A few weeks ago my brother called me and asked if I remembered Maria’s last name. Maria lived down the street from where we grew up in Van Nuys, California, which is a suburb of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. Maria was best friends with Melonie and one summer when we were all 11 or 12 we hung out together. Melonie’s mom was super hot – a voluptuous Meredith Baxter Birney-esque blond 30-something. Even our pre-pubescent selves could recognize greatness.
Melonie and Maria were inseparable. Our Dad nick-named them the Bobbsey Twins, which we thought was funny even though we didn’t know who or what the Bobbsey Twins were. We spent most of that summer at Melonie’s pool hoping that the Mom would be home. Nothing ever happened between us and the girls — it was still too soon for that.
But the next summer there was Cheryl and Laurie. They were another set of friends that lived even closer — 4 houses away instead of 10. Cheryl introduced us to kissing – both my brother and I. We would take turns in our backyard. (What was she, the town trollope?!) Soon we were discovered by my Mom who put a stop to it.
So we reconnoitered at Laurie’s house down the street. One afternoon Laurie had a great idea: “Say, why don’t we all take off our clothes and march around the room?” That was a crackerjack idea! So we stripped off our clothes and began marching around Laurie’s room, Cheryl, Laurie, my brother and I, like a libidinous coed ROTC. John Philip Sousa would have been proud.
After a couple of minutes we were busted by Laurie’s mom. Why couldn’t we have been a little more discreet?! Thus concluded our summer hijnx of 1972.
Now if anybody out there knows Maria’s last name will you get back to me?
The World According to Keitho 