MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

I APPOLOGIZE FOR MY LACK OF POSTING:( I WISH MY EXCUSE WAS OVERLY EXTRAVAGENT, BUT IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN BEING LAZY!!!!!! AS MY LIST OF NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS BROADEN OF COURSE POSTING MORE OFTEN IS AT THE TOP. I WISH EACH AN EVERONE OF YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.

BY THE BY, THE PICS WERE A LAST MINUTE EDITION. CAN'T U TELL? THAT IS MY DADS CHARLIE BROWN TREE, AND HE IS ALL PROUD OF IT!!!!!!!!

MISS S



MISS S

NOV '92- JAN '93 THE BABYSITTERS CLUB (my version anyway)

My good friend Mark from next door and his family had moved away when I was 15. Since then several different renters had stayed in the house. I was not close with any of them…until this one couple moved in early ‘92. They had a baby boy in June 92. She also had two other kids. A 3 yr. old girl, and a girl in middle school. The Mom worked at night part-time while the Dad worked during the day. I had instantly become friends with the girl in middle school. Although I was older, and out of school she kind of looked up to me, and felt comfortable talking to me about anything. That made me feel really good. I began coming around their house, and began a friendship as well with the mother. After having her son (Alex) in June I began to come around the house more often just to see the baby. He was the cutest and most content baby I had ever been around. His mom used to tell me that he really likes because he acted so happy. She asked me if I would be willing to watch him while she ran errands during the day. She was aware of the FA, but Alex was not a squirmy crawly baby. She did not plan to leave him for hours with me or anything. So I agreed. My first babysitting gig! I had been around babies before, but never alone with one. So she would bring Alex over may be once a week while she would go to the store, to the bank, or wherever. My parents both worked during the day so it was just me and thumper. She would come over bringing Alex and his diaper bag. She would take him out of his carrier, and put him on my bed. Then go run her errands, and come right back. He was the best baby. He had the cutest dimples ever. I wish I knew what was going through his mind at the time. He would smile and jabber constantly. I would wonder if he just had gas! There were only a few times that I did pick him up. Now I know what you're thinking... "It she a crazy drunk girl?" I would make sure I was sitting on the bed with my back leaning against the wall. I just had to give him little kisses on his forehead, and lots of hugs! He was so sweet. Did I mention the fact that he was the most content baby I have ever seen.! He never cried, and would sometimes be asleep when she brought him. I think there was only once that he was left Alex in my care for like 3 1/2 hours. In that time I had to change his diaper (it was not bad), and give him a bottle (I warmed it up and everything). The mom was always concerned and wanted to make sure Alex did not fall off the bed, or I'd do something really crazy like try to walk around with him. She would call periodically to make sure that everything was going okay. I only watched him for three months. When he got in his squirmy crawly stage I knew it was all over for me. That is when he would crawl over and stick his finger in a light socket, or crawl into a corner and I could not get it to him! I was so grateful for her giving me the experience.































Here is a pic of Alex 1 of the days he was at my house. Don't ya just want to squeeze him!! I wish he was smiling so you could see his dimples. He is a young man now, and I am sure he is a heartbreaker!! Man, I feel soooooooo old. I have not seen him since he was a baby. Not too long after the gig was up they moved, and we lost contact:(

If I were to try and do that now everybody would be insane. My FA has progressed very much so since then. I have a hard time taking care of myself let alone trying to take care of a baby. I still love babies!! I can have children, but do not feel that it would be a good thing at all. Healthwise being pregnant is not the best option either for me. I have friends w/ FA who have had children, and God love them cause I could not do it! I am not opposed to being a mother, but there are other ways to make that happen. I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I am nowhere near that bridge right now. Because I do have that mothering instinct it does make me sad to know that I will never be able to love a child in the way I want to. But life goes on, and we must learn to be happy with what we have! Everything happens for a reason, and God does not give us more than we can handle.

So tell me about your babysitting experience? Whether it would be your first or maybe something funny that happened like that the baby peeing on you when you changed its diaper!

Thanks for taking the time to read, MISS S

NOV 1992- GETTING MY RIDE

I was so excited for the next step which was to go car shopping! I called up my dear friend from Crown Auto world (see post titled the Nutcracker) to see about possibly getting something there. His car lot sold new BMWs and Mercedes. Of course, that was out of my price range! So I would be checking out what was available on the used car lot. My dad went with me as he was the negotiator, and the test driver. They already had a vehicle ready for me to look at when I arrived. It was a 4-door, Metallic Blue, 91 Chevy Cavalier! My dad test drove it while I was sitting in the passengers seat. It drove very nice and smooth. The air conditioner worked really well, and the owners who had it before put in a really nice stereo system. A big thing also is that it did NOT have power steering, which was a great thing! Can you imagine my uncoordinated self trying to go in a straight line with power steering?? Me either:) ! I did not need to look any further. That was the car I wanted. So with little negotiation with the car salesman I got the car! I had been saving my money to be able to put a good down payment on it. I could not believe I had my own car.

I immediately called my voc rehab Counselor to find out what the next that step was to getting my car adapted. My dad took my car down to a place called Beesleys that handled mobility adaptions. They were going to put in the hand controls. They also showed me a device that would allow me to safely transport my wheelchair. It was called a chair topper. It kind of resembled a luggage rack on top of the car. It was a big box on top of the car, and it had a remote control with a wire that would run from the car battery to the box. The remote-control was very simple to operate. It was so easy even a caveman could do it! It had two buttons on it, one that said UP and one that said DOWN. When you pushed the DOWN button the box would slide out from the driver seat side. Dropping a chain down with a medal fork on the end of it, that you would attach to the seat of the wheelchair with. Then push UP on the remote-control, and the chain would start going up while folding the chair. After it got all the way up it would turn to the side with these brackets placing the chair inside the box, and out of the rain. It was a very cool thing. I had never seen one before.


Getting the money for it from the rehab, ordering the part's, not to mention the labor of doing it took close to a year to adapt the whole car. In the meantime my car became very familiar with the driveway. The hand controls were installed about six months later than about four months after that my chair topper was completed. When my hand controls were on I would drive around with my cousin Allen a lot. Having an extra vehicle made it nice for everyone in the household. A lot of my friends and family got a chance to drive the car.

I ended up driving for seven years. I definitely have more stories to share with you about my car and driving. I will do so when I get to it during that post. Now it is your time to share about your first vehicle?

Thanks for taking the time to read, Miss S

OCT/NOV 1992- I CAN'T DRIVE 55! (cont.)

DRIVING SCHOOL
Every afternoon (Monday-Friday) a bus with a lift would pick me up, and take me across campus to driving school for 3 hours. Before attending the school I had to have my learner’s permit. I had no problem taking the test. I even had to make a trip to OKC, so they could see that I was disabled (duh)! I had the normal first day of class jitters. What will the other students be like? I hope the instructor is nice? I hope I don’t wreck the student vehicle or run over anybody!! 6 of the other classmates entered, and much to my surprise one of them was my peep Alicia!! I knew her from camp, and she was also a fellow FAer. The minute we saw each other we were both happy campers!! Alicia lived in Edmond. Alicia was just 16, and I am assuming because she lived there she knew about the school. We were friends at summer camp, but we did not have much to do with each other outside of camp. I always thought she had that Brooke Shields “Blue Lagoon” model look about her. Anyways, so we were instant class buddies. For the first day we took a simulated test to see which accessible adaptation would best suit us. Not everybody in the class was in a wheelchair. There was one person with one leg shorter than the other one, and someone who walked with a cane. I am not educated at all about the different options for driving. Almost anything can be adapted these days. Because one of the girls had a short leg she used break and gas extenders on the petals. Alicia and I were both in wheelchairs, and unable to use our feet. So we used hand controls. I think this is the most common adaption. It is a bar that is below the turn signals, and you push down for gas and in for break. There is a toggle switch on the bar for the turn signals so that you don't have to take your hand off the bar to do so. There is also a knob on the steering wheel to make full turns. After figuring out what everybody needed we spent the rest of the week practicing our driving on the simulation modules. When it was time to start getting on the road with the vehicles there were several instructors, and we had partners. You will never guess who my partner was? It was Alicia! Our instructor was a young good-looking preppie guy! Alicia and I were both happy about that, for now anyway. So Alicia and I would take turns driving the vehicle. We never really went on real busy streets or highways. I do not remember what kind of vehicle it was, but it was four-door, a brown color, and it ran! I was able to stand up and transfer into the drivers seat. God has blessed me with really long legs, although I think he forgot that I wouldn't be able to use them!! Since all the length was in my legs I sat on a cushion so I could see over the steering wheel. I would leave my wheelchair in the building. The next two weeks consisted of Alicia and I taking turns practicing driving with the instructor. I was proud of myself because I was not bad at going in a straight-line, but I could not get turning! I would overturn the wheel every time. One time we did go into somebody's ditch on a residential street. Thank God there were no children around! Through out this time the instructor and I tried to start up a friendship, but it was not meant to be! He knew who I was from back in the day (being homecoming queen, and getting my diploma), and we even had a friend in common. I do not remember his name and that is quite all right with me! He was getting frustrated, and so was I with the fact I could not get the turning thing down. One of the days he decided to teach us how to parallel park. I was a nervous wreck (no pun intended!) when I realized what we were doing. I had to park between 2 cones. I did it over and over. Surprisingly I only hit the cones once, and it was not hard enough to disfigure them! The instructor and I only spoke to each other when necessary. Alicia and him seemed to get along great-go figure. The straw that broke the camels back was when I saw him and Alicia come back from their driving lesson carrying a bag of tater tots! I was like “NO THEY DI-N’T!” They just took away time from my driving lesson to go have a little brown bag special at the Sonic Drive-In! Apparently Alicia was driving good, me on the other hand was not. I was still not sure of turns, and we only had the week left to practice before the big test. I thought I would give him a piece of my brown bag special mind, and see if he liked it. So I went to the head instructor telling him of my frustrations with the other instructor, and my problem with turning still. Because Mr. Brown bag was not the only instructor so I asked for another one. The head instructor took me as his new student. We used the same vehicle, and he was so patient with me. It made me not frustrated, and I got the turning technique right away. I never had to face Mr. Brown bag for the rest of my schooling.

