Mar 31, 2011

What was your graduation like? What did you wear?

It was a small graduation ceremony. I had to give a talk so for the most part I have no idea what happened. I can remember the events of that night far better after it was over than during. I also graduated from Seminary with a four year degree that year and Serena Davies and I both had to talk in that ceremony as well. I wore a suit, white shirt and tie for both events.
The events after the school ceremony have stayed well in my mind because of the life changing consequences of that night. Pauline, Marie and I all went to a movie that was shown at midnight in the local theater. (It went out of business within just a couple of years after I left Duchesne.) Anyway I don't remember which movie was played but it ended around 2 am so we went home to our place and played games. I wanted to stay up all night for some dumb reason for the first time in my short life and so when Marie and Pauline were both too sleepy to stay awake I went out to the corral behind the barn and tore down some sheds that were nearly falling down anyway. That kept me awake and busy until Dad got home from getting the mail in town that morning. When he got home I was just headed into the house and he got out of the car and asked if I wanted a summer job at the Texaco gas station in town. I did and that is where the life changing part comes into play. I spent that following night after graduation and every night that summer until I left for college on August 13 working from 10 PM to 6 AM at the Texaco Station owned by Carl Workman. I later in life worked seven years straight graveyard at Signetics and knew I could do it because I had survived the summer following graduation.
There were a number of interesting experiences from that summer which are also burned into my memory but I'll leave that for my stories about my life. Four in particular come to mind. The night I was sprayed by a skunk, the night 20 or so men got out of a black van and circle the station until the Highway Patrol pulled in, the night the bosses son came to play and I called the Police and was threatened to be killed because of it, and the night the drunk wandered toward the station just before 6 am.