Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

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Summer vacation 2014 is history. While I was directing the Somerville Sunsetters song and dance troupe, I was not allowed to mention that 6 letter word … school. Anytime the subject of school is mentioned, I channel my dad and start preaching. “You kids today have it so easy compared to when I was in school!” I tell them how we had things like dress codes … and … BUILDING MASTERS!!!

If you dared to wear “dungarees”or your hair was over your collar (for boys) you were sent to the dreaded building master. Some of them were not very nice. I always get a strange fluttering in my stomach at this time of year. Building masters and nuns made for some very scary memories.

Back to school meant the end of waking up at 9 a.m. and throwing your “play clothes” on and heading over to your pal’s house. What was in store for the day? Perhaps building a buggy with wheels from a shopping cart, or climbing the rocks at Powder House Park. On Sunday afternoons we used to ride our bikes around checking out people’s trash. We called it barrel picking. There were lots of things to keep us busy back in the late 60’s. We had no cell phones so we actually went to our friends’ houses and yelled out their name. “Hi Yo Charlie!!” His mom would come out on the front porch and tell me that he would be right out. We tried to make every second of summer vacation count.

I guess we were getting bored one particular day when Archie decided to perform a daredevil stunt. He doused his skateboard with lighter fluid and skated down one of Powder House Parks walk lanes. Hopefully today a prank such as that will be limited to a video game. (We put Archie out with no injuries!)

I can’t believe that some of the desks we had in school were the old wooden ones, bolted to the floor, with the ink well hole in it. Remember? I also recall big fat crayons with a flat side. I finally figured out that the flatness was so the crayon wouldn’t roll off the desk. When I was in “sister school” the nuns were perched on a platform that set them about four inches above the students. If you stepped on the dreaded platform without permission you were in big trouble. My eight years in parochial school were not pleasant. I still can’t believe our parents subjected us to that abuse. I still get nervous around this time each year but driving by the old sister school definitely stirs my stomach. Thankfully, my kids went to Somerville public elementary schools and are doing just fine.

I dropped my middle son off at his college dorm on Sunday. He is at a fine school in Boston. He is in a “quad” with three other guys. I met them and their families and I think he will be just fine. I was getting my usual emotional self until I got lost in the hot, smelly underground parking garage. I’m just glad I was able to get another kid to college. I DID get misty as I was driving home after dropping him off. I am very proud of him. I just hope he doesn’t have as much fun in college as I did!

Summer vacation 2014 is just a memory, but for this dad it is a great memory. Visits to my new granddaughter, a trip to Maine with my sons, successful Sunsetters and summer theater productions, and not one squawk out of my trusty truck made for one heck of a summer. To all the kids that were in my summer programs … I’ll see you around! I am also anxious to get back to the piano with Somerville’s Swinging Singing Seniors, also known as The Moonlighters. We will rock the senior center for sure!!

I hope you all had a great summer. Lets try to savor our memories of those warm lazy days, and carry them with us all year long. Summerville Rocks!!! By the way, the building in the photo is the old Western Junior High School on Holland Street.