My diary -April 9-11, 1972

Young Miss Magazine April 1972

April 9, 1972

Dear Diary:

Went to church & supermarket. Becky didn’t go cause sick. I read abit on new Young Miss. I typed & typed for Miss Olson but didn’t do to well. I made sandwiches for lunch. I typed. I washed my hair. I watched T.V. Finished Young Miss. Read on “Teen”. Today sure went by fast!!! Well wish me luck tomorrow with Olson.

BYE!!

Note: I am now grateful for learning to type as I can whip across the keyboard without looking at the keys. The bright spot is if I make an error, I backspace and it's magically gone.

April 10, 1972 Mon.

Dear Diary:

School Uh! Becky didn’t go sick. We got our IQ test or achievements. Well I did worse in English 69% Uh! & the funny thing is a get good grade in English. I didn’t good in Math (I don’t do good in math anyway) & bad in Science. Good (I did!!) Word usage 84 also in History reading 94!!! Our (9th) grade Kermess represent is Samia. We have a good chance. I read Teen & Young Miss. Watched T.V. Mrs. Graft invited me to lunch (Missy & Mrs. Coverston too.

BYE!!

Note: This post is difficult to share as it makes me feel stupid. Reading my diary, I see my English needed lots of work. My kindergarten through 4th grade was spent in Colombia where I attended an all-girl parochial school. We were taught to read and write first in Spanish, then in English, and finally in French. When we moved to Nicaragua, we all attended American-Nicaraguan School, where classes were conducted in English except for the Spanish class. Our tests were short answers or essays. We were never given standardized tests;  I had to learn how to take them when I went to college in the U.S.

The irony is that my state’s Department of Education has invited me for several years to review their standardized tests.

It's good to know that we are all capable of growth and change. I am grateful for all the opportunities life has provided me.

A kermesse is a school fair to raise money. Samia Salomon was our 9th grade candidate for the Kermesse Queen. She was very beautiful.

Mrs. Bessie Grafft

Quilt square that Mrs.Grafft made for me (see below)

April 11, 1972 Tues.

Dear Diary:

School. In P.E. were doing physical fitness groan. Ache. We had math test & on the that Spanish test I got an 84!!! Well lets see I broke Kim’s heart I told him to tell the tenis teacher I’m not going & he was so sad cause was going to come early to play a game with me. I came home & changed. Mom drove me to the Coverstone. We ate at the Baltimore! We made a grand entrance Mrs.Graft brought the curtain off the door by mistake. I never laughed so hard in my life. We went to Coverstones talked & talked. I watched T.V. Mr. & Mrs. Brown & 7 year old boy came over. Left at 9:30.

BYE!

Note: I loved Mrs. Bessie Grafft. She encouraged my love of reading, introducing me to my first Nancy Drew book “The Secret of the Old Clock”, along with the Trixie Belden and Bobbsey Twins series. Mrs. Graft was smart, kind, and had a wicked sense of humor. She became good friends with my family and we kept in touch until her death in the mid-1980s.  

I remember the incident at the restaurant. She drove us there in her tiny Volkswagen Beetle and as we were escorted to our table she managed to get tangled in the entrance door’s curtain, dragging it into the dining room. Missy and I dissolved in giggles.

This quilt is very special to me. It is embroidered with the signatures of many loved ones, some of whom are no longer here. When I had my Car-T transplant in 2020, this quilt was with me at the hospital and I felt surrounded by love.