210920 September 20,2021
Lee's Traveller
The Official Newsletter for the Lee High Classes of 1964-1965-1966
Tommy Towery - Editor
Gate-Crashing the Junior Prom
Tommy Towery
LHS '64
Gate-Crash - verb, "To gain entry to (a party, concert, etc) without invitation or payment."
Don’t judge me for what I am about to admit, but I have recently been watching a pretty racy television series. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is an American period comedy-drama streaming television series that premiered on March 17, 2017 on Amazon Prime Video. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it stars Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam "Midge" Maisel, a New York housewife who discovers she has a knack for stand-up comedy and pursues a career in it. Her brand of comedy is filled with off-color sexual remarks and full of the “F” word we would never expect a female to say back when we were in high school. She is a New York Jewish girl and lives in a world so foreign to the world we knew back then. If you are offended by strong (and I mean strong) vulgar language you should avoid this show.
I am admiting to watching it for a special reason. In the episode I watched the other night there was an incident which really caught my attention and brought back some fun personal memories. Midge took am extended vacation to a Catskill summer camp like the one featured in another movie, “Dirty Dancing.” Her would-be manager, Susie, decided to go to the camp as well and since she did not have the money to do so legally, she crashed the camp by walking around carrying a toilet plunger to look like she was a member of the staff. As long as she was carrying the plunger around, no one questioned whether or not she should have been there.
The idea of using a prop to fool the authorities reminded me of a similar experience I had back at Lee High School in the year of our Lord 1964.
I've always believed that in America anyone could go anywhere and do anything they wished if they wore a white jump suit and acted as if they knew what they were doing. I believe I developed that idea as a seventeen year old partially because of what happened to me on a night in 1964. I had spent the whole afternoon reading about my new hero, James "007" Bond. I was impressed and curious about how Bond seemed to be master of whatever he tried, and how he could bluff himself into anywhere at any time. I questioned whether such a task was truly possible, or was it just a writer's fantasy.
Probing such questions, the trip I made with Paul to the school that night presented me with the opportunity to play "spy" for myself. I thought I would see if I could get into a school function without the proper credentials. The junior class was having its prom at the school that evening. Paul and I started talking about it and the question came up whether or not I could get inside without an invitation. With the adventures of James Bond fresh in my mind and egged on by Paul's disbelief, I decided to try it.
I needed a very clever plan that would work for 007. Since the junior prom was not a true formal, all I needed to wear was my Sunday suit which was hanging in my closet. I needed the suit and one other piece of "spy" equipment. I needed my camera outfit that was lying in the floor of the same closet.
As far as cameras went, the one I owned was nothing special. A true double-oh anybody would never be caught dead carrying it. For a small town Alabama "Friday night spy" it did not have to be an expensive camera. Mine was an old Ansco camera that used 620 film and had a flash attachment that took the big flash bulbs.
Nevertheless, the camera looked more expensive than it really was. What made it look so neat was that it came in a big simulated leather camera bag. The kit was a Christmas gift many years before shared by Don and me. On that evening, it didn't even have film. I knew that. Nor did the flash work. I knew that too. But, it looked impressive and official, and it was part of the disguise I needed to get into the dance. It was a simulated leather bag for a simulated prom guest.
I dressed for the part and on the way back to the school I dreamed up my big cover speech about why I was at the junior prom without an invitation. It was the typical speech that anyone would use when they knew that they were about to be caught in a lie. I practiced it several times over and over and had it all ready by the time I walked up to the door of the school. A few yards away from the door, I stopped, threw my shoulders back, and put on my best James Bond impression and the air of authority that I knew I needed to get any farther.
The speech was right on the tip of my tongue, ready to spill out to whoever said the first word to me, no matter what that word was. To my surprise, there was no reason to use it. I got to the door at the dance and just walked in. No one questioned me. No one seemed to care that I was there. It was one of those situations where I looked so a part of my act and so confident in my lines that I didn't have to use them. I walked right in and joined in the festivities of the swinging junior prom.
