The Foursome

P and I had gone to different grade schools. Then three schools consolidated and we were in the same high school. But, we had known each other for years because we grew up on farms and showed in 4-H against each other. She had Shorthorn cattle and I had Angus, but we were in the same barns at the county fair. She only showed at our local fair though and not on the show road. The afternoon G showed up at my house with W, he suggested calling P. She had also been at the O.S.U. concert and G knew her from there. P and I hadn't been real close before then, but the four of us really clicked. Both men had been out of school two years and had jobs. So most of those early dates were at our school functions.

One day at school, the guys surprised us by showing up during our lunch period. They just walked into the cafeteria and sat with us. That had never been done in our country school before and it caused quite a stir. I was kinda pleased and kinda embarrassed. At the end of lunch, they left and we went to our next class. It was interupted when P and I were called to the Principals Office. I swear that was the only time I'd ever been called in. We were told there wasn't actually any rule against guests for lunch, it had never come up. But .....Please don't do it again! It was disruptive and the school didn't want a problem. I don't know how they both got off work to show up like that, but I knew I didn't want to be called into the Principals office again. P seemed to think it was just funny. I think she enjoyed the uproar.

When we met them, they were both driving '55 Chevy's. They worked at different factories in their town and they both still lived with their parents. When nothing was going on at school, they took us to their town to show us off. We were taken to meet each of their families during one of those trips to their town. G's family lived in a small village and his Father worked in the same factory G did. W's family lived in the main town, but he had grown up on a farm and he also worked in the same factory as his Father. Both men had one sister who was 6 years younger and both men's Mothers had the same first name.

Shortly after we started the double dates, W bought a 1963 (brand new) Chevy Impala. It was white with red interior and it was a convertable with bucket seats. (Which were a novelty back then.) What a thrill. How we enjoyed that car. W would be in the drivers seat and he controlled the gas, clutch and brake. P would sit real close and do the steering. And, I'd be crammed next to P where I could shift gears. While G kept us in time with chants to keep it all going smooth. Four of us in two bucket seats driving in sync. Then one day we were stopped in the guys town by a policeman who made G and I get in the back seat. He said what we were doing wasn't legal. But, he let us off with a warning and a shake of his head and a lot of mumbling. As soon as we got to the edge of their town, we climbed back in front and went back home all in sync again.

P lived clear across the school district from me, also on a gravel road. One day we had been to the other town and we were cutting it close on time. P was afraid she would be grounded if she was late getting home. We were flying down her road when her neighbors goose flew up in front of us. The wind was blowing and the car was kicking us so much dust we didn't see the goose in time. We had the top down on the convertable and the goose hit the front window post on the passenger side. G and I were covered in feathers and goose blood and guts. W didn't even slow down. There were feathers everywhere, but P was spared the rest of it. P didn't want her folks to know we had been driving that fast on the gravel road. (Parents are funny that way.) Or that we had killed the neighbors goose. So, when we got her home, she jumped out and told us to get out of there. We left without being caught, blood feathers and all. Once away from her neighborhood, we stopped and tried to get some of the mess out of the car and off G and I. Not an easy thing to do in the middle of nowhere. W had escaped the messy part too, and was just picking at feathers. G and I picked the biggest globs off, but the blood was just smearing around. Looking at G, it was funny. Feeling it on me, wasn't. We finally gave up and they took me on home. There wasn't any way to hide it from my Mother. When I first walked into the kitchen, my Mothers face showed her shock and fear. G was right behind me, and looked just as bad. Once she was sure we were ok, Mom couldn't stop laughing. We wiped up what we could first, then all went to work on W's new convertable. Then the guys went on their way while I took a bath.

When P and I got to school after that, her neighbor boy sat in home room and told the class about how someone had slaughtered his goose and how he only found bits and parts of it. He was so upset and P and I had a hard time acting like we didn't know anything about it. We were glad he had told his story before we had a chance to tell of our adventure. After that, we didn't dare say anything to anyone. Which was hard. It was such a great story.