Summary: 8th grade. Isn’t that one life’s greatest times? Here’s what I remember about 8th grade. Tommy Connor and Jamie Freeman got into a fist fight in the middle of class and I had a front row seat. Russell Menefee was the star running back of the 8th grade football team. In fact, that fight took place in Mrs. Iscimenler’s class. Russell had accepted the challenge to score a touchdown for every letter in Mrs. Iscimenler’s last name. Interestingly enough, Mrs. Iscimenler told me that I should write stories that had the same style as The Wonder Years. <br> <br> At the time I thought she was crazy. I was in 8th grade. What that even look like. I guess she was a few years ahead of her time. This podcast definitely has a Wonder Years vibe to it, and today’s episode definitely will. You see, there’s one other thing I remember about 8th grade. The girl I liked in 8th grade wasn’t named Winnie; her name was Ruth.<br> <br> Ruth sat in front of me in Mrs. Iscimenler’s class. She had poofy hair and tall bangs like all the cute girls did back in those days. She liked New Kids on the Block. We talked from time to time and I eventually got the nerve to ask her to go with me. What does that even mean? Will you go with me? Where? I can’t drive yet. Anyway, back to Ruth.<br> <br> At some point during the school year, shortly after Ruth and I started “going out,” she moved to the city. Even though Oklahoma City was only about 30 miles away, in those days it might as well have been a thousand miles away. After all, I couldn’t drive, and it was a long distance call from my small town to Oklahoma City. I didn’t have any way to pay for a long distance call. Read More...
