Runaway

To say my best friend and I were naive or a bit green would be a vast understatement to say the least. We Teeny Town gals were honesty greener than frog snot the first few months of college life. Why, we had to scoop up our jaws when we heard our female coeds cussin' and ya could'a knocked the both of us over with a single feather when we saw our worldly peers light up. Don't get me wrong, we'd traveled and seen the bright lights in big cities of the world but we were still greener than green gourds through a goose!!!

We'd settled into our dorm room unpackin' all the absolute necessities of life. Things like jumbo hot rollers, our favorite record albums, Smith Corona typewriter and of course our mandatory high school gym suits. We'd been required to squat, run tires and climb that rope to the moon and back in these one piece beauties over the past four years. Yep, we were most prepared to be sophisticated college Freshmen.

Not only would this be the first day of our college physical education class, it was our first coed Phys Ed. class. This meant testosterone oozin' hunks would be involved. Filled with the hand sweatin' heart palpitatin' anticipations of any red blooded seventeen year old chicks, we suited up for the most important class of our freshman year. The two of us exited the dorm more excited than a couple of grasshoppers in a chicken coop.

We trotted 'cross the SMS Campus like we had arrived and knew what we were doin' directly into the McDonald Arena to meet our fellow classmates. Faster than a hunted deer can leap a fence our excitement turned to pure ghastly humiliation as we saw the others dressed in 'regular' tees, cut~offs and the like. Even our coach said, "girls you don't have to wear uniforms here." 'Just melt me in a puddle and let me evaporate right here. We had to walk all the way back to the dorm in those Jolly Green Giant gym suits. In public no less!!!!

After class we dashed behind bushes, clung to buildings hidin' like 007 himself. We stuck out worse than a pure white Charolais heifer in a field of black Angus cattle. Our hearts sank when we saw no matter which way we slithered, we could not avoid the OK Corral. Oh, just kill me now....I knew I was gonna die!!!!

The OK Corral was a wooden fence that ran down both sides behind the Student Union Building. The Corral was 'the place' studly fellas gathered to 'girl watch'. It was here the Teeny Town Green Girls were gonna have to parade by the hormonal males like models down a runway close enough to feel the gents breath and hear their most colorful (mostly concernin' green) comments.

Upon returnin' to our dorm room I vowed to burn my Jolly Green Giant suit to never be worn again. That's exactly what I did first trip back to the farm. My BFF obviously did not do the same. She kept it. Not only had she kept it, she sent me these pictures last year. To this day just lookin' at these PE uniform pics makes my blood rush turnin' my face hot brilliant red once again.


Del Shannon's number one song hit the top Billboard Hot 100 back in 1961 where it remained number one for four weeks. He sings in the Pop and R&B song of wonderin' why she ran away but this is one gal who will never forget why that day she and her friend tried to "Runaway!!!"