The junior class took more control over what they wanted out of their prom than the seniors had done. They hired the best band in the city to play. They hired the "Continentals" who had won the big battle of the bands, and the music they were playing was the type of music that the kids wanted to dance to. It was almost a shame for the junior prom to be going so much better than the senior prom had gone. The senior prom committee had tried so hard to make it a formal, high-society type dance and did not want a rock-and-roll band. The juniors didn't care and were rocking and rolling. The lunchroom didn't seem the same as it had a week earlier. The guests were having a great time, and so was I. I quickly discarded the unusable camera and hit the dance floor with all my junior class dance partners who were not at the dances downtown. I stayed for a complete set of music before I decided to leave.
Having proven my point and not wanting to have to explain why I had been at the prom so long and hadn't taken a single picture, I decided it was time to exit - stage left. To my surprise, it was harder to get out of the dance than it was to get in. Everyone wanted to know where I was going and why was I leaving, and why didn't I stay longer. That caught me off guard and almost blew my cover. I had never prepared a speech for why I had to leave. I never expected to need one on that side of the door. But, I had come too far to get caught, and "silver-tongued" my way past the border guards to make my escape. I was proud of having satisfied my own curiosity about whether or not I could get away with crashing the party. Quite simply I could and I did. James would have been proud of me and couldn't have pulled it off any better himself. I passed my first test as an agent.
Memphis - It is sad to report that there was an announcement on Facebook that Jimmy Gentry passed away on September 14, 2021. Though Jimmy was not a Lee General, he affected the lives of many of us by his music - most notably for me at Bradley's Cafeteria. Jimmy attended Gurley High School and is best known to us as one of the founding members of The Continentals. His music will be missed by all who knew him.
The software used to create Lee's Traveller is slowly becoming a little easier to work with and I will continue to explore all the new options available for us.
Slow Song Selections
Since I Don't Have You - The Skyliners
Taken from their self-titled album and released in late 1958, the single reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 7 on the Cash Box Top 100. It was also a top five hit on the 1959 R&B chart. It was highlighted by lead singer Jimmy Beaumont's powerful vocals,
Comments on Last Week's Issue
Tom Gilbert, LHS '67; Tommy Bush, LHS '65; Gary Broadway, LHS '64; Tom Provost, LHS '66; ; Pam (Goatley) deLuca, LHS '65, Jim Bannister, LHS '66; Elbert Balch, LHS '65; Pam Grooms Smith, LHS '65; Curt Lewis, LHS '66; John Drummond, LHS '65; and Ralph Lewis Brewer, LHS '66; all made positive comments on the new font and format for the Traveller.
Woody Beck, LHS '65, "Wonder if today they are the Five Statins?"
Mary Satterfield Cook, LHS ’66, “Just a shout out to anyone who remembers me! Go Generals !”
James Ballard, East Clinton '57, LHS '67, “Had Mrs. Lake for my 3rd grade at East Clinton...She was beautiful, even with her thick Southern accent, so naturally I was infatuated with her. I told her, "I know, I'm 9 years old, and you're 30, but we could make it work". Well...Until "Miss Michigan" showed up in my 5th grade "Music appreciation" class (St Clair Shores, Michigan). By then, I was a lost kid, captivated by some of these teachers. Did I learn anything? Of course not. We were not in skool "to learn"...Well, I wasn't...I'd already been "conducting" Beethoven, standing on a little red chair, since the age of three...Still have the little red chair. I could go on, but I'll spare the poor reader some grief.”
Jim Bannister, LHS ’66, “I didn't move to Huntsville until 10th grade. I was a "Lint Head" from the cotton mill village in Gadsden , AL. I attended General Nathan Bedford Forrest Junior High School and Emma Sansom High School. With the demise of Lee High School, all of my schools have fallen to political correctness and no longer exist.”
Elbert Balch, LHS ’65, “I like the new format and as always the content is fun to read. So many memories. Great job Tommy”