Although, this particular woman and I had lost touch
with one another since, Gosh elementary school, I think? And reunited somewhat
on Facebook as reuniting as that is…Many of our classmates are on there too.
You know, in those days we went to grammar school from
kindergarten through seventh grade. Ours was a brand new school, Ridge Ranch
Elementary, in the development of the same name, in that fall of 1955. Years
after when we were done with our seventh grade, we all were dispersed with so
many other K-7 schools converging on just the two junior highs at that time in
Paramus for 8-9 oh that’s right they moved seventh over the year it opened,
ours the brand new one also, named Eastbrook Junior High, located on the
eastern brook, of our bustling town, of twenty-five thousand residents and
growing! The one high school, Paramus High, had to put on an addition to make
room for all us kids when we entered it in our tenth grade/sophomore year!
At that time, the lower grade schools were built to accommodate
the post WWII developing landscape known as suburbia and in our case within
commuting distance to NYC, fifteen minutes from the George Washington Bridge is
where it was and we were proud to tell anyone who would listen! And it is in Bergen County, NJ.
Our town was named for the Native American tribe of the same name, Paramus we were all taught in school. But we pronounced
it “Para-muss”, and the Native Americans we were told called it, “Para- moos”, if I recall correctly.
Emerson is where I finished my education that is my public
education; junior and senior years of high school that is and graduation all at
Emerson Junior Senior High School,
a neighboring town with a population of around seven thousand people, thus the
two types of schools conjoined.
Emerson, we were taught was named for Ralph Waldo Emerson
the poet and credited with starting transcendentalism of the mid-nineteenth
century and he also was a champion of individualism and although I would love
to believe he visited our town, no one ever knew if he had. But I must admit that
much of what he was a proponent of was imbedded in my being and perhaps that
too influenced me as well. Although, I only lived there a mere four and half
years while I was a college student in NYC, not that whole time, but I did
marry from my parents home there, actually in Maplewood, NJ at a place called
the Maplewood Manor.
Any-who, my reunited school chum, which they’re many of on
Facebook, is a Hooper, which from what I can glean is some type of cult of
lovers of hula hooping for joy and exercise? I used to hula hoop when I was ten
and I was quite good, so I was told, so good that when the dance the twist came
along I won a twist contest, you must remember Chubby Checker's song
specifically for the dance?
Until, Psy, and his Gangnam style of dance; the neuvo fellow;
I don’t recall too many others who had dances for just a certain song? But I
could be wrong, I have been wrong before!
Apparently, when I wasn’t paying attention this Hooper craze
became a very ‘in’ thing to do.
Someone was watching my amazing nearly senior friend, the
one with the natural gray hair keeping up with all the kids below!
There is a whole organization for this NOT CULT, but fun to
do group or along exercise of happiness. http://www.hooping.org/
Sounds like fun!
She is my age and still working as an EMT and does this for
her social life and exercise I suspect, at least it seems that way to me.
Joan, if you read this, perhaps, you can set me straight,
okay?
On that note of what I find interesting and hope that you do
too… allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night
and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with
you know who and we will too!
And next time please be here of be square, ya hear!