THE TEST
I was feeling good that day as we got ready to go to the DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles). Of course, the exam was on unfamiliar territory. I was doing fine until they called my name. I was again going to be driving the same vehicle so that was good. I got into the drivers seat, and a policeman got into the passenger seat. That is when I wanted to pee my pants, and call my mama! I tried to make small talk with him to break the ice. We went on a busy two lane street. He asked me to move into the other lane. It made me nervous to do that. I had a bad tendency of turning the wheel when I would turn my head to check my blind spot. I looked in the rear view mirror as I saw it was clear I then checked my blind spot. I did it! The policeman then instructed me to turn into a residential street. My turns were very smooth. As we came up on a street we saw two cars that were parked on the side, and there was room for another car to park in the middle. So he told me he wanted me to parallel park in between those cars. You talk about nervous. I am a girl, and normally have no ideas about the make and model of a car. But I do know the symbol of a BMW! That was what one of the cars was that I was to parallel park in between. Forget peeing, I felt like I was going to s**t at that point! I told the policeman I was extremely nervous, and he told me if I felt like I could not do it we could go back to the DMV. I was not about to give up just because of a BMW! I proceeded. and did it just like I had practiced with the cones. I kept telling myself that they were merely cones. I was barely inching into my spot, and gaining a little confidence.... when BAM!! I just knew my life was over as I had hit someone else's car. The policeman said, "you just hit the curb." I was so relieved. He told me to turn out, and go back to the DMV. I was shaking and almost in tears as I really thought I had just failed. As we pulled into the DMV he asked me to park in one of the spot's. I did not do the best job at parking. As I shut off the car I asked him what the damage was. He told me I did a good job and passed! I could not believe it. I told him I thought I was so goner when I hit the curb for the parallel parking. He told me that I showed him I could do it, and that even though I wasn't perfect at it this time he knows I can do it. He said there isn't very many times that you will ever need to parallel park anyway. I was so excited. And eager to look at my old instructor in the face, and smile really big:)

I know a couple of professor's at UCO now, and they tell me there is no more driving school for the disabled there:( Hoping thats because there are more places to go.

Soon after returning home from getting my driver’s license my friend Tonya threw me a surprise party for passing my test! Several friends of mine from high school were there. It was fun for us all to be there together. The cake was shaped like an Oklahoma driver's license. It was very sweet and thoughtful of her to do that for me.

Now tell me about your first driving experience? How did you learn? Did you pass your driver's test the first time? If you do not drive a vehicle you have probably driven something, power wheelchair, a bike, Scooter, a virtual car, you get my drift. Tell me about driving anything. Everyone's got a story of some kind.

Thank you for taking the time to read, Miss S

OCT./NOV 1992- I CAN'T DRIVE 55!!!!!!!! (Sammy Hagar, 1984)

As I have mentioned in a previous post, before graduating high school I was hooked up with someone from vocational rehabilitation services in Tulsa, Ok. They helped and informed me about getting services due to my FA. Like helping me to get Social Security disability benefits, training for a job, and driving lessons! I was not aware that there was anything out there that would allow me to drive a vehicle. I always thought I would just be the female scrub hangin’ out of the passengers side of my best friend’s ride (Shout out to the group TLC, I love that song)!! I signed up for this right away. I think my parent's were not very optimistic on this one, but they supported my decision. The biggest obstacles that were in my way were the fact that the driving school was 2 hours away, and a month long. The driving school was held at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) in Edmond Oklahoma. The vocational rehabilitation would financially pay for me to have a helper stay with me, for room and board for me and my helper to stay at UCO during that month, and for the driving classes. Now I just had to figure out who my helper would be. Needing someone for the middle of October to the middle of November is a hard time frame to try and get someone. And it was only for a month. I asked several people, and finally my friend Crystal from high school said she would go with me. Crystal and I never really hung out with one another outside of school. I had all four years of Spanish class with her. She was my amiga!!

LIVING THE COLLEGE LIFE, AND DOING MY OWN THING!
My Mom and Dad followed Crystal and I to UCO, and they helped us to get unpacked. I seemed to have brought everything but the kitchen sink while Crystal brought everything from the boy band New Kids on the Block (sheets, comforter, pillow cases, u name it she had it)! We stayed in the accessible dorms. Because the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) had just became law earlier that year the dorms were far from being perfectly accessible, and still have quite a few barriers to overcome. There was actually only one hallway of accessible dorms there. They were coed. There were not many people living in them though. The first person we met was a gentleman named Jason who lived across the hall. He was an actual student, and in a power wheelchair. I do not recall what his disability was. He lived alone, and seemed to know everyone. He took us in under his wing, showed us around, and introduced us to other folks. He became our best friend while we were there. A funny moment was that every weekday during 11 a.m. he would watch the soap opera All My Children, and I would watch Young and the Restless. Crystal watched All My Children as well, and would go to his room and watch it with him. I could hear them screaming and hollering at the TV! Eating in the cafeteria with a bunch of strangers was intimidating at first. We were shy, and would have only small salads like we were on a first date! It did not take long to warm up to the other students, make friends, and eat normal! Everyone was so nice. Crystal and I were getting to live the college life for a month! No parents, no curfew! My parents were never strict or anything, but it was a grown-up feeling I had. I did run into a couple of peeps that went to school there that I knew. Small world! I also got to hang out with some peeps from MDA summer camp. One of them of course was a firefighter named Scott and his daughter. Another one was my Diva Jen (http://monkeyposh.blogspot.com)! We had actually visited on a couple of different occasions. It was so good to see her. Because of our living distance we did not get to visit very much (we now live in different state's so it is even harder). Because UCO was closer for her to get to we took advantage of it. I had a blast being there! Normally Crystal and I would go home on the weekends.

Below is a photo of Crystal (Top row: 2nd on left, blue-green top), Alicia (Sitting far left, friend from class, i talk about her a lot in the next post), me (in wheelchair), and Jason (to my right). From the first week we were there we went w/ Jason to his Christian group meetings. They were all wonderful people.

To find out what happened in driving school you must check the next post. Did I run over anybody? Did I wreck the vehicle? Did I pass the drivers test? I have been working on this for several days (my voice dictation has not been cooperating), and figure instead of letting you read it all at once I will put it in 2 parts. I have already started writing about driving school so it should not take long (cross your fingers).

What was your first experience like living away from your parents or being away from them for a good period of time?

Thank you for taking the time to read, MISS S

SEPTEMBER 92- LEARNING TO MAKE DO ON WHEELS!!

Since being in the wheelchair full-time since graduation walking became something that was very rarely done. While standing was something I tried to do every day. I admit I was clueless, lazy, and there were days I did not stand at all. Of course I look back now and wish I had paid better attention to my mom when she would say to me "If you don't use it, you will lose it." It made things so much easier for me especially during those menial everyday tasks that I had even taken for granted before things got really difficult. Like carrying a full glass of something to drink. I could just sit in my lap, and not have to worry about trying to walk with it. Not to mention spilling half of it along the way. I used to sit a TV tray across my lap, and only connect one side of the legs to the tray. That way I would not always have to get out of my chair to eat. I did get out of my chair though when we would have dinner at the dinner table. I also had a door mirror that was on my closet door of my bedroom. I would sit in my chair with my curling iron, and make-up to get myself ready for the day. Before using the chair I would just sit on the floor (I would still do that from time to time as it was good exercise for me to get up-and-down from the floor). Because of doing this I had several burn marks on my legs, and on my forehead from trying to curl my bangs! If you didn’t know me you would think I was being abused! It is not very noticeable, but I do have a scar on the left side of my forehead. The pain I would go through, and all for beauty! I also had a lawn chair that would sit in the tub so that I could shower without having to worry about falling. Getting undressed to get in there was always tricky, but I managed to do it! The biggest obstacle for me at that time (and still remains) is going to the restroom. Because our bathroom door like bunches of the bathroom doors is the smallest door in the house my wheelchair was unable to fit in there. So I had to park my chair in the hallway, wobble into the bathroom, and shut the door. The stool was right next to the door. Because my balance was so bad I was having to lean against the counter to try to steady myself enough to get my pants down. I would end up with all of these scratches on my lower back because our countertop was not rounded at the ends. I had even fallen a few times. My parents both worked, and my brother had moved out by this time so I was home alone during the day. My kidneys and blatter were not patient enough to wait 8 or so hours. Imagine that! So our neighbor across the street, Harold, was a carpenter (he built his own house!) came over to look and see if he could widen our bathroom door. Without much hesitation he came over, and dropped what that he was doing. He widened the way and installed a new door. He even drilled a grab bar in the door so I would have something to hold onto that was sturdy instead of leaning against the counter. It was a big relief and blessing to have that done. Along with a great security factor. Harold never did charge anything for his time. Now that I could fit my wheelchair into the door it did not seem to take as much time to go to the bathroom, and I did not fall any more or have scratches on my back! Our bathroom was not huge so I could not do donuts in there or anything. I would actually go in backwards so that I would be facing the grab bar.

Harold is another big hearted individual that deserves a shout out on my blog! I have special memories with the whole family. I have mentioned some of those memories throughout my blog already. I try to keep in contact with all of them by way of Christmas cards and stuff. I mostly talk to Diane on e-mail. She even made a surprise visit to my college graduation a couple of years ago! I love them all!

I learned to make do with what I had around me at the time. I would love for you to share about a time when you had to make do with what you had. How did you do it? Maybe you can share a trick that would be helpful for not only me, but someone else!

