Homecoming memories...

This time of year always reminds of Homecoming. Not sure why, since I was NEVER in the Homecoming Court, nor was I allowed to go to any of the football games, with the exception of one time in 1974, and for which I had to beg, plead and cry for two weeks in order to get to attend the Homecoming game in 1974. I was in the 10th grade and for whatever reason, this was the game I was willing to do whatever it took to go. Of course doing whatever it took is a little extreme since I had no car, or other means of transportation with the exception of the two legs God gave me, and in order to use my legs, I would have had to walk past my mother to get to the door, and that wasn't happening. But, I did beg, beg, beg, and my mother finally agreed to not only let me go to the game, she agreed to let me spend the night with a friend and go to the game with her, her sister and her sister's boyfriend. This was a huge step for me because I had never been in the same vehicle with anyone of the opposite sex that was not related to me. No, I was NOT dating in the 10th grade, and yes, that is kind of old to have never been on a date. My mother didn't allow dating, and rarely allowed anyone of the opposite sex in the door that might want to see me. But, getting back to Homecoming, I FINALLY talked my mother into letting me go, and letting me spend the night with someone. I swore I would follow her rules, and I did, because I knew any slight deviation from the rules would result in a minimum six weeks of being grounded, which meant no phone calls, no friends, no nothing except school and Church for 6 weeks. It was also known as "pure hell."

My friends and I went to the game, and since it was homecoming, there were floats, and the tradition after the game was to head to the field behind Bussey Brake Reservoir and burn the floats... Yep, we had a huge bonfire and burned everything that we spent weeks laboring over and it was called fun! And yes, I even had my mother's permission to attend the float burning which was also HUGE for me. After we had made sure everything was burned beyond recognition and the fires were out, we started heading back to the car. Keep in mind it was as VERY dark out in that field, and without headlights, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Therefore, IT WAS DARK! As we were walking back to the vehicle, I saw one of the trucks coming down the dirt path and stepped out of the path to let the truck by. What I didn't see was the trailer still attached to the truck, which previously carried the contents of one of the floats, and once the truck passed, I immediately stepped back out in the dirt road and that's when the trailer knocked me down and proceeded to run over me. Yep, I was being run over by a trailer. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, and I remember thinking "please don't let it run over my face because I don't want to be any less attractive than I already am." (I was not allowed to wear makeup and I was not very purdy). Someone alerted the driver that he needed to stop, and he did and the trailer wheel was parked on my chest, touching my chin. I couldn't move. The driver backed the trailer back off of me, and I got up. I was not really hurt with the exception of some scrapes and pretty bad bruises on my leg. After determining medical attention was not needed, and assuring the driver of the truck I was not mad at him, we all left and went home. The next day when my mom picked me up, I did not tell her what happened, because I was sure she would blame me for the incident and ground me because that is what she did if she felt you deviated from the rules. And remember, when she grounded you, it was for a minimum of six weeks. ALWAYS! So, I hobbled around the remainder of the weekend and headed back to school Monday, where for once everyone was interested in how I was doing.

That afternoon when my mother picked me up from school, she asked me if there was anything I wanted to tell her. I knew at that moment she knew, although to this day she will not tell me who told her. And, for not telling her about getting run over by a trailer after homecoming in 1974, she grounded me... and yes, it was for six weeks.