Memory Monday #91

       I almost forgot about Memory Monday! I've been busy doing other stuff... Some art things, doctors appointments, the ongoing eating out, etc. So here I am still at Illinois College, now in my second semester. Still being a bit of a brat! My classes are all very good. They are much smaller then the big University; therefore, one feels a part of it all and I had very good instructors. I'm actually making pretty good grades...A's and B's! Could it be that I am  growing up little bit?

     I still like to have a good time. But I have discovered that one can have a good time and still be responsible for classes. For one thing being in a small college is like living in a small town, everyone knows your business! So one is compelled to do well because somebody is going to know otherwise if you're just screwing around! I was also feeling a sense of guilt towards my parents for having messed up so badly for two years. Whoa! another sign of growing up!

     In my dorm which I described earlier, we had a house mother. We had hours meaning that we had to be in at a certain time. And these were closely adhered to, overseen by said house mother. She was a rather elegant lady, at least in her own mind. Her favorite girls were the darlings who dressed properly, who spoke properly, and were very endearing to her. I, on the other hand, was not one of her favorites. I was a very respectful person as that is how I was taught. But I was not a kiss up... Never was, never will be!

     As colleges did and still do, there were often many interesting concerts and lectures. This one weekend, there was a concert by a popular music group,The Brothers Four.

.... A fairly well-known group in the 60s. Several of my friends and I went to the concert then afterwords, we all went to the local pub. To our great surprise and pleasure the Brothers Four also showed up there! We were having a great time drinking and flirting with these famous guys! Suddenly one of our bunch realized it was almost time to be back at the dorm. We did not have cars, so we ran the several blocks from the pub back to campus. We got there just minutes late, laughing and still on a energetic high from having such a good time! Of course, our house mother who met us at the door, did not think the situation nearly as hilarious.

     The next day she called me into her office and proceeded to really chew me out! Even to this day 50+ years later, I can still hear her words ringing in my ears. She told me that I was the bad apple in the barrel, that I was corrupting all of the sweet little girls, and she hoped that after she spoke to the dean of women I would be expelled from the school. I met  later with the dean of women, and she was very understanding of my situation. She saw in me a much better person than the house mother did. Of course, I had been wrong in coming in late as had the others, but it was not the crime of the century as the house mother seemed to think! So I, and the others who were late, did have to serve time by losing some privileges. If I remember right, it was something like not being able to leave our rooms for a few nights...like being grounded by one's parents!

     I survived my year at Illinois College. I made good grades; I learned a lot; I made many good friends;

And I did some research and discovered that I could return to the University of Missouri having redeemed myself grade wise.