Thank you for taking the time to read, Miss S

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER '92- I LOVE FIREFIGHTERS!!!

For the past several years in August I would volunteer my time with MDA to go to 33 fire stations in three days to speak/motivate firefighters to do the fill the boot campaign to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association on Labor Day. Each year I enjoyed myself more and more as I really got to know what a bighearted group that they were. A lot of them knew who I was from previous years and would have warm cookies waiting for me. When it was time for lunch at whatever fire station we were at they would fix us lunch, and they can cook let me tell ya! I got rides on a fire trucks, and they always made me feel so welcome. Not to mention a lot of them could burn out my flame at any time, if you know what I am sayin, LOL!! Every year when we would do this one at the firefighters would drive me and one of the people from MDA to each fire station in the Tulsa area. We would get to know that particular firefighter pretty good as they were with us each day. As we were talking in the vehicle I mentioned the fact that since I am now in the wheelchair full-time, and my house had steps I was not able to go outside of my house by myself. Our mailbox was on our fence across the yard, and I was not even able to go get it any more independently. It made me sad, and I was not telling him to figure out a solution to my problem but merely in discussion as he was my friend.

Little did I know, but he had spoken to several firefighters who he knew also did some construction work on the side. They took up a collection of money, bought the lumber, and called me to come over and build a ramp for me at my front door so that I could independently be able to get outside. I was very overwhelmed with emotion when I learned what they did. So six firefighters came over to the house with all of their tools, and the lumber. They sweated in the hot heat for about an hour and a half, and completed a very nice ramp that would gradually slope down. The new station got wind of what they were doing, and came out to tape a segment for the news! Before they left I gave them all big hugs (I did not care that they were sweaty), and begin to cry. None of what they did was to benefit them in anyway. I was so grateful, and would never be able to repay them. About a year and a half later we moved to Ft. Worth Texas (I continued speaking to the firefighters there, and was even flown back to Tulsa to speak to them one year!). The people who bought the house after us left the ramp up for several years as they told us that they had friends in a wheelchair, and the ramp would come in handy. My parents and I often drive by our old house when we go back to visit family and friends. The ramp was taken down about five or six years ago:(

Has anyone ever done something for you that was unexpected and did not benefit them?
I can think of lots of things in my life that people have done for me (even on a daily basis). I shared one of mine, and would love to hear one of yours. It can be big or small, but the meaning behind it all makes it grand! That is why I love volunteering, you get as much when you give as you receive if not more.

Thanks for taking the time to read, Miss S

18 AND LEGAL IN 92!!!!!!! [edit*]

A few days before graduation was my 18th birthday! I did not have a big party (Graduating was my party!). My family sang in unison (Lord help us all!) Happy Birthday while handing me a cupcake with a candle in it! A friend of mine who worked for MDA, Christy, came over and we went on to eat then to the Ice Capades!

Turning 18 was a major thing for me because it meant that I could handle more things on my own without parental guidance and/or signatures like buying cigarettes, and making curfew!!! J/K, I had you going there..right? I mean to call the doctor, or sign and fill out paperwork, stuff like that. My mother was (and still is) a wonderful support, but she is a pretty big procrastinator on some things. She was also working during this time which also made it hard to handle it all. Which was another reason I was glad to have more of the monkey on my back. A few months before graduating I was approached by the vocational rehabilitation in Tulsa to talk about my options due to my FA after graduation. They gave me the paperwork to fill out and turn in when I turned 18 to be eligible for Social Security and Medicaid. They would also help with driving school, and getting a car adapted. That was exciting to me for I did not even know it would be possible for me to drive! Not only that but they would also help financially with schooling. What a blessing this was. This was also around the time when I learned the true meaning of the word "red tape.” Forget that you have a disability for several months (or longer) until the government gets around to the paperwork! UGH! A really good friend of mine at the time, Carla, made it her mission to show me the ropes on how to be organized when it came to filing away papers, and in making things look neat. Carla was quite a bit older than me so she had experience. And she would be proud to know that I am still doing some of the things she taught me! She was my camp counselor a couple of years at summer camp when I was in HS. We also spent a lot of time together outside of camp during this time.

Thanks for taking the time to read, Miss S

SR'S 92- GRADUATION DAY WAS HERE!!

As the day arrived I was excited and nervous. I didn't sleep very well the night before because of that. When Mike and Ricky got to my house so we could go to the Maybee Center together a news crew was there to interview me about taking the walk. As I had mentioned a little earlier in the post that when I was interviewed through the newspaper, or on TV they knew that walking across the stage was my goal. So I was interviewed by each of them again as a follow up for my goal. One of the newspapers came to the school and took a picture of me standing in the mirror with my cap on.

I was not exactly sure what the set up was going to look like at the Maybee Center or anything. Mike and Ricky were supposed to help me sit on the end of a second row. Then I was to go up on stage, get my diploma, and stay on stage, and sit next to the principal. I guess he thought I was going to do something crazy like moon everybody! Everyone filed in and the ceremony began as the graduation march started. The seniors began to come down the stairs. Mike, Ricky, and I were at the bottom of the stairs and off to the right waiting for our go ahead to start walking to my seat. I did bring my wheelchair, but had no plans to use it during the ceremony. So it stayed in the back. I made it to the seat fine. Mike and Ricky both sat near the back where I first started walking from. Us 92ers listened to the valedictorian, salutatorian, and the other speakers. The whole time I was looking (and listening) at the set up on the stage. Before the ceremony began I was asked to stay on the stage after getting my diploma, and to sit next to the principal. I thought that was nice of them to not make me have to walk back down the stage. As it was time for us 92ers to get our diplomas Mike and Ricky came to my side. We were first in line. In order to get up the stage we had to walk up the ramp. You would think that the ramp would be to the side, and that we would walk up to some steps. I guess they were not thinking when they built the stage! I am praying the whole time under my breath that I would not slip on this ramp. I had a death grip on Mike and Ricky's arm! They probably had bruises! I took one step at a time. There was a hand rail on the ramp so I used that while Ricky looked away, and gave my name card to the caller. I was the first name they called. As my name was called I began walking across the stage toward the principal to receive my diploma. There were TV crews and newspaper journalists to capture this historic moment for me (and it was a good human interest piece for them to share)! My concentration level was so focused on me getting from point A to point B that I really did not look to what was around me. As I reached my way to the principal I stopped to pose for a picture, and it was then I noticed that I was given a standing ovation! That really touched me. Mike carried my diploma in his left hand and so I held his right arm. We continued as I made my way to my seat on stage. There was one more step I had to face to get to the main stage. I was nervous about it, and also exhausted. Ricky said to me, "One more step Stephanie, you can do it." That meant more to me than he knows as it gave me the motivation to keep going. Once I got to my seat I let out a big sigh because I did it! It could not have gone any smoother. Without any more worries I observed my fellow classmate's getting there diplomas. Hearing their names and seeing their faces made me sad to realize that this might be the last time I ever see some of these people again. I began to cry and cry. One of the teachers was making a senior video and taped the whole ceremony. As I watched it later he had put the split screen on me during this point, and you could see tears rolling down my face. When all 133 of us 92ers got our diplomas and sat in our seats the principal went up to say a few things to our Class. At that time he read a poem that he thought represented what the Class of 92, faculty, and staff thought of me! I had no idea that he was going to do that, and I could not believe it! I never thought of myself as doing anything inspirational. I just lived my life. As he was reading the poem again the waterworks began! It was a very sweet poem and I am sorry to say that I do not remember the name of it. After reading it a couple of people that were already on the stage helped me to stand for recognition. I again got a standing ovation from everyone! I remember having so many goosebumps. Everyone knew that the principal was going to do that including my parents, but I had no idea. When the ceremony was over Mike and Ricky brought me my wheelchair. I was in shock that nothing went wrong! Thank you God! I went to the main room to turn in my cap and gown. The main thought in my head was that this is it. The last time I will see most of these people again. All I could do was hug my friends goodbye. Our graduation song was, "It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday," by Boys to Men. That's song matched perfectly with the way I was feeling. We left there and a whole bunch of my family and friends went to Mazzios where we filled up on pizza and I got some really nice gifts.

From that moment on I very rarely got out of my wheelchair to do anything. I would stand at the kitchen counter to do the dishes, stand to get in and out of cars, and at other people's houses. I found it to be so much easier to be in the wheelchair. At that time I grew out of the fact of being self-conscious in it.

Thank you for taking the time to read, MISS S

SR's 92- DECISIONS, DECISIONS! !

So now that I had my wardrobe and hair figured out it was time to make some more important decisions about graduation. I have mentioned numerous times before, I was the only person in my high school that was physically disabled. So besides the temporary physical disabilities like a broken leg or sprained ankle I was it. The school was not accessible so I had to fight to stay on my feet to go there. I was glad I did it for it kept me on my feet longer. At the time I was physically worn out, my knees were hurting, and lots of times I was ready to throw in the towel. I do feel my grades would have been better if so much of my concentration and energy hadn’t been on my FA (they weren’t awful, just average). Here I was with no one to relate to or even understand what I was going through. After school let out and I would go home, nobody knew how lonely or isolated I felt. The support that I got from God, my family, friends, and the community is what gave me the strength to go on. If it wasn’t for them I do not know if I would have made it!!


