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One night last week, I googled the name of one of my high school friends just to see if I could find her online, and I did. But not only did I find her, I was also led to our high school yearbook on a website called, Classmates

And there it was, the cover of my high school yearbook, PAW '74 (which is the screenshot you see above). As soon as I found it, I immediately signed up so that I could look through the pages on their website because I had lost my own yearbook when I was living in New York and moved back to Florida. And if you knew me when I was a senior in high school, you would know how much I cherished my yearbook because my senior year was the best year I ever had in school.

I will be forever grateful to my parents for moving to Florida in 1973 because my life went through a complete shift, in which I finally began to blossom and came into my own.

Although I no longer live there, Florida will always have a very special place in my heart because it gave me not only incredible opportunities for growth, but many long-lasting friendships as well. 

So without further ado, please allow me to share some screenshots of my high school yearbook. And I apologize in advance for posting so many photos, but I just couldn't help myself, there were so many things I wanted to share.

PAW '74

Our high school mascot was the bobcat. Thus, we were known as the Boca Bobcats.



Our high school senior theme song was Seals & Crofts, We May Never Pass This Way Again. To this very day, whenever I hear that song, it brings back such warm memories. 


My senior photo page.
Can you find me?
*hint: I'm the one with the bushy eyebrows


Here is a closeup...

And please notice the quote I shared after my name, "I feel as though my life has been a complete waste." WTF does that even mean?!? I can't remember why I ever wrote that. Perhaps it was a line from a movie or a book I read?!? Or perhaps I was just being dramatic. But I think it's hysterical considering that I was only 17-years old at the time; therefore, I was just beginning to live my life. LOL!


These next several yearbook photos (with dots) were close friends of mine. Please observe the hairstyles back then. Many of the guys had longish hair, and many of the girls had their hair parted in the middle. That was sooooooo 70's!






Russ Wilson (a multi-talented guy) and I reconnected many years ago and still touch base every so often. We follow each other on Instagram...


Senior Superlatives...


Back when I was in school, we said the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. However today, that's a big no-no because it might offend someone by being politically incorrect. So it's been cancelled, like Dr. Seuss, Harry Potter, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.


Do any of you all remember Pep Rallies?...


Our Boca High School Principal and Assistant Principals...


Our Teachers
 
And specifically my English/Drama teacher, Mrs. Magnuson, who I owe a lot to because she was the one who suggested that I audition for The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City to study to be a professional actor. Which I did. And I was accepted. Thank you, Mrs. M, wherever you are!


And speaking of acting, I was a member of the Boca High Players...


Here I am with the cast of, "The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis", in which I played Dobie Gillis. It was my very first lead role in the theater...


Here I am as a lifeguard in the one-act play, "Lifeguards"...


A closeup in which I look possessed, as if I'm going to stab someone with that pencil in my hand..


And last, but not least. An ad for, Boca Pizzeria, a restaurant that my high school friends and I would frequent every week. They had the BEST pizza! And they also had a jukebox in which we'd listen to all our favorite tunes while eating that delicious pizza...


Thanks so much for taking this trip to my Boca Raton High School days! 
Have a superb week, everyone! 💗

26 comments:

  1. http://ladyfi.wordpress.comWednesday, March 17, 2021

    Wow - what a treasure trove!

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  2. I know, I felt as though I had struck GOLD! And it's funny, because even seeing the faces of all the other students who I shared my senior year with, and who I was not that close with, I immediately remembered their faces and interactions I had with them.

    Thanks so much for stopping by, Fiona! Have a terrific rest of your week!
    X

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  3. Omg, I’m so excited for you that you found this! I still have mine and I study it right before I go to a reunion. We have a big one this summer! I’ll have to get cracking! We also had senior superlatives and I do remember pep rallies. I’m glad you were able to find some classmates online. That is one thing I like about Facebook. I enjoyed seeing your pictures, esp. the drama club ones. Is Boca Pizzeria still there? Our hangout was a drive in burger place which is still thriving. My fave memory is when one of my best friends didn’t have money for a tip, so she gave the guy a bunch of candy from her purse. Cracked me up! Thanks for taking us down your memory lane, Ron!

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  4. Oh Ron, what a FUN post! Even as a 17 year old, you were so handsome. And I think I remember a post you shared several years ago about attending The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Am I correct? Isn't it funny to look back and see the different hair and clothes styles? Even though I was born then, I have such an attraction to the 60's and the 70's.

    Thanks so much for sharing your yearbook discovery with us, Ron! Isn't it something how many things you can find online? What did we ever do before GOOGLE? xo

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  5. I know, me too! I was so damn excited when I found the website because if you signed up (for free) it enabled you to actually look at every page of the yearbook. OMG...I had so much fun! When I moved back to Florida after living in New York City for many years, I somehow lost my yearbook and didn't realize it until I moved back and went through my things. Bummer!

