so ended another semester. The next day Gina and her friend Katherine Johnston returned to Tempe, having driven for 12 hours. December 24th: Gina’s birthday. On the card that Star and I gave her I wrote: “Congratulations, you’re 21—and now you’re a man! At least you can do what a young man can—but that isn’t much so maybe you better remain a young woman—especially since you’re one of the best!” Wednesday December 25th: after opening Christmas presents we visited Star’s mother, who was suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and could barely get out of the chair she was sitting in. December 27th: Kent Christiansen, four days away from turning 68, died from cancer of the colon. He was one of the finest men I had ever known. He always had a warm smile for everyone and everyone who associated with him was enriched spiritually.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 16:39:24 +0000
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