When I had gotten Homecoming Queen and was interviewed by the newspapers/TV, they had asked me what my plans were for the senior year. I told them my goal was to walk across the stage at graduation, and get my diploma. We were going to be graduating at the Oral Robert's University Maybee Center. There was much more room there to accommodate all of the family and friends of the graduates. It was a place I had been several times for special events. Several weeks before graduation our senior sponsor, Coach Nance, came up to me and was very happy to tell me that there was a wheelchair ramp at the Maybee Center that I could use at graduation. I looked at him as if he were crazy. I told him that, “I was not going out like that.” That “I had walked all the way through school, and knew my time of walking was ending.” That, “At the beginning of the year I set a goal for myself to walk across the stage at graduation to get my diploma, and that's just what I'm going to do!" Now that that was settled I had to decide who would help me walk. At first I thought about having some fellow graduates walk with me. I had asked my friend Tonya, and she said yes. As we were talking she pointed out that it was each individual graduates day to feel special. That she thought I should ask a couple of strapping young Junior guys to help (In My Humble Opinion, she didn't want me stealing her thunder, LOL! J/K). So I told Coach Nance, and he was cool with it. It was no contest in my mind who I wanted to ask. My good friends Mike and Ricky. They were my two best junior guy friends. Mike and Ricky were both in my Applied Economics class during the last semester. Mike was the gentleman that I spoke about in a prior post titled, “Every Rose has its Thorn”. We had been friends since the beginning of the year. Mike was good friends with Ricky. So that is how we became friends. Ricky was the funniest guy I had ever met. Through his sarcasm and quick wit he had me as a friend at hello, LOL!! They had both helped me quite a bit from that class. I first asked Mike, and he said that he would be honored to help me. I got very vaklempt! I told him that I wanted to ask Ricky if he would be my other helper. Mike thought that was a wonderful idea, and he gave me his number. Ricky also agreed! I was excited, and felt confident that they would not let me act like a drunk and fall all over myself at graduation!!

The pic below was right before the ceremony. Left to right is Ricky, Mike, and I!!!!!!!!!

Did I fall? Did I not? How did it all end up? To find out these answers and many more please join me in the next post for the rest of the story!

Thank you for taking the time to read, Miss S

SR'S 92- STYLING ON THE RED CARPET FOR GRADUATION!

The end was near! And it was time to get prepared for the upcoming big day which was graduation! First on the agenda was what to wear. The senior class ordered caps and gowns several months before the day arrived. We had been told to for the ladies to wear all white dresses and white dress shoes. My mom and I found a cute white sundress, and I wore the same white dress shoes that I wore during homecoming. Yep, the same white dress shoes without much traction on the bottom. I was going to be walking in them even more than I did before. I knew this was not the best option for me, but I did not complain. I did not want to look any more different than I already was. As a gift my mom and dad got me a real pretty sapphire and diamond necklace.

So that was done, now the hair. It was baby fine, long, and an auburn color with bangs and I had no real intentions of changing it. Several weeks before graduation my mom’s twin sister and her decided to frost each others hair. This was not new for them to do. As they finished frosting each others hair they wondered what to do with the leftover frost. My mom had the idea of frosting my hair with what was left, kind of like highlighting it. She had been wanting to highlight my hair for several years, and I would never let her. Except this time I agreed! Instead of putting on the hair cap, and pulling a little hair to highlight through the holes on the cap. I mean after all that is what you are supposed to do! But my mom's brilliant idea was to put on the hand glove, dip it into the stuff, and apply it to my hair without a hair cap on or anything. So she proceeds! I am not saying a word for I think she knows what she is doing with this stuff better than I do. The glove is on, and she dipped it into the frost. She grabs some hair from the center part of my head, and when she goes to put it on my hair the glove slips! I end up with a glob of frost in that one section. Mom is trying hard at this point to not show emotion so that I will think everything is going okay. I think my aunt was just pretending not to notice. Spreading the glob down my hair to try to not make it look like a big glob…"Yah, that’s a great idea!” Then she grabs the sides of my hair, and puts some frost on that. Thinking that she has covered up her mistake well we wait like 10 minutes and then washed it out. After washing and blow drying it I looked into the mirror and wanted to scream! I had a big platinum blonde streak down the center of my head! Along with two platinum blonde sides. I looked like I was smuggling a family of skunks in my hair!! I couldn't graduate looking like this!! I needed emergency hair care!! So off to Keeta’s we went. She didn’t scold us to bad, and proceeded to try to tone down the streaks with a darker shade of blonde. When it was all said and done for some reason the sides of my hair turned pink!! If I had it done for prom I would have matched!! The blonde streak in the center of my head was still there, but not as blonde as before. So now I just look like a tropical fish!! Much better don’t you think? When my mom would curl it and put half of it up in a pretty barrette it would blend well and look like it was done on purpose. After several washes the pink was almost gone. Thank God!

I was so devastated by my hair at the time that I just felt like sharing. I look back on it and laugh so hard. Of course, I have never let my mom frost my hair again. She jokes with me all the time about it. When we are at the store she threatens to buy a frosting kit!

Have a traumatic hair story that you would like to share? Don't be shy, we have all been there:)

Thanks for taking the time to read, Miss S

SR'S 92- WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN!

Daniel Webster High was not wheelchair accessible during this time. It was built in 1938 so it was not expected. That is until July 26, 1990 when the bill was passed for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In a nutshell, this bill gave persons with disabilities equal access to public accommodations and employment. So all public buildings had to be wheelchair accessible, accessible to the blind, and other disabilities. Being a teenager I was not aware that this bill existed, nor even passed. But I am thankful!! All buildings that did not meet ADA standards were given a deadline as to when the accessibility had to be done. Webster decided to take there time, and started work on an elevator in the spring of 1992. Because I did not know about the ADA I thought they built the elevator because of me. They wanted to give others with physical disabilities the same opportunities to go there as I had! What a crazy thought I had! As they began the construction process of putting in the elevator we could hear from class the drilling, hammering, and all that stuff that went on. At the end of April I was in my accounting class when our teacher (Coach H) who had an office at the front of the classroom, and in there he had a phone. When it would ring he would let one of the students get up and answer it. Students were always yelling out "I got it" as the phone would ring. One day the phone rang and I yelled out "I got it"! Coach just kept looking down and said “OK”. He then recognized the voice, and looked up laughing. A few days later as the workers were making all kinds of noise with the elevator one of my classmates asked the Coach “Why the elevator was not built before now so that Stephanie could use it?” Coach had told him “That I did not need it, that one day I told him that if he gave me an A that I would answer his phone. And I'll be damned if she didn't hurdled over those desks to answer that phone!" Everyone including myself was laughing. In the fall of that year the elevator was done, and there was a student going there who used a wheelchair! I was so happy. I went to school that October to see my friend Mike get crowned for the Homecoming King (Warrior Chief the 48th), and was able to ride that elevator to the reception. It made me a little vaklempt! I was glad that barriers were let down so that all different kinds of people could experience the great times at Daniel Webster High!

Photo from http://www.bestoftulsa.com/

Thanks for taking the time to read, Miss S

SR'S 92- PROM, "Pretty in Pink"

From the beginning days of high school when I was just a little freshman I thought about my senior prom. What would it be like, what would I wear, would I have a date? Up until my senior prom I had seen some of my friends, and my brother go to prom and wonder what it was like for them. I did not have high expectations of even going in the beginning. I pictured myself falling on a decoration piece, spilling some thing on myself, or being asked by a policeman to walk a straight line! The summer before my senior year ever began a friend of mine named Steve tells me that when time rolls around for the prom if I need a date that he would love to take me. Steve was a counselor at summer camp, and had known him for several years. He was a great friend, and someone I felt comfortable with. He was a 24-year-old law student at the time, owned a fitted tux, and had a convertible! He always told me that he was just my backup in case I got no other offers. I was thrilled that he offered. So that was always on my mind, and was a weight off of my shoulders. As time got closer my friend Waco asked to me if I would go to the Prom with Alex if he asked me? I was completely shocked. Alex was a cool guy, and I enjoyed being around him. He always had me laughing. But I immediately got nervous, because I did not know what kind of expectations as my date he would have for the prom. It seems very stupid, but you hear stories about after prom parties??? He never led me to believe he wouldn’t be a gentleman, but other than at school or school functions I had never been around him. I did not know much about him personally. So my answer to Waco was, "Have him ask me, and I will tell him." Waco knew about Steve being a backup date. So I do not know if or what he said to Alex, but he never did come and ask me. He probably couldn't except a rejection from the little disabled girl! This was my thought, although I do not know what I would have even said to him if he did ask. That is one of them what if questions I have in my life, but I have absolutely no regrets in what did occur. But get this, a couple of weeks after prom a whole bunch of us were at our local hangout (Mazzio’s) celebrating the victory of a basketball game. Someone raised a question about how this one guy was treating his date like a piece of meat at the game asking if anyone else saw it? Alex said, " I did, and I would never treat a girl like that ever!" From that point on I had a crush on Alex! Go figure! Okay, back to the prom. My best friend from ninth-grade, Kari, let me borrow one of her formals. She had like five of them to choose from. They were all really nice dresses, but which one do I choose? The oldest one from a prom she went to in 1986! Hello, it was 1992 Stephanie!!! Leave it to me. It was pink with ruffles and lace. I was big into pink at the time so cut me some slack! It was not horrible. But anyway, I went to Nine West to get crazy pink shoes, and accessories. I had called Steve, and told him that if the offer was still good I would love for him to be my date to the prom. So it was all set. I went to my hairdressers (Keeta’s) to get my updo for the evening, and my nails manicured and painted pink. When Steve came in to get me he looked very handsome in his tux, and was grinning from ear to ear! I never saw Steve without a smile. He bought me a pink corsage, and helped me to put it on my wrist. I felt "Pretty in Pink!" (One of my fave movies!) I would have made Molly Ringwald jealous! My aunt had came over with her video camera to record us as we were driving off in his convertible w/ the top down. I brought my wheelchair for I knew it would be a whole lot easier for Steve to push me rather than trying to help me walk in my pink dress and crazy pink shoes. I knew the main problem for that evening was going to be my crazy pink shoes! They were a ballet type of shoe with no heel but they were harder than all get out to keep on. I just knew that those crazy pink shoes were going to cause me so much trouble. We headed off to a really nice restaurant where we had reservations. It just happened that there were also some friends of mine there for dinner before the prom so we got a big table and all sat together. Steve had ordered a beer, and I do not blame him at all. I would have bought him one if he didn't get one already! The dude was 24, had just taken the bar exam, and was sacrificing his Saturday evening with a bunch of teenagers (all for me, God love him)! That would have been enough to drive me to drink as well!! So we get to prom. It was at the Petroleum Club in downtown Tulsa, Okla. The theme was Treasure Islands, and the tables were neatly decorated with treasure boxes, pearls, and costume jewels. We ended up dancing to two different slow songs, "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton and "The Dance" by Garth Brooks. On both of these songs Steve helped to me to stand. I never did fall. Shown below, is the picture that we took together while there. It is a really good picture of me standing. The crazy pink shoes behaved themselves quite nicely which surprised me even though they still managed to fall off a few times. God was definitely watching over me and my crazy pink shoes that night! As we were leaving we were given champagne flute's with the date and title of the prom theme on it as souvenirs. In the attempt to abolish drinking and driving Sonic Drive-In gave out coupons for free large soft drinks to every person at the prom. Do you think it worked??? That was our first stop after we left the prom! I probably got my fave which is DP, and Steve got a vanilla DP. I remember him getting that because the server guy over the intercom made a big deal of the fact that his DP would cost 10 cents because of the vanilla in it. We were laughing! My friend Bubba was having an after prom party at his church. The church had a big theater room were they rented movies and had tons of snack food. That is where we headed. About six other couples joined us there. They rented three movies We stayed for the first movie (Uncle Buck, it was ok), and half of the 2nd one (Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, was good and have seen the whole thing tons of times now). Steve had a long drive home so we did not stay, but we were there till 2 in the morning. As we got to my house he walked me inside. I gave him a BIG hug, and he kissed me on my cheek!! He made the prom a wonderful memory for me. I would love for you to share your story about your prom, formal, or similar event.