    " I study it right before I go to a reunion. We have a big one this summer! I’ll have to get cracking!"


    That is so cool! The only reunion I went to was my 10th. And it was so much fun!

    It wasn't until I saw the Super Superlative page, did I even remember that. What stood out for me was the "Favorite Senior Couple" because they also we elected "Senior Prom King and Queen!"

    No, Boca Pizzeria is no longer there. I drove by it years ago, when I went back to visit my family in 2012, just to see if it was still there. It is now an Indian (India) Restaurant.

    "My fave memory is when one of my best friends didn’t have money for a tip, so she gave the guy a bunch of candy from her purse. Cracked me up! "

    OMG...that's PRICELESS!!!!

    Thanks so much for stopping by, my friend. Have a faaaaaaaabulous rest of your week!

    X

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  6. Hey there Candice!

    Aw...thank you.

    And YES, you are absolutely correct, I did share a post about attending The American Academy of Dramatic Arts! Great memory you have!

    "Isn't it funny to look back and see the different hair and clothes styles? Even though I was born then, I have such an attraction to the 60's and the 70's"

    Yes, it is. I loved the bellbottom pants and the platform shoes! I had TWO pairs of platform shoes. One was burgundy, and the other was orange. Yes...ORANGE! LOL!

    I said the same thing to someone, what the hell did we do before Google?!? I love that we can just whip out our smartphones and search for something, and VIOLA...there it is!

    Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a terrific Wednesday and rest of your week!

    X

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  7. Ron, no need to apologize for the abundnce of photos, they were all (in your word) faaaaaaaaabulous! I'm at work right now, taking a break, so I took my time scrolling through each photo savoring them, AND your narrative. You cracked me up about the photo of you as a lifeguard LOL!!!

    My eyes immediately went to the fashion and style back then. Yes you're right, sooooooo 70's! Especially the hair!

    Did you ever attend a reunion at your high school? I never went to mine because I had already moved to another state. I think they had a 5 and a 10.

    I love what you shared about your parents moving to Florida and your life shifting. That is so awesome. And I can tell from your words that you loved your senior year and the time you spent in the Sunshine State!

    Thank you for sharing, sir! I may have to check out the Classmates website to see if I can find mine. xo

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  8. Ron, you and I were a year apart, I graduated in 1975. What fun it was to look at these pictures from your yearbook! Love the hairstyles back then. I was born with very curly hair and always hated it because I wanted that stick-straight, parted down the middle style that all the other girls had. I wanted to look like CHER and be able to flip it back like she always did on the Sonny and Cher Show!

    I lost my yearbook too. I don't know whether it got lost in the shuffle of our move, or that I accidentally tossed it out myself when I was sorting things to take or not take when we moved. I'm going to see if I can find my yearbook on the website you shared.

    "However today, that's a big no-no because it might offend someone by being politically incorrect. So it's been cancelled, like Dr. Seuss, Harry Potter, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." LOL! You got that right. So many things are being cancelled (wiped away), as if they never existed. I'm so happy that I grew up when I did.

    Entertaining post, Ron. And I'm so impressed that you were Dobie Gillis in "The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis." I remember watching that show when I was a teen. X

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  9. Wow! What a great trip down memory lane. These are such treasured memories. And, knowing you now, I wondered about that senior quote! I did pick you out almost immediately. Some features don't change. 🙂 I graduated in '76 so I can relate to a lot of the styles in these photos. Having been a "rah-rah" I do remember pep rallies and spent some time in drama; backstage in props for a drama called David and Lisa and as part of the ensemble in the musical, Pajama Game. Thanks for sharing another piece of your past. Sharing these things gives bloggy friendships so much more depth. I suddenly have a desire to dig out my old yearbooks now! But I can probably do without recycling some of these styles. X

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  10. Hola Denise!

    So glad you enjoyed the photos. I was a bit concerned that I had posted WAY too many. But I was so excited to find my old yearbook online that I had a hard time decided which pictures to use and not use. I actually had more than this planned to post, but deleted about 5.

    Isn't funny how when you grow up in a particular time period, you don't really appreciate how cool it was until many years later, when you look back.

    "Did you ever attend a reunion at your high school? I never went to mine because I had already moved to another state. I think they had a 5 and a 10."

    Yes, I attended my 10-year reunion and it was so much fun. At that time, I was still living in Florida, but in Orlando. So, I just drove back for the weekend. But I didn't attend any other reunions after that.

    I will be FOREVER grateful for parents moving to Florida because it have a HUGE impact on me. Moving there literally changed my whole life. And not just as far as a new location, but also it changed something inside me that allowed me to blossom!

