Dating at MacArthur
Posted Friday, May 3, 2013 12:46 PM

 

Had a couple of stories about dating while at MacArthur that I thought might be mildly entertaining to a few:

 

Deneice O'Connor

I had a bit of a crush on Deniece (unbeknownst to her I think) and vividly remember taking her home after our first date to her family's house in Hill Country Village.  When we drove up, the front door was open . . . and it should not have been as no one was supposed to have been home.  Deneice was pretty agitated at the prospect of having unwanted "guests" on the premises - couldn't blame her.  Rather interfered with the oportunity for that big goodnight kiss I had been waiting for though.

 
Wanting to impress, I had her get her father's old double barrel ornamental shot gun that had been hanging on the wall near the entryway,  then went inside for a look around.  After a few minutes of  stumbling around an unknown layout in the dark with a shot gun that did not shoot, I was relieved to find that there was no one there . . .  fortunately for me.  Still a bit agitated, Deniece thanked me with  a peck on the cheek and said a quick goodnight.  That was that.  Bummer!  I thought I would at least get some tongue for my bravery!!!
 
It was late when I returned home.  But, about 30 minutes after I arrived, there was a phone call.  I grabbed it quickly so as not to wake my parents.  It was Deneice's father . . . that was a little startling for me.  Thoughts of our date quickly raced through my mind as I tried to remember any serious faux pas that I might have made but came up empty.  In a very official sounding voice, her father said, "This is Judge O'Connor and I just wanted to thank you for what you did this evening.  That was pretty brave of you to do that."
 
Wow!  I was so relieved that I was not going to jail for some unknown transgression that I let out a little "whoop" after we hung up and woke my parents. Then I had to explain the whole story to them to which we all had a good laugh.  Always thought that her father was a class act though for having called me up just to thank me.
 
 
 
Michelle Brown
 
Another big crush of mine; I was ecstatic when I finally managed to get a date with Michelle.  But, I was a bundle of jangling synapses when I rang the door bell and was greeted by her father.  He invited me into the den to wait for Michelle and sat down to continue watching his show.  There was another lazy-boy type chair in the room and he invited me to sit down.
 
I did so but as I sat back, the chair automatically reclined and I just about did a back flip.  I thought Mr. Brown was going to bust a gut laughing so hard.  It seems that the chair was broken and this was his favorite thing to do to Michelle's newby suitors.
 
I must have looked like I had a third degree sunburn on my face from the amount of blood that suddenly pooled there.  I was so embarrassed that I could have gone home right then.  However, Mr. Brown must have had some degree of empathy after having cratered any confidence that I might have had.  He joked with me a bit until I finally felt at ease again.  But as a result, this incident is the only thing I now remember about a date I had worked so hard to realize!
 
 
 
Connie Cox
 
Connie lived out in Hollywood Park just up and over one street from my house.  She was a cheerleader and I thought she was THE most beautiful girl at Mac.  When I made yell leader at the end of my junior year and we got to practice a bit with the graduating senior girl cheerleaders, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  
 
Somehow I managed to wrangle a date with her though she was steadily dating one of the football players (Royce I think).  I did not care how serious they were, but it was evident that they must have been.  I remember her coming to school on Monday morning trying to hide the numerous hickeys on her neck after going out with him over the weekend.  
 
For our date, I took her to the North Star Mall Cinema to see Love Story I think.  I know.  I know.  How corny can you get!  When the lights went down, I finally got up the nerve to put my arm around her and not wanting to seem to forward, balanced half on her shoulders and half on the metal chair back.  At the end of the movie, I couldn't move my arm.  All the blood had drained out of it and I sat there trying to reel in a wooden stump.  I remember her giggling a bit at the sight, but not enough to embarrass me.  I quickly gained composure and ignored how stupid what I had just done must have looked.  What a nerd!!
 
On the front doorstep to say goodnight, Connie was cool enough to ask me to wait a minute while she reached inside and turned off the glaring porch light.  That helped a little but I was still a nervous wreck.  Here I was on the front porch with an "older woman", the girl of my dreams, about to lip lock with Aphrodite!  The more I thought about it the more nervous I got.
 
After a tense moment I leaned forward to kiss her and she put her arms around my neck.  One would think that was a good enough indication that she was ready to have one planted on her; I mean a long, wet, juicy, banana in my pocket, smooch!  Not gonna happen . . . I gave her a peck on the lips and immediatley withdrew.  She had been on the step above me leaning forward so that we were at the optimal kissing level and almost fell off the step when I moved back.  To make matters worse, Connie was giggling again as I said goodbye and retreated to the car to begin self-flagellation.  
 
There was no joy in Mudville that evening as I kicked myself all the way home for being so timid at the opportunity of a lifetime.  We never went out again and I bet she still laughs when (and if) she remembers our first (and last) date.