After prom, for several years we did keep in contact with one another. He was a very busy and successful lawyer with his own law firm in Bartlesville Okla. After moving to Texas when I was almost 20 we lost contact with each other. In February of this year after about 12 years of no contact I found myself thinking a lot about him so I gave him a call. I spoke to his mother who informed me that he was no longer with us as of late August 06. He had a long hard battle with leukemia. I still cannot believe it. It makes me so sad that I did not make myself stay in contact with him. Life can be taken away so easily. So cherish those who are in your life. It doesn't take much to let somebody know that you are in their thoughts.

Thank you for taking the time to read, Miss S

SR'S 92-EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORN! [edit*]

Not only did I live with a challenge every day, but it was also a challenge when helping me sometimes! As I have mentioned before one of my classes my senior year I was a main office helper. My duties consisted of answering the switchboard, and being courteous to those who came in to the main office. There was one other student who was a main office helper as well. His name was Waco (no lie), and he was the errand runner! Waco and I became really good friends. He was also a senior. He could make me laugh, and even though we were the only two students in the class he was the class clown for sure! Going from that class to my next class (Spanish) was my longest travel for the day. I knew this before the school year began, but nothing was about to take me away from taking Spanish. For I had to go up some steps to get to the outside of the building, then down some more steps and across to another building...BREATH…up three more flights of steps, and down the hall to get to my destination. Man, that wears me out just talking about it! Because I was allowed to have two people help me to class across the hall was the attendance office. There were two students who could help in there. One of them just happened to be best friends with Waco and his name was Alex (was a Senior too). So he would go with us and be the book holder while Waco would give me piggyback ride's to Spanish class every day in the beginning. All was well, until Waco and Alex found out that I thought the other guy in the attendance office was cute! He was on the football team, and every girl wanted to date him (but SHUCKS cause he always had girlfriends), and his name was Mike (he was a Junior).

So then Waco and Alex began scheming with one another figuring out how to get Mike to help me. Alex would so conveniently be gone so that when Waco would come in to get him he would be gone, and Mike would help. At first I was embarrassed thinking that Mike would probably get on to Alex for being gone. Surprisingly, it did not take long for Mike and I to become friends. I would have to say Mike was somebody I completely adored, and felt so comfortable being around almost from the start. He was such a gentleman, and yes he was very nice on the eyes! He took over and started giving me the piggy back rides to class! It did not take long before Alex started coming along with us. Normally Waco would carry my books and Mike would give me the piggy back rides. Well, Waco and Alex were always scheming as you know, and they thought it would be fun to poke Mike and I in the butt with these thorns on this bush that was outside. DON’T FORGET I AM STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL! So here they go sneaking off to the thorn bush. They did this a lot to us so we got to know what they were doing, and Mike would start running with me on his back. He sacrificed a lot of times by running w/slick loafers on to spare us the pain!! From that moment on I knew he cared about me, LOL!!! I give the man credit because we never did fall! So you must be thinking that there has got to be more to this story? You are right. Leave it up to me! One day Mike was giving me a piggy back ride to class as normal. Waco and Alex went off to get some thorns as normal. Mike took off with me on his back, and we thought we were going to beat them. They ended up catching up to us as we began the second flight of steps. Showing us the thorns and laughing! At that point Waco tried to poke me. I reached over and tried to slap the thorn away. With my coordination I came nowhere close to the thorn, and slapped nothing but air! As my hand came around it landed right in Mike's ear… but it gets worse... I was wearing fake nails at the time… it gets much worse… my nail broke in two right in his ear!! Who would have thunk that such force would have come from a little slap? How embarrassing!! His ear was bleeding a little, and I felt so bad:( He claimed it didn’t hurt, but it sure left a mark! That was the only tragedy that came out of the thorns, thank God! It is something to definitely look back on and laugh! Mike and I knew that neither one of those guys were doing what they did to be mean.

The plot thickens though, as I was at my 10 year high school reunion talking to Alex as we were reminiscing about the good old days! He told me that him and Waco used to pick those thorns a couple of days in advance, and leave them on the sidewalk so they would get harder! Now that is mean, LOL! We laughed and laughed about it.

Thanks for taking the time to read, Miss S

SR's 92- LOTO ANYONE??

I really have no idea why I am sharing this story, but I am! This was another memory for me during my senior year. Yo quiero Espanol! I took Spanish all four years of high school. We lived next door to Mexicans who would speak Spansh to me all the time, and I got to where I could understand them pretty good. I wanted to know more than they did (like that was ever going to happen), so I took all of the Spanish classes I could! I became very comfortable friends with the other students in my class. We were in Spanish 4 together and had the other three Spanish classes together. We were all wonderful friends with our teacher, Sra. B! Everyone in class was given a Spanish nickname. I was called La Rey which means the Queen. Our class was fairly small so the Spanish 3 class would sit in a different area but be in the same classroom. Sometimes we would have challenges between Spanish three and us. We played loto (bingo) all the time. It is played just like the English version. It gave us the opportunity to practice our numbers in Spanish. We decided to play win, lose, or draw and give the Spanish three a run for their money! Due it to my chicken scratch one of the girls was going to draw for me. They wanted to give me a chance to conspire with her on what to draw so they put a chair by the chalkboard. It had no arms to it. I thought to myself "I did not fall off of the no armchair at the Halloween spook house so I can do it!” So I got on the chair, right away it made me nervous, but my anxiety’s about it went away. I was sooo comfortable being me around these amigos. They were my amigos no matter how drunk I looked! So the games began…at first it was all calm. We (Spanish 4) were ahead! Spanish three was gaining the lead and we could not let that happen. So we all started shouting answers and getting excited. Not when I am on the chair with no arms! You guessed it, I lost my balance and fell to the floor. What a graceful move I made though by landing as though I just slid in to home plate! Like an umpire Sra. B told everyone "Time out" while I dust myself off, and get back to the game! I did not move to a desk which would have probably been the smart thing, but I get back on the no arm chair. The game resumed, and J Lo and behold if I did not do it again! I never hurt myself, and was laughing. When everyone else saw that I was okay and laughing they laughed right along with me! Of course, we (Spanish 4) won the game!!!!

I loved being in that class. I could be myself, and not have to worry about what anybody else thought. I struggle these days still with that same issue. I still find myself not wanting to do things because of the way I will look to others. There are few people I can do that with. Can anyone relate? Please share a experience. I would love to hear it.

Thank you for taking the time to read, Miss S

SR' 92- MEMORIES LAST FOREVER

This was an unbelievable year for me. I learned to be comfortable in bringing and using my wheelchair when I could at school functions. I was not left out of activities or made to feel any different like I thought I would. That's what I get for assuming! You know what they say about what assuming means? Ass + u + me!! It would make some peeps feel helpful just to be able to push me! Which made me feel good. Sometimes I would get out of my wheelchair, and let other peeps get into it and try to pop wheelies! The theme for the year was “memories last forever ", and I made sure I was not going to regret doing just that. I never once stepped down from doing things because of my disability. I knew a way would be found for me always.

Anytime us seniors got a chance to get out grub on we were game! Whether it was for breakfast, lunch, or her even a just a party! Someone would have to help me get my plate of food. This bothered me just that I could not independently get it myself, but it was just a good thing, and I am not picky! I would usually say to get me a little of everything then if I wanted more of one thing I could say. We were always doing something silly! They always had someone singing (usually our class chaplain Wendy ). I don't have many pics from these. But I will share what I do have, and put a caption below each pic.

This was taken during our Thanksgiving luncheon. This is the man who made every senior activity possible! He was our senior sponsor, Thank you Coach Nance! I am not sure if you can tell it on the wall is the Turkey legs contest. Some of the teachers took pictures of their legs and we got to get guess. The winner won a Turkey! We also got to vote on who had the best looking Turkey legs and the teacher also won a Turkey! I cannot remember who won, and I have slept just fine without knowing! It was just a good thing that my turkey legs weren't the ones being voted on!!

CAPTION: A feast it is at the Christmas luncheon! Everything looks so good that Wendy just cannot decide! Getting our grub on while sharing some of our favorite Christmas carols was on the agenda!



