My diary -September 21-23, 1972
- Susan Fisch Good
- May 2
- 2 min read
September 21, 1972 Thurs.
Dear Flowers:
I got an 86 on my SCIENCE TEST!!! The test in Spanish was hard & I know I did bad!!! I flunked for sure. No Honor Roll Susie Dear. Wrote a letter to Missy & Anita. I’m invited to Noni’s party. Went over to Pat’s house. Outlined Science. Got to study in math. Wish me luck.
BYE!!!
Note: I always worried about tests and grades and assumed the worst. I love how I talked to myself; I guess I still do at times.
It was important to me to keep up with friends and the only way back then was by writing letters and eagerly waiting for responses.
September 22, 1972 Fri.
Dear Flowers:
Math test was easy. I think I’m getting another dear old cold. Doña Mercedes finally got some short done for Becky & I. I read on “The Gabriel Hounds” by Mary Stewart. I fell asleep most of the afternoon. Watched T.V. Mom & Dad gone with Ray Carol to a chili dinner. I’m tired.
BYE!!
Note: Doña Mercedes, our seamstress, sewed beautiful dresses but her pants and shorts never fit me right.
The Gabriel Hounds by Mary Stewart was about a second cousin romance and mystery between somewhat spoiled young people visiting an eccentric aunt in Lebanon and Damascus.
September 23, 1972 Sat.
Dear Flower:
I got up about 9:30. At around 2:45 Gisela came over & mom drove us to Diana (she was having a tea & I’ve never been to one) It was alright. About 7 girls. Made plans for a Get-together group. Balbino took Pat & I to Noni’s birthday party. It was fun. Almost everyone got stoned. Pat, I, Star, Noni, Michelle, Julio & Steve H. all layed around in the grass & talked. I danced 5 sec. with Joey Whoopee! Stayed to 11:00 I’m beat!!! Noni hit me in the eye by mistake. Luckly I didn’t lose my contact lens.
BYE!
Note: My first introduction to a tea party, I might not have been enthusiastic about it then but now I find them amazing. I experienced tea ceremonies in Japan along with high tea in Africa and England.
I wore hard contact lenses at the time and one could easily pop out.
Balbino was our very loved chauffeur.
I am not sure why I said everyone was stoned; I was pretty naive and just assumed everyone was in that state. Making assumptions makes a fool out of you and me. I have been a fool many times! How about you?
Enjoyable read - I always smile reading your teenage thoughts. Remembering when I was in Guatemala and El Salvador- being with friends of my exchange sisters was the life! I don't recall many activities spent, but mostly just spent time together talking, joking, commenting on life's happenings - always upbeat.
Curious about where you got your books - library, bookstore, gifts , exchanged with others?
Oh my Susie - talking to oneself is one thing, but to do it in writing is a whole other level, pretty cool!
Will never forget Balbino - when he picked us up at school in the PanAm station wagon, he always got out and opened the door for us kids and wanted to know about how school went - such a gentleman.
And yes, the tea parties - muy elegante! Remember going to a few at the American Ambassador's residence - that was quite the place - did you go there? Our Aunt Beth worked at the US Embassy for Ambassadors, Whelan, Brown and Crockett. Think Crockett was her favorite and we have some of his notes about li…
Your recounting of the party reminds me how we so wanted to "fit in", to be savvy & cool at that age;
To have one's naivete exposed was dreadful. We could exaggerate or even make up stuff to others
(or ourselves) to see what their reactions (or our conscience) would be.
As a young teen, I remember coming home from a party (a mixer, actually) and exaggerating to my mom, the "less than desirable" behaviour I saw. It was both to gauge her reaction to it, and to express my "mature judgement" of the event. It was about learning boundaries, while appearing to already know it all.
Writing letters: patience, anticipation, personality (writing style), physical, geographical.
Texting: Instant gratification, shallow,…
Chili dinner...could that have been the Boy Scout chili dinner? I remember we had those to raise funds for the troop. I remember David very well from those days. Related...we had gone to Ludeking's house to take all the clay chili bowls and give them some kind of a banana juice wash, I believe to help seal them? Anyway, the bowls were stored in some small out building and I can remember like it was yesterday that a cucaracha crawled up Charlie Anstead's leg. He was hopping around and yelling like carzy 🤣
Writing letters to a distant friend seems world away from our lives today; but it was a special pleasure—-not just the writing but the releiving! To find a letter in the box was wonderful and I am still thrilled to find a hand addressed envelope amongst the mail. Mary Stewart was always a favorite of mine as well and I remember that particular book. As long as I worked at the library, I was still recommending her to readers and she was much-enjoyed; despite the books having been written in the 60’s, most patrons who read one, read them all.