How I spent my time as a teenager

How I spent my time as a teenager-----
It's no wonder that I'm half dead now. I didn't realize just how busy I was in my younger years. I mean I just about checked myself in at the emergency room when I started this artical last week and then pressed that imaginery button somewhere on this computer that erased my well intentioned efforts.
I belonged to Explorer scouts,The Civil Air Patrol,The Jr. Cotillion,the methodist youth Fellowship,Track and Field at school and worked for Texaco and then Shell all the way through High School and at the end attended OJC ( Orlando Jr. College).
This does not involve my free time when I dated and after moving to Lyman High dating the same girl all the way into the end of a year of college when I was dumped .I also fished with my dad,made trips to south florida,went hunting.
I was a bargain for my parents. I always had jobs and even cut grass which was very lucrative. I always had money and cloths and money for dates and gasoline all bought by me.
I even paid for my college and my books. Dad bought me a lambretta motor scooter which I loved. It was blue and white and had actual chrome bumper guards and was really economical. Made it good to make the 14 mile trip to the girlfriends house--and I showed up,on time to get the ax which was my last trip to Eileen ave.
I'm going to touch on all this now briefly----------------------------------------

Civil Air Patrol
I was a member of the cadets,my buddy Chuck Rehmund talked me into it and my father was a sr. member and was the Operations Officer. For those who dont know a lot about it,it is an auxillery of the U.S A.F and a search and rescue organization.
We went out on missions looking for downed aircraft and were trained in search an rescue and first aid and military discipline etc. I was on the drill team and performed at various functions. We had meetings once a week at the airforce base in Winter Park/Orlando. We wore uniforms just like the Airforce.
The Jr. Cotillion

I received an invitation to join when we first moved to Florida. I have no idea who recomended me because that was the only way to get in. The Cotillion teaches young men and women manners and the proper way to go through receiving lines and meet important people and young ladies of good upbringing lol.It enables you to make contacts and mingle and be part of social networking which may assist you when your ready to go out into the world.It enables you to have controlled recreation and hopefully become a productive adult and be at home in various settings. The dances which were always formal were held at country clubs and the officers club at the base. I had to purchase a white coat and cumberbund and dress shoes for the occasion.
It was fun and some of the most beautiful girls at school were members which was just fine with me.
The Explorer Scouts

I was told about Explorers by good friend Richard Morgan and Reinis Fox now past was the President of the Maitland Post. The post was led by Chemistry Teacher from Colonial High Mr. Jim Evans who has also past away many years ago.
The post specialized in canoeing ,long trips as well as the Florida canoe derby held once per year a race.
I joined and enjoyed my time with great friends and we managed a number of state championships as well on the canoe racing. The highlight was two long trips,one from Macon Ga . to Appalacicola,over 340 miles and another from Kissismee Fl. to Fort Meyers Florida.
Methodist Youth Fellowship

Our family joined the Winter Park Methodist church in 1958 and it was a great church that kept ya hopping with a slate of activities. I joined the Methodist Youth Fellowshop and throughly enjoyed it.We not only took classes to properly join the church we had many activites on weekends where christ and commaroterie were key! We also went to the Methodist Youth Camp in Leesburg on the lake each summer for a week.
I was in the choir untill I was the last teenage boy in the choir. MY dad made me leave,he said it looked weird me and all those girls LOL.I thought it was heaven on earth LOL.
After Church on Sundays our family normally went out to eat at an area Rest. We also made a stop at the Dairy Queen in downtown Winter Park or it might have been called the Tastee Freeze. We loved the softserve icecream.I had a craving for the strawberry sundaes.
The S@S Cafeteria was one of our favorite places to eat. I always got the Strawberry shortcake for desert. Dad always left a tip on the table and brother Ron took it and pocked the money--that really made me mad--now to be fair to him I only saw him do it once.
I had a love for seafood. We all ate seafood. Dad was a great fisherman so we always had fish and other ocean or lake fare.
Working at Gas Stations
Gas stations were the McDonalds of the 60's. In those days cars were given full service. We checked under the hood and filled up oil and washer fluid,brake fluid and transmission fluid as well as filling the cars with fuel. We also checked the tires and aired them to specifications,looked for cut or damage belts and
cleaned the windows all the way around.
Dad got me a job at the Texaco on aloma and Forsyth ave. HIs friend owned it and dad was determined that I should learn about cars. I worked the stations from the time I was 14 till I left for the Navy in 1965.
I will tell one rather risque story about the station at aloma. There was an older guy that worked there-when I went to work he said remind me to tell ya a bout the bed in the back room. One day he did--he said their was a mother and daughter who came in and they were mother and daughter prostitutes. They would hike up their skirts when we washed their windshield. They thought it was funny watching the guys get all flustered. They also were known to have sex in that back room for gasoline or car repairs. Now mind you this was a story. I never saw them get out and go back there and the older guy told me I wasn't old enough. They could have been pulling my leg,then again who knows.
The first time I waited on them and they hiked their dresses up-I spent more time than usual doing that windshield LOL!!!
I want to remind yall I am talking the time period of 1958 till 1965. Full service was what ya got at the gas stations and it required extra people in those days--that's why I say the McDonalds of the era for teenagers.
I actually repaired tires,did brake jobs and oil changes and grease jobs and attempted a few other things.
When I left to go into the Navy in Aug 1965,one of the guys at the shell station who was older bought me 2 beers. those were the first beers I ever had in my life.I drank them sitting on my scooter behind the old Charlies Bar. I was convinced I must be drunk and I drove my scooter home which was very close.