We had a door decorating contest between homerooms for Christmas. My English homeroom class won!

 

CAPTION: It is the All-American game, of suck-n-blow played at the Valentines Day party. Did Jeff suck his way to Melissa's heart, or did she blow him out of the water??? We even know decorated little Valentines bags and put little Valentine cards in them:) I had thinking that the goal of the party was to get us full of sugar, and send us on our way LOL!

I've already told you about the Halloween costume contest and spook house. We also had a scavenger hunt at the big mall (Woodland Hills) in the area. Of course, I brought my wheelchair to use. It was short lived though, because we were asked to leave the mall! The hunt was sat up so innocently. Getting wrappers or receipts from certain stores. There were about 40 of us 92ers there along with some teachers. We were all wearing white sweatshirts with royal blue big letters that said "seniors 92"! I think we spooked the Barney Fife security for they were probably thinking "What in the world are all those there younguns in white sweatshirts doing at our shopping center?" We left and cheered ourselves up at our local hangout joint…Mazzio’s!

 Another memory was at Thanksgiving where we enjoyed making smores, and riding on a hayride at one of the teacher’s ranch. I brought my wheelchair this time as well, but feared running over road apples!! It was cold, but warm by the fire! I did have a hard time getting up into the bed of the trailer for the hayride. I just sat right in the middle because I wanted to be the needle you find in the haystack! They did their best to scare us going through the maze, but it was not happening! One of the teachers (Coach Hart) gave me a piggyback ride back to my chair after we got off the hayride! We learned our lesson when trying to push me to get to the hayride. Thanks coach!

One of my good friends, and fellow 92ers, Melissa and I would go to every home basketball game together. It was accessible to get into the gymnasium. I would take my wheelchair, and sat at the bottom of the bleachers and Melissa would sat right behind me. After that game everyone would meet up….Where? Mazzio’s!!

It’s time for the annual Senior Easter Egg Hunt held on the campus. We had really pretty campus grounds that were kept up so nicely. There was a little bridge with a babbling brook going underneath it, and lots of greenery and trees. This was heading from the main building to the stadium. Several teachers went out there to hide the eggs before. They were plastic egg's filled with candy and goodies! I used the nurses wheelchair instead of my own. I did not want to get mine all muddy, and I wanted to make sure that everyone knew that from the beginning. It was one of those old hospital looking wheelchairs, and I did not want anyone to think I was trying to be sexy in that! Because of my extra baggage they let me start hunting for the egg's first. My friend and fellow 92er Eldon decided to give me a push. But not a gentle push for we were on a mission to get us some eggs! It was easier to push me on the back wheels, because the little wheels in the front would get stuck in the ground. So leaning me back and letting the wind blow our hair was what we did! I can't remember how many eggs we found, but it was very fun! My last memory that I will share with you is when we went canoeing down the river. This was the same river that I went down on an intertube when I was younger with my parents. I did not bother bringing along my wheelchair. Peeps would carry me to the boat. We all knew I could get barely walk on flat ground! And yes when I had to go, well ya know, I went in the river! But we never did tip over!!

I know there were many more memories, but this is just the few that top my memory right now. I am so glad that I did not let myself not do those things. Look at the fun times I would have missed out on. The life lesson that I have taken with me here is to just be yourself. People are going to like you for being you. Do you have a fun school memory that you would like to share?

Thank you for taking the time to read, Miss S

SR's 92- NUTCRACKER

Around the first of December in 1991 I was chosen to talk on a morning show in Oklahoma and represent us folks with Muscular Dystrophy. A highly respected gentleman who owned a car dealership in Oklahoma (Crown Auto World) was doing a fundraiser where the proceeds went to MDA. He came to promote that and I was there to represent. He was a very nice guy with a big heart. We became good friends. It was very early in the morning, and I am sure I had bags under my eyes to prove it! The owner spoke about making an appearance in the ballet performance of the Nutcracker in several weeks. At that time I had seen the Nutcracker a couple of times and loved it! I told him to break a leg for his debut!! He told me he would love it if I could come. He gave me three tickets. I was very excited about going.

My mom, my friend from school Maria, and I went to the show. I brought my wheelchair with me. It would be easier for me, and for those helping me as I was dressed up in a dress and had dress shoes on. My balance is worse when I am in dark places such as the theater, or outdoors and night. My night vision leaves something to be desired as well. You thought I was drunk in the light just wait for it to get dark!! There was a big group of folks that were there to see the owner. Some of them I knew from MDA while some I didn't. We went into the theater together as a group. As we went to our assigned seats we realized it was near the front, and in the center. And of course there were not accessible seats nearby. I did not want to stay in my wheelchair during the play anyway so it was okay with me. One of the guys was going to help me to seat. Just as we were to my seat an usher came over to say that due to fire laws I would need to stay in the wheelchair, and sat in the wheelchair section. It devastated me to not get to sit with my group. My mom and my friend got to sit with me, but I still felt alienated. I threw myself my own little pity party on the inside. It was all my fault, and if it wasn't for my stupid disability we wouldn’t be subjected to sitting in tin buck two away from my peeps! Not only was I sad, but also embarrassed. I cried all during the first act. I tried to not let it show though, and keep a smile on my face. My peeps did come to chill with me at intermission. This did make me feel better, and tried to change my mindset and enjoy the rest of the play.

On the way home after we dropped Maria off at home I broke down and began to cry. I told my mom how I felt. She said "Look Stephanie, if you did not have this disability you would not know any of these people or be able to have the opportunities that you have had." It made me think. She is right. Something good always comes out of something bad. It put a new perspective for me on how I think about and deal with things.

This is something I still struggle with for as you know the saying that the grass is always greener on the other side. Having this happen though did make me think a lot about how I deal with certain issues. Sometimes it feels easier just to give up and be depressed, but who wants to hang out with someone like that. Have you ever had a situation like this that you would like to share?

Thanks for taking the time to read, Miss S

COMING SOON!!!!!!!

Here is the skinny on why I have not been able to post lately. I just got my computer back after spending a week with the Geek Squad. They upgraded my disk space all along with cleaning stuff. By doing this they took out my programs, and had to reinstall them. It has been a pain in trying to find my old documents, my pictures, and music. I finally found most of it though. I use voice dictation to type. It is a device in which I talk into a microphone and it types for me. Well of course since they had to reinstall that software that means I had to retrain it for my voice, UUUGGGHHH! It is all time-consuming but know that you will be getting a posts soon, I Promise.
Miss S.

SR's 92- SMELLY ARMPIT (my 1st date)

When I got homecoming queen there was a light that went off for me telling me that I may could get some attention from boys! Up until that point I was of no interest to the male species, but I was still not holding my breath to be any different. My brother was dating a girl at the time (they are not together now) who lived in a town about 30 minutes away from us. I was friends with her, and went to stay the night and hang out with some of her friends. This was right after I got homecoming queen. We went over to her friend Smelly Armpit’s house (his last name was pit, and to distinguish him this is an appropriate name for him. Just roll with it!). Smelly A was not in the room when I got there so he did not see me walk all drunk. I was sitting on the couch when Smelly A entered. We were introduced, and Smelly A began quizzing me on who I was. Smelly kept saying how familiar I looked. Then Smelly A snapped his fingers, and said, “You were homecoming queen. I saw you on TV.” Smelly A proceeded to call his mom telling her that she wouldn't believe who was setting in the living room right now. That was the first time I really felt like a local celebrity! Until then I had never been given a shout out. We spent the evening at Smelly A’s house just visting. Smelly was so funny, and cute too! Then went home to my brothers girlfriends house at the time. Smelly A was invited to my friends house to play pool. On the way back to her house her and another girlfriend were saying to me that Smelly A was so sweet on me. That they had never seen Smelly A act like that before. I did not know what to say or any thing, I had never known what it is like to have someone like you. Smelly was cute, and a couple of years older. Smelly A did end up coming over, and we played pool until like 2 in the morning. At this time he saw me walk and I explained my disability to him. Smelly A was okay with it! Smelly A was a gentleman. Flirting a little, but mostly laughing. Smelly A made me feel comfortable. Before Smelly A left he asked me for my number. I was surprised at that moment that I even remembered it! We ended up talking on the phone for a couple of months before we went out. From our conversations I thought Smelly A was a good guy. Smelly A didn’t seem all that smelly! I was 17, and thinking that was a good age to have a first date. So my first date was on Friday the 13th! I will not go into big details for it was not all that and a bucket of chicken. Smelly A showed up late bringing a sour mood, and wearing a red buttoned-down shirt! That set the tone. I was not about to bring my wheelchair with me, and made the mistake of wearing these leather boot looking things that did not have much grip on the bottom. I do remember Smelly A giving me a piggyback ride to the theater doors because it started sprinkling. Wasn't that nice of Smelly A? We ended up going to see a stupid supposed to be horror movie called "people under the stairs." I give it two gigantic thumbs down! Smelly A was the one who really wanted to see it. I found out later in the car as we were discussing how sucky the movie was that Smelly A was not planning for us to watch most of the movie if you know what I'm saying! I do not know who Smelly A thought he was??? That’s when things started to get pretty smelly! From there we went to El Chico’s to eat, and our conversation was not good. Smelly A showed a completely different side of himself! Smelly A took me home, and I did give Smelly A a hug and we never spoke after that. It could have been worse I guess.

Since then my dating life has not been any thing to write home about. When I was 22 there was some boy drama that has taught me a life lesson that I will tell then. I told myself not too long ago that I was not going to throw myself pity parties anymore about not having a relationship. If it is part of God’s plan for me it will happen. So tell me about your first date? Inquiring minds want to know?

Thank you for taking the time to Read, Miss S

Sr's 92- IS IT A TRICK OR A 23TREAT!!!

