Musings & Thoughts for Friday, June 16, 2023, or: Tempus Fugit – Vague Memories of the Day Before Commencement ’83

Greetings, Dear Reader. Here in Lithia, Florida, it is afternoon on Friday, June 16, 2023. Outside, it is a cloudy and hot (90°F/32°C) early summer day. This being the subtropics, it’s still getting warmer and stickier – the forecast for today called for partly sunny skies and a high of 91°F/32°C. There’s no precipitation expected, although that is bound to change tomorrow.

I already have my Reunion: Coda Word .docx files open and waiting for my “real writing” to begin, but I – in spite of what I wrote in yesterday’s second post – decided to stop by and jot down a few stray memories about Thursday, June 16, 1983 – the weird “gap day” between the last day of attendance at South Miami Senior High School and the commencement ceremony held at the Gibson Center (Building Seven) at what was then Miami-Dade Community College, South Campus.

Oddly enough, I don’t have a lot of memories about that first day of not having to get up early to catch what I called the 6:30 AM Express (the school bus that picked me up at my stop on NW 97^th Avenue, some 20 to 30 yards away from the townhouse where I lived from 1978 to 2016) and spend most of the day at Cobra Country. It’s likely that I slept in till 8 or 9 AM, had a mildly celebratory breakfast with my mom – who still smoked cigarettes like a chimney back then – and walked Gumbo, a basset hound that one of our neighbors from across the parking lot rehomed with us a few days before that last, abbreviated school week on a leash.

Aside from that, I don’t remember much. The weather, which had been stormy earlier in the week, was similar to the conditions I see here in the Tampa Bay area today – a mix of sun, clouds, and early summer heat. I do recall that detail because (a) I was still getting used to walking a dog, something that I had not done since, oh, 1974 or 1975, and (b) I hoped that the good weather would hold at least till after the graduation ceremony the next day.

The one reality that I am sure of, Dear Reader, is that I wasn’t ecstatic about being, at least temporarily, free from the responsibilities and routine of being a high school student. Part of it, of course, was my averse reaction to big life changes. While many of my classmates were eager to say goodbye to South Miami High School, teachers, homework, and tests, and get on their chosen paths – college, straight-to-work, or a stint/career in the military – I was apprehensive, to say the least.

Add to that a strained situation at home, and the strange sense of dislocation that I felt at the time, and you’ll understand (hopefully) why I don’t have many happy memories of my first day of post-high school “freedom.”

Anyway, I have a novel to work on, so until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.