A So Called Friend in
Home Ec. Class
I met her in Home Ec. Class, in my Sophomore year. I took Latin and Algebra instead of Home Ec. In my Freshman year, I decided one year of both of the above subjects was more then enough for me, so I then signed up for Home Ec. Which meant I was put in with Freshman girls, since it was my first year of Home Ec. I made several really good friends. And we remained friends all through High School.

Back in my day, it was not unusual for a girl in her Senior year of High School to receive a diamond engagement ring. The boy I cared about since I was in the 8th. Grade graduated a year before me. But the year he was a Senior and myself a Junior, I kept getting hints about receiving a diamond at Christmas time. Not only from him, but from my best so called friend.

On a Saturday night before Christmas, we doubled dated with my best friend and her boyfriend. This meant my date and I set in the back seat. We were almost home, when he pulled this small box from his pocket and opened it, and I was dumbfounded. It looked like a diamond engagement ring. From what I remember, I started to cry a little, and he snapped it shut, rolled down the window and threw it out the window. Then told me it was all a joke and not a very funny one at that.

Needless to say, I wasn’t about to tell anyone what a fool I had been. So I kept it to myself. But I remember in Home Ec. Class how my best friend was talking with a girl that was not only in our class, but also my friends neighbor, they all lived in the country. They both kept looking my way. I was very upset yet on the Monday following all of this and I wasn’t talking to my so called friend, because I couldn’t imagine a friend letting someone pull a joke like that on their friend. She knew about it way ahead of time, because she would ask me what I would do if I got a diamond for Christmas.

He went on to graduate, but I found out later, he had numerous girl friends while we were going “steady”. I guess I was going steady, he was too busy playing the field. After he graduated he joined the Air Force and thought we should date other people. Nothing new for him, since he had been doing it all along anyway. But when he would come home on leave, he wanted to date me. Then I met Abe and dropped the so called boy friend. Guess I should say so called boyfriend when it was convenient for him. Abe and I dated almost three weeks, and he gave me an engagement ring. We got married three months later. That will be 60 years ago this coming July 12th.

I have a feeling if I had married my so called, first love, we would not have stayed married, he didn’t change in his ways from what I’ve heard. He since has died. I have no idea if he was still married or how many children he might have had.

He was very good at lying I do know that. I did finally tell my Mother about it, but it was quite a long time after it happened.

So, how many of you have what we call a so called friend?