It was a couple of week's before Halloween, and it was tradition for the seniors to have a spook house at the Halloween dance. So we (the seniors) began doing just that. I decided to be the bodyless girl. We used the old gym which was petitioned off by a wall going to the new gym. The new gym was where the dance would be, and the old gym was going to be the spook house. With a lot of thick dark trash bag looking things we made little rooms in there. We set up to do a lot of spookie things! Besides lots of help we had strobe lights, black lights, and lots of props. It was coming together nicely. We had a day where we went through a dry run to see how it would all work out. I sat in a chair with no arms which immediately made me nervous because of my balance. But stubborn me wanted to do this so bad that I would fight it. I probably could have asked for a chair with arms, but oh well. They then put a box with a circle piece cut out for the head over my head. Later they would put a sheet that was bloodied and an axe (not real) stuck in the box. They gave me a water gun so that as people went by I would yell, "My body where's my body and screaming" all while squirting the water gun through the head hole. I was so excited!

At school we celebrated Halloween on the Thursday before the actual day. The day started off well. The seniors had a Halloween costume contest in the morning. A lot of the seniors dressed up. I was at a racecar driver. My brother drove a Modified Odyssey (small race car) for several years. I borrowed his racing suit and helmet. If I remember correctly one of the gals dressed up as the Energizer bunny with a pink suit on and a really big drum. She won!! Everyone who dressed up and wanted to could get together and go to different classes parade around, and let the underclassmen see what you were wearing. I wanted to do it, but knew I would be wore out really quickly. They compromised to let me do a couple of classrooms with them, and then I would return back to my class. It was time to get ready for lunch. The majority of the time I would go to lunch with Tonya. We were in the same class right before lunch so the teacher would let her go get her car, and park it in the faculty parking lot for it was a closer. She would get me and we would try to leave as quickly as we could to beat the rush, and to be first in line to get our lunch that day. I got in her car and off we went. As she was leaving I was putting on my seatbelt. We were discussing where we wanted to go when she pulled out of the parking lot, and all of the sudden there was a loud noise. I hit my jaw on the dashboard pretty hard. At that moment it was like there was no sound coming from anywhere. I did not realize that the passenger front side (my side) was hit, and that the window had shattered till then. I put my hand to my face, and realized that there was blood. I did not feel deep cuts. I spoke and asked Tonya if she was okay. The first thing out of her mouth was, "My poor car!” O NO SHE DIDN’T!! not “I am okay are you okay?" This was her next question, that’s what I thought. She went into the office at school and told them what had happened, and that we were okay, and to call our parent's. My dad did not work very far from the school so he was there quickly and as was Tonya's dad. They had gotten me some wet napkins to see about the cuts on my face. It was nothing major. but would leave scrapes on my face. Because of the jaw my dad took me to the emergency room. My jaw was popping in and out of place, but did not hurt. So they did not do anything about that. They were concerned about the scraping on my face. There was even glass in the pocket of my leather jacket. It had been a while since I had a tetanus shot so they wanted to do that. Needles have always made me nervous even though I had gotten used to them. I saw a cute male ER nurse walking by the room and I told them I would do the shot with no problems if they would get that cute male nurse to hold my hand during the shot! They all laughed, but that is exactly what happened!! I knew what I was doing, LOL! We left the ER, and I went home. Tonya’s car was towed. She got the ticket for the accident but it was noone’s fault. There was a blindspot and she never saw the car coming. To this day my jaw still pops in and out. It gets stuck open sometimes especially when I yawn big. I just have to relax and massage my jaw to pop it back in. It still does not hurt. It could have been worse. It does not end there!

There was no way I was going to miss being at this spook house that evening. I had several phone calls from people inquiring of how I was doing, and that they did not expect me to be there. I told them they were out of their minds, because I was going to be there. I told them I was not hurt, and was ready to scare some folks! This was the first time taking my wheelchair to a school function. That was a big step for me. Everything was going to be in the gym, and that was wheelchair accessible without steps and only one floor. Nobody seemed to look at me differently being in it like I assumed. I arrived early so I could get my face painted. They worked around the side of my cheek with the scrapes to not get make up in those places. In order to get into this spook house it was a maze and you had to crawl on your hands and knees to get in. It was a little tricky for me, but I had help. When you left the spook house it was the same way. I sat in the chair with no arms and held on to the sides so I would not fall over. They put the box with a bloodied sheet and fake axe over my head. This also made me feel a little uneasy. They handed me the water gun, and left the room. I was by myself in the room, and waiting for the first victim! I could hear everyone else getting ready. We had a mad doctor next to me who was pretending to do surgery on someone. They put cooked spaghetti noodles on their stomach like it was their intestines. The other room next to me was a coffin, and a person who would jump out and scare you. We had a girl somehow hanging from a rope like she was hung. As everyone got in place they turned the lights off, put on the strobe lights and block lights. As those of you are aware people with the Ataxia do not have good night vision. All the other lights made me feel kind of dizzy. I stuck it out though, and I was gripping that chair like there was no tomorrow. When my first victim came I started screaming and yelling for my body, and the closer they got I hit them with some water from the water gun! They then took off. It was hard for me to try to balance myself and shoot the gun, so I dropped it on the floor and did not use it any more. After a little bit Bubba came over to tell me it was time for a break. I told him that I was going to need some help out of here. He said that he would tell the others and be back for me. Everyone left and all of the light's went off. I expected to see Bubba at any given moment... in just a second… at any time! I am getting very nervous with my balance in this chair for it is pitch black now. I cannot holler loud enough because the music for the dance next door is way too loud. Where was he? I wondered if my mind was playing tricks on me thinking it had been longer than what I thought. I had heard about five songs at this time. I thought about trying to remove the box from for my head. But I thought about what that might do to my balance to let go of the chair. What if I didn't get the box away from me, and it ended up that my whole body even my head is stuck in the box? If someone came they would have a hard time hearing me muffled in the box along with the dance music, and not see me so I would be in their forever!! I could hear and see two little kids running through the spook house. I told them to go get an adult, and let them know that Stephanie was in the spook house and needed help. They were being typical kids who probably didn’t even hear what I said , looking at me like I was crazy for not leaving. So they just continued running around in there. Finally, Bubba and a couple of other guys came to my rescue! Bubba just kept apologizing and telling me he was sorry. I found out later that as they were in the break room enjoying hot pizza one of the guys saw my wheelchair, and noticed me not in it. In asking where I was Bubba raised up, and said oh crap! Several guys darted to get me. What a nice way to end this story!!


Got a halloween story to share or a favorite costume? Thanks for taking the time to read,

Miss S

SMILE, YOUR ON CANDID CAMERA!!!!!!!!

Okay, I finally made it to a scanner and have added some pics to some of the posts. If you look at the post titles on the blog archives (on the right of this page) and they have the word [edited] on them that means they contain pics. Most of the posts have more than one pic on them. I scanned a bunch of pics, but some you will not see until I make the post. Once I [edited] it did not seem like a lot. Anywho I hope you enjoy!!

Miss S

Sr's 92-HOMECOMING QUEEN (part 3)

THE BIG DAY IS HERE!!!  10/4/91
I did not sleep well the night before for I was so excited about what was to come. The day was to be filled with such excitement. I prayed the day would go smoothly, but did not forget to give God so many thanks for the blessed day!

CORONATION ASSEMBLYI got up in time to eat, put on a pink and white vertical stripped buttoned blouse (I hardly ever wore shirts that buttoned (still don’t), because my fine motor skills sucked (still do)), and off my mom and I went to the hairdresser's to get my hair done for the coronation assembly that morning. My Dad left in the opposite direction to go get my dress fluffed at the dry cleaners. A friend of mine at the time(from Camp) met us at the shop to put on my make up. Keeta made my hair look beautiful in a eloquent updo

, and off I went to school. I went into a big room where all of the attendants were getting dressed and everything. I had tons of help getting in to my dress, and my slick white dress shoes. I was just praying I did not slip on those slick white dress shoes! Because I was physically disabled there were lots of revisions made throughout the whole day, and thank God for me! It gave me a chance to make fewer mistakes. I will tell you about them as I am talking about it. I was carried backstage into the auditorium and sat on a white wicker chair with royal blue ribbons weaved on the outside of the chair (school colors). Usually the homecoming queen walks down the aisle, but we can all picture how that would turn out! They gave me a long royal blue velvet robe that was tradition to wear. They helped me to place it where it would show, but not be sitting on it. The curtains remained closed as the audience made it to their seats. I could just hear a lot of commotion, and it made me nervous. Some of the band members began tooting their horns, and the curtains opened up. I was all by myself on the stage. I thought about making weird faces so everyone would laugh thinking that would calm my nerves, but I just sat there smiling.

Introductions of the royal court were first. The male attendants (called the braves, the warriors was our mascot) wore black tuxes with royal blue cumber buns and ties, and the Senior female attendants were wearing white gowns, and the other attendants wore royal blue gowns.

 

                                     (CAPTION:  Sr Brave LaFredreick & Attendant Kristy)

                                                 (CAPTION: Sr. Brave Steve & Staci)
They walked down the aisle together to the stage, and stood in a staircase formation with the Seniors on the top row and so forth. Next was the crown bearer (Bubba’s sis, 7 I think) wearing a white gown and carrying a white satin pillow that held my crown, and the spirit leader which was a senior who wore Indian clothes and carried a lance (tall brown spirit stick with feathers on it) came after.

After they were on stage the King (Bubba) came down the aisle looking sharp in his white tux as the audience stood to their feet.

After he was on stage they recognized me by standing to their feet and clapping.

 

The coronation began with the naming of the former Kings and Queens.

                                           
A local TV station even came to film a segment for the news! Then a song was then sang giving tribute to me, I felt so special. One of my friends in choir (shout out to Laura), Wendy, asked to sing during the assembly. She had a voice that would make Simon Cowell cry, Paula Abdul give her the biggest seal clap, and Randy Jackson call out all the dawgs for her if she were on American Idol! She had approached me earlier about wanting to sing, but that she would keep the song a secret until the day she performed it. As the song started I immediately got teary-eyed. It was "The Wind Beneath My Wings," by Bette Midler. I cannot hear that song now without it giving me major goosebumps.

