BOOK BEAT BABES: My "Throw Back Thursday" Day! by DL Larson

Thursday, October 30, 2014

My "Throw Back Thursday" Day! by DL Larson

My son decided to buy a truck in Quincy, a four hour drive south from where we live. He decided to ride the train down there and then drive his new truck home. I got wind of his plans and decided to join him. I have several good reasons for doing so ... 1. I'd get to spend a whole day with my son. 2. I used to live in Quincy. and 3. I used to ride the train back and forth to school. I thought it would be fun to go down memory lane.

I'm so glad I went! First off, we rode in the business class car - big leather seats and more leg room! A much smoother ride than I remember from a few generations ago.

The train ride was three hours long, an hour shorter than it used to be! At the train station we were picked up by the car dealer and he drove us to Hannibal, MO for the truck. We returned to Quincy, cruised the town in a shiny black truck to see if my old stomping grounds were still standing!

This is 649 Ohio Street - the infamous residence where too many parties were hosted by two very young and innocent roomies. We lived across the street from the business school we attended! Need I say more? Our apartment was 'under the stairs,' much like Harry Potter's cupboard under the stairs! When I lived there the brick was still red and the trim was white and blackish. I think I prefer the red brick, but I guess this is considered progress. I'm delighted it is still standing.

Our old bar and hangout is still there too - called the Scoreboard. Many of the world's problems were solved at that old place.

I believe it's gotten a new paint job and definitely a new roof. I only wish we'd had time to stop in for a beer. Our good friend used to live in the apartment above the tap and we'd buy pitchers of beer and carry them upstairs to the apartment. It was fun and convenient and they let us use their glasses as well. Such good memories of kind people and fun times!

Now, my old Alma mater is still open too. It's called Gem City Business College. A unique school where I learned to be the best darn secretary anyone could be. Too bad I never really ever became a secretary, but I sure learned how to do research, type and file and find mistakes in ANYTHING! Oh, how the Good Lord has his ways of preparing us even when we have no idea what we are doing. In those days, I never really thought about being a writer. I dropped out of Senior English for heaven's sake! Thus the main reason I attended a business college rather than a traditional college. I couldn't get in to college with only three years of English.

I couldn't graduate from this school until I could type 90 words a minute with no mistakes and transcribe short-hand at 60 words a minute, then type up and deliver to the instructors within - I believe it was thirty minutes. This school looks simple and un-adorned from the outside, but it was brutally tough on the inside.

And as in any school, I met the best people. My college friends are my life-long friends. I love them dearly and no matter if we don't see each other every week or every month, we keep in contact and consider them family.

So, I just dug this out of my old school album. It's November 1972. Kurt and I are newly weds, the girl next to me is my roomie and dearest friend, Jan Wheeler Beard, and next to her stands one of our good buddies of the day, Mike Liggett. We were at our graduation ceremony from Gem City Business College. Mike graduated from the Jewelry School, Jan graduated from the fashion school, and me from the business school. Kurt was there for the celebration!