My Love Life 1958/1965
Ages 13/18--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When we moved to Winter Park in 1958, I attended Glenridge Jr. High. Our family moved to Florida from Edgewater Maryland.
I joined Jr. Cotillion right away so I had girls to dance with and socialize with right away.
I gravitated towards the ones I knew from school and they were not necessarily the ones I wished to have a date with. We were urged to dance with specific people at our tables as they were teaching us manners,pulling chairs for the ladies,how to put on a corsage,etc.
The girls were members of the Eastern Star. I didnt care about affiliation,they were nice looking and I liked girls a lot and dancing -such a life LOL !!!!
I dated girls from my church as well and took girls to church functions. I had a date or more with Donna C. She lived near our first house on Howell Branch road and her dad and my dad were friends. I have known Donna since th 7th-grade. We actually went steady for like 2 days once and I gave her the famous cheep going steady ring.Donna actually went to Lyman High and I knew her there. She was my oldest and best friend over the years from Florida.
I also dated girls I knew from Civil Air Patrol. I dated Gloria Thompson who has past away. I liked her but she said I wasn't catholic so she couldn't marry me lol.I had a date with a girl from Highway 50 area,her brother was our cadet commanding officer in CAP,her name was Joan.We had hay rides out to the Oviedo area which were a blast!
I dated lots of girls and was a virgin. I got so many lectures from my mom about you better not get some girl pregnant that I could hear her in my ear on every date I went on.
All my dating came to a screeching hault in 1961 when I transferred to Lyman. I met Ms S and fell flat head over heels.
I first saw her in one of my classes and when the teacher introduced me as a transfer she turned around and looked at me and I saw her and that was that. She said we met at the sock hop in the gym as our formal introduction. I never dated anyone else till I got the heave ho in 1965 which more than broke my heart. I went into the navy shortly there after,helped along by a draft notice after I became sick with mono and had to audit my classe's. I wanted to have my choice of service and job and dad having been a Navy man talked me into the Navy with his arm twisting presentation of three square meals a day and a bed to sleep in every night instead of a foxhole.
I was like a lot of teenagers,I investigated sex and tried various things but repected who I was with and remained a virgin be it an experienced almost not a virgin virgin--LOL if ya get what I am saying.I remained a virgin till I was 21 years old.

Orlando Jr. College
I attended OJC--it is not there now,in its place is Lake Highland Tech. OJC was a private Jr. College. I enjoyed going there. I was taking basic courses to lead to pre -law. I intended to go to the Unn of Florida and then Stetson for law school.
The best layed plans of mice and men LOL.Everything was going along well till I got mono,the kissing disease. I figured it came from the drinking fountain at the sch.
I not only got mono -In had a severe case--I got strepp throat and scarlet fever from it and was hospitalized. I missed so much time I had to audit my classes. I( was making good grades but the audit change caused me to lose my full time student classification. My friend Chuck Rehmunds father was on the draft board and let us know that we were being called up the next week. I joined the Navy to at least have some say in the service and the job fields lol.--------------------------------more later Rick One grain of sand on an infinite beach!