 

It was now time for me to get the football from one of the senior attendants (it was suppose to bring good luck for the game for me to touch it, go figure). It is usually thrown to the homecoming queen, but as we know I can't even hit the broad side of a barn! For safety reasons he just handed me the football!

Then it came time for the crowning. Ladies first, so Bubba grabbed the crown from the white satin pillow that the crown bearer had, and place to it on my head. Being a typical male he was not noticing where to place the crown, and smashed it down right in the middle of my bangs! God love him, but he probably did the right thing to keep it in place with all of the hairspray going on there! At that moment I was crowned Miss Daniel Webster the 54th!!

I was asked to give an acceptance speech. As I mentioned earlier this speech was short but sweet. I had practiced it many times at home. But the minute those first few words came out of my mouth “I want to start by thanking my mom and dad…" I began to cry. What short speech I had left my brain with the tears. Bubba came prepared and handed me a Kleenex from his pocket. I tried to gather my thoughts and hold myself together so I wouldn’t look like Tammy Faye Baker! It was all a blur as to what I said, but I got through it! One of my really good friends to this day, Ricky, still gives me a hard time about the speech saying he was hungry, and that they couldn't leave because my speech was so long. He says I was thanking everybody and their brother, even the blades of grass! He cracks me up. It was Bubba's turn to be crowned. This crown was not the typical one that you usually see, but it was an Indian headdress with blue and white feathers. It looked heavy, but Bubba pulled it off very nicely. No, I did not place the headdress on his head. I would have knocked his eye out if I tried! He was then crowned Warrior Chief the 47th! He did an awesome job on his speech. This was a good thing, because I did not have any Kleenex for him! I was given a scepter while Bubba was given the lance. We had a few lines we had to say from memory and I was so nervous that I would forget them. But everything worked out smoothly. Due to the fact that everyone from the royal court had family and friends there to watch the coronation assembly made for not enough room to have the whole student body in the auditorium at one time. So there was two assemblies. We did the same in both with the exception of me not crying when I gave my speech the second time around. Nothing embarrassing happened so far. It all seemed so surreal to me.

                                                       (CAPTION: Dad, Mom, and I)

I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A TOAST….After the coronation assembly we went upstairs to the library for a reception with cake and punch. No, Bubba and I did not feed each other cake! This was not a wedding reception silly! I did not really eat or drink much for fear of spilling it on my white dress (which would've happened believe me). This was a chance to talk with the guests who came to see us at the assembly. I got tons of compliments on my dress!! It was nice (I did not embarrass myself thank you God!), but of course we were only there for may be an hour and a half because we had somewhere to be….


A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS…

After the reception we made our way to the picture studio to get our royal court pictures on! They were mainly taken for the yearbook, but we also took individual pictures as well. They brought the white wicker chair that I sat in during the assemblies for me to use for the group pictures. We had fun with the group pictures as we were singing the popular country song at the time, "Shameless," by Garth Brook's! YEEHAW!! Bubba and I took pictures together where I would just sit on a barstool with no back. I was confident that Bubba had my back (hehe), and was not going to let me fall backwards.
For my individual picture they had me set on this golden bench kind of sideways, and they spread out my dress to make it look full and to show off the pretty ruffles. They laid the scepter and dozen red roses beside me. You could even see my slick white dress shoes!
The picture turned out good and the 8X10 is sitting on the entertainment center in my parent's living room as we speak in a very nice frosty glass frame. No embarrassing yet! After the picture taking we were all hungry, and decided to meet up at a Mexican restaurant. But before we could do that we went home to change…

 

 GETTING OUR GRUB ON…After going home to change food was the first thing on my mind, and my stomach was making sure I knew that! The atmosphere of the restaurant, Casa Bonitas, could not have been more perfect. It was a very fun place with all different kinds of rooms you could eat in. They had a game room were you could win tokens to get prizes. A great place for all of us to uwind after an exhausting morn! You could be yourself and it was okay. You didn’t have to be stiff and proper. It was good for me because I know I spilled my Spanish rice on me and on the floor! I remember them having the best sopapillas! We were so busy getting our grub on that no one thought of bringing a camera!  As we left there we headed home to rest up for the evening halftime show…

TO REST OR NOT TO REST…It was nice to put on a long t-shirt, curl up on the couch with a blanket, and rest my eyes for a couple of hours while watching TV. I was not (and am still not) a napper, but resting I can handle. While I was resting the school called my parents to tell them that a limo service saw my article in the paper that morning, and would like to give me a ride in their limo to the halftime football game. They wanted to present me on the field in the limo, but the school would not let vehicles on to the playing field. So they agreed to drop me off onto the school campus. So I put back on the pink vertical stripped buttoned shirt and headed back to my hairdresser’s shop to get my hair and makeup freshened up. My hair had been laid on, and my bangs were squashed from the crown. After it was all set we headed home so the limo could pick me up. As I got dressed I knew I would be standing on the field so I needed to be sure I had that extra support. I wore my Reebok white hightop tennies! SSHHH don’t tell!! My dress went to the floor so you didn't see them anyway. I also wore jeans under my dress for it was cold that day (October 4, 1991), and my bones had a hard time acting right in the cold. I knew we would be outside for the game, and I wanted to stay as warm as possible. As the limo arrived at my house I could see some of my neighbors standing outside to get a glimpse. I felt like a celebrity! I asked for some bubbly and strawberries, but they jokingly told me they left them at their building! SHUCKS, LOL!!  Sad to say for but I do not have any pictures of this either! It was my first limo ride too, happy one at least!...

TOUCHDOWN!!!As the limo arrived in the circle drive to drop me off in front of the school the football game was in the first quarter. Some of my friends were waiting for me as I got out of the car. Most of the royal court met me there. Some of the guys were football players. Another revision came at this time for as we got ready to go to the field I rode a golf cart! I did not drive and that was a blessing! The driver's ed teacher did that one (How perfect)! When we got there the second quarter was about to be over, so we ended up huddling close together until time. It was so cold. The driver's ed teacher even gave me his thick leather jacket to put around my arms.

The local news station was at the game to catch a spot for the evening news. They had interviewed my Mom, my dad, and I. We had to go around to the opposing side and walk/roll down the 50 yard line. The driver's ed teacher and I were jokingly talking about knocking down some of the opposing players along the way! Bubba was walking beside me in the cart, and the rest of the royal court followed behind us. When we reached our mark everyone stood on a stage and was introduced. But Bubba and I took a different approach! He helped me to get out of the cart and we walked a few steps under a white arc. They announced my name and the crowd went wild. Shivers went down my bended spine! I teared up for I couldn't believe that they were for me. I never wanted that feeling to go away. It was almost like I completely forgot that I was standing. I was not worried about anything at that moment. After that we all stood in front of the stadium on the field. I had a death grip I'm sure on Bubba's arm along with one of the other braves as we sang the alma mater..."MID THE HILLS OF OKLAHOMA..."! I sat in the stands for some of the second half of the game and visited with some folks before proceeding to the gymnasium for the dance. God love the Warriors football team as  for for  for for we did not win the game that night…

IF BUBBA CAN DANCE I CAN TOO!.. (fyi, it is the title of a country song)As I entered into the gymnasium I saw a beautiful water fountain that was lit up in the center of the room. They had an arc that was decorated with navy blue and white balloons. There were big signs on the wall done beautifully by one of the Seniors!

(CAPTION: This picture cracks me up when I look at it because it reminds me of that scene in the movie 16 candles where there is a line of students standing against the gymnasium wall at the dance!)

 It was all decorated so awesome! It seemed like I had been waiting forever for Bubba to arrive so we could dance the first slow dance together. I was wore out. Bubba and a couple of the other football players who were on the royal court had to shower and change into their tuxes before coming to the dance. Thank God for me and the other gals, holding on to football sweat was not a good cup of tea! Gave me time to visit w/ fam & friends who came.

 

Right before they came the DJ came over to me, and asked if there was a slow song I would like for him to play. The slow song that was really popular at the time was "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams. I really liked that song, and so that is the one I chose. When Bubba and the other guys arrived we all stood behind an arc made of royal blue & white balloons, and as we were introduced we walked under the arc. The freshmen attendants and Braves were introduced first and so on. I knew that this was the most nerve-racking moment for Bubba for fear of dropping me. I tried to assure him that if anything happens it is not his fault. I was nervous for myself, because I was very tired. Standing is not the best option for me when I am physically tired. It was a good thing I had on my Reeboks. We were the last to be introduced, and there was lots of hollering and clapping. That gave me my second wind to get through the dance.

We went to the middle of the dance floor by the fountain, and I put my arms around his neck. He put his arms tightly around my waist. He held me so tight to make sure that I didn't fall that I had bruises on my rib cage! Just kidding, but he did have a pretty good grip on me which made me feel secure.

Somewhere in the middle of the song he said to me, "They had to pick the longest song!" I didn't realize how long that song was, and I wasn't about to tell him it was me who picked it out. I just agreed with him, and changed the subject LOL!

As the song ended you could hear somebody yelling, "Dip her Bubba!" I felt as though I was floating on a cloud the whole time. I remember thinking I just danced with a cute boy!! We stayed there for a few songs then headed for home.

Several friends of mine (from Camp) ended up staying the night at my house. One of my aunt's lent us her camcorder for the day so we watched everything that went on. It was like a dream, and I felt that if I went to sleep I would forget. I could not have asked for a better day, and filled with no mistakes! Bubba let me have majority of the spotlight that day, and for that I cannot thank him enough! What wonderful memories!! Because of the newspaper articles and TV interviews I was kind of a local celebrity. I was recognized for a while after.

This was a long one I know, but thanks for taking the time to read, Miss S