In Search of a Diagnosis Chapter Six Part Two

The High School Years

                                                                  David J. Archer, Sr.

It was September, 1961 when I entered my junior year of High School. This was a turbulent and exciting time in the world. John F. Kennedy becomes President of the United States, Alan B. Sheppard becomes the first American in space. Vietnam War officially begins as the first American helicopters arrive in Saigon. Bay Of Pigs Invasion of Cuba begins, ending in failure. Khrushchev orders construction of the Berlin wall. FCC Chairman Minow claims that television is a “vast wasteland.” Music was passing from the Rock and Roll era as Soul music was accepted and got air play with music from the likes of by Sam Cooke, James Brown, Solomon Burke Ben E. King, who’s “Stand By Me” is a #1 R&B. Pop music takes over from fifties R&R with groups like Gary (U.S.) Bonds, Bobby Vee, Jive Five, Linda Scott, and Adam Wade who had the top 10 singles in the US in September 1961.

I was very excited about going back to school as even though I had given up on getting good grades in my classes, accepting that I was never going to do well by the traditional standards of grading. Getting approval from teachers by having high scores on tests was not something I cared about. I cared about learning and gaining knowledge. We all are given gifts of abilities and some of us have a different way of accessing those gifts. In my case I had a thirst for knowledge, a tenacity that wouldn’t let me give up on my dreams and thanks to my dad an analytical mind that I inherited from him. So the subjects that I was passionate about I learned and the rest I wouldn’t waste my time with. School was a struggle and I missed a lot of days when I would refuse to go. I don’t know what my parents told the school but it seemed that the teachers and the administration gave me wide latitude even though there was always a gentle push for me to get better grades (translated that meant I was expected to try harder.) In that respect numbers were just as important then as they are now with such a strong reliance to supposedly measurable results.

 Even though I was considered different in many ways I never experienced any bullying at my High School that is any I was aware of. Being I was pretty well accepted by my classmates, was very much a loner. Some of the ways that I seemed different to others was for instance, I was the only one of the students who wore a jacket and tie to school or carried a briefcase. I had a hard time talking to people, feeling very shy and awkward. I pushed myself at times way out of my comfort zone, because I so desperately wanted to fit in. Even If I couldn’t understand the code that it seemed everybody knew but me. I had a group of six or seven friends and we would hang out after school. They were kids who got me and accepted me. One of the ways that I navigated the social side of school came by way of  my best friend Terry who was older and acted like a mentor. He and I were always together and I mimicked his manner the best I could. I took my social cues from him. We had a lot of fun and were often running afoul of the school administration. Terry had a girl friend that had a dancing act with her sister that they performed in small rural night clubs across the Ottawa River in Quebec. Terry and I would take dad’s car and drive to the clubs to watch Cheryl and her sister. I got my first exposure to alcohol at the clubs. Terry could handle his drinking and knew his limits, I did not, so Terry ended up driving us home.

On the weekend I would go over to Terry’s house for breakfast. His mom would cook fried eggs on bread fried in bacon grease and a large portion of bacon. There was always lots of coffee and great conversation. Terry’s sister taught me how to dance the jive and to slow dance for my senior prom. Terry’s home was like a second home to me and for that short time in high school I felt safe to take risks and follow my many interest.

Following my interests during the final two years of high school did much to keep me out of serious trouble. I was involved in: amateur theater doing set design, character make up for theater groups, and worked as a member of the stage crew for the local amateur ballet company. I had a job after school working at the local television station assisting a puppeteer who had a children’s show. While I was working at channel thirteen I met and became friends with a young man who had a show called Club 13 that was a teen dance show patterned after “Bandstand”. His name was Peter Jennings and he would later help me get adjusted to New York City years later when I moved there. My time at the children’s show ended when the man I was working for attempted to molest me. It took me decades to be able to talk about it or why I so abruptly quit the show. I told no one about what happened as I was so confused.

Staying true, to me seemed to be such a difficult task, as I didn’t know who I was other than a very scared young man. Leaving high school was the biggest change in the last seven years. The future was a big unknown and I could not visualize my future or where it would take me. The adult world was telling me who I should be and that to me was impossible and a mystery. All my logic and analysis of my world was failing me. Attempts to communicate failed and I was not getting through to my parents or teachers with my thoughts, fears, and feelings.

 

© David J. Archer, Sr.

High School of Commerce 1963 Ottawa, Canada
My Class Photo