    Yes, so check out that website. It's free. All you have to do is enter your name, school, and year that you graduated.

    Thanks so much for stopping by, girl. Have a grrrrrrrrrrreat rest of your week!

    X

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  11. Helloooooooooooooo Elaine!

    WOW, you graduated in 1975?!?! That's only one year after me!

    "I was born with very curly hair and always hated it because I wanted that stick-straight, parted down the middle style that all the other girls had. I wanted to look like CHER and be able to flip it back like she always did on the Sonny and Cher Show!"

    OMG, that made me HOWL with laughter because so many of the girls I grew up with who had curly hair used to say the same thing....CHER!!! And just it's funny because when I went to cosmetology school and got my license, curly hair was my favorite hair to cut and style. I LOVE curly/wavy hair. But the majority of women who have curly hair, love to use a straightening iron on it because they all want that straight hair look.

    "So many things are being cancelled (wiped away), as if they never existed. I'm so happy that I grew up when I did."

    Yes, so am I. And I am so over the whole cancel culture thing.

    I too used to watch, "The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis" when I was a teen! Dwayne Hickman as Dobie!

    Thanks so much for stopping by, neighbor. Have a great rest of your week!

    X

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  12. Hey there Lisa!

    I know, when I read that quote, I was flabbergasted by what I said! And honestly can't recall why I wrote that?

    You're right, there are certain features that don't change when it comes to our face. When I was a kid, people used to say that I looked exactly like my father. But then other people used to say that I looked exactly like my mother. But what I think is that I looked exactly like both of them -- the top part of my face is my father and the bottom have is my mother. And I think that's WHY people said that. It all depended on what part of my face they were looking at.

    "and as part of the ensemble in the musical, Pajama Game"

    OMG...I LOVE that musical! And I also love the movie version as well! What a classic!

    I was BEYOND happy to discover my yearbook online because I always felt a loss in losing my own copy. And it wasn't just because of the yearbook itself, it was more about losing all the personal things that people wrote inside the yearbook when I had them sign it.

    Thanks so much for stopping by, my friend. Have a faaaaabulous Wednesday!
    X

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  13. Ron, I was born in the wrong era. I should have been born in the 60's so that I could experience the 70's because I love that period. I don't know why, but I've always been attracted to music, style, and the whole 70's attitude. I remember you sharing a post a while back about living in NYC in the 70's and how creative and bohemian it was.

    These screenshots of your yearbook are so damn cool! And like your other reader said, I picked you out. It's your eyes. Both my girlfriend and I immediately said about your theater photos, "Yeah, you can tell he was actor!" Do you ever miss it? Do you ever think you'd go back to it someday? It sounds like something you were passionate about.

    Great post, dude! You make me wish that I had gotten a yearbook when I was a senior. However, I did get high school ring. Did you get one?

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  14. Those were the days for sure, Ron, and everyone was SO much younger and all that hair too! My high school days were not the happiest aside from a few friends, 3 of whom I am still in contact with today even though we live in different states. I discarded my high school year book a few years ago which really didn't upset me at all. It's obvious that you have some very good memories and your excitement at seeing your yearbook showed in this post, so good for you!

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  15. Love this. I still have actual physical copies of my high school yearbooks, though I haven't opened them in a long time. Sometimes the past is better left behind, lol.

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  16. Hiya Matt!

    I feel that way too. I am so attracted to the 30's and 40's. LOVE the music, the style, the cars, etc.

    Yes, New York City in the 70's was filled with so much creative energy. And I think much of that was due to the fact the city was going though a financial struggle and turmoil, which spurred more creativity out of lack of everything else. It was a wonderful dichotomy of the best and the worst of everything!

    Yes, to be honest, I do miss the theater at times. And I have feeling in my gut that I will get involved again in the future. In fact, I was talking to one of my acting friends who lives in Florida in January, and I mentioned that to her. I just feel it.

    "However, I did get high school ring. Did you get one?"


    Yup...I sure did! I got in in my Junior year, right before my family moved to Florida. It was a gold ring with a topaz stone. Unfortunately, I ended up giving it to my partner at the time I was living in New York. So now he has it. I mean, I assume he still does?!?

    Thanks so much for stopping by, my friend. Have a most excellent rest of your week!

    X

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  17. Hey there D!

    Yes, all that hair is right. HA! It was like everyone had loooooong hair.

    My high school days were not the happiest either. In fact, they sucked. However, it was only in my senior year did have a GREAT year. And much of that had to do with my family moving to Florida, because it felt like a fresh start for me. I literally felt as though I had blossomed. But from 1st grade to 11th? Those were school years I wouldn't ever want to go through again.

    Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you're having a great week and enjoying the start of Spring!

    X

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  18. Wow...that's AWESOME, Mark! I'm not normally a collector of things, however, my yearbook was something that always felt special to me because of all things that were handwritten from my fellow-students. It was very sentimental.

    Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you're enjoying a faaaaaaaabulous week so far!

    X to you and Tara!

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  19. Yes, Ron, that's right, Dobie Gillis was played by Dwayne Hickman, Good memory! And that was right around the time, "The Patty Duke Show" was on. Remember that one?

    Over the years, I've learn to embrace my curly hair because I see how much easier it is to care for. Just wash and wear.

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  20. OMG, yes, LOVED The Patty Duke Show! And I clearly remember the opening theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KQRPFJypBU

    And good for you for embracing your curly hair!!!

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  21. Wow, Ron, you must feel like an archeologist digging through your own past! All those faces, places, and memories!

    You played Dobie Gillis?!? Awesome! And I love the Lifeguard shot, although that pencil is a little weird. Was your character doing a crossword puzzle?

    It's so strange that these events can seem both distant and fresh at the same time. These things happened decades ago, and yet you can recall them so easily.

    I have no idea where my high school yearbook is and I'd just as soon keep it that way.

    And your whole life has been a waste?!? What the hell?! You must have been wasted when you wrote that!

    Thanks for the memories, buddy!

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  22. Hey there Rob!

    "It's so strange that these events can seem both distant and fresh at the same time. These things happened decades ago, and yet you can recall them so easily."


    Yes! And do you know what I found extremely interesting? As I was looking through each page of senior photos, I would have these moments when I would see someone's face who I wasn't particularly close to or friends with, yet I would remember times when I saw them in the halls while we were changing classes, or in the cafeteria eating lunch.

    "And I love the Lifeguard shot, although that pencil is a little weird. Was your character doing a crossword puzzle?"

    OMG that made me laugh out loud! And I have NO idea WHY the hell I was holding pencil in that photo?!?! Perhaps I was writing something down on a pad? Yet, I see no pad in the photo. Strange, isn't it?

    I know, when I read that quote in my photo bio, I though, "Why did I say that?!? You're right, I must have been wasted. LOL!!

    Thanks so much for stopping by, buddy! I always enjoy your humor! Have a great rest of your week!

    X

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  23. Ron, in your list of cancelled books, you forgot to mention Where's Waldo, The Giving Tree, and James and the Giant Peach because they are extremely offensive. LOL! Sorry, I just couldn't resist. Have you ever seen anything so ludicrious as to what is going on with the cancel culture?

    Anyway, moving on! FANTASTIC post! What a trip is must have been to find your yearbook and look through all the pages of photographs. I don't know whatever happened to my yearbook. I most likely lost it when I moved twice in one year!

    Sounds like you had a great senior year. And it must have been great to live in Florida. How long were you there?

    Thanks for sharing, Ron!

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  24. Howdy Daniel!

    "...you forgot to mention Where's Waldo, The Giving Tree, and James and the Giant Peach because they are extremely offensive. LOL!"

    OMG, that made me laugh my ass off! And how true; particularly "Where's Waldo"...LOL! And yes, ludicrous indeed. Insanely so.

    Thanks. Yes, I had an AWESOME senior year. Without a doubt, the BEST of all my 12 years in school. I loved living in Florida for the time that I was there. I was there for 20 years -- 5 years in Boca and 15 years in Orlando. I just got tired of the constant heat and humidity, so I moved back to the northeast

    Thanks so much for stopping by, my friend. Always great to see your comments. Have a great weekend!
    X

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  25. Ron, what a find! Don't you just love those "old-timey" clothes and hairstyles?!? I'm struck by how young your English/Drama teacher looked -- what a blessing, having a teacher identify a talent in you and encourage you to follow your passion. I hope she knows how appreciative you are for that!


    I'm still giggling over your description of you as lifeguard -- yes, you're right ... you DO look as if you're waiting to stab somebody with that pencil, ha! And I'm particularly enamored of your school's old band pictures. Boy, do they bring back memories of when I was in high school band!


    I've missing blogging, but it's been a break I needed. Hope you're having a super Sunday! xo

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  26. Hey there Debbie!

    Yes! It's such a hoot to look at the old-timey clothes and hairstyles because back then it was in "in" thing for that time period.

    "I'm struck by how young your English/Drama teacher looked -- what a blessing, having a teacher identify a talent in you and encourage you to follow your passion. I hope she knows how appreciative you are for that!"

    I know, I was SO blessed to have had her as my teacher because she was really looking out for me. And when I told my parents how she thought I'd have a chance to get into that school, they took it seriously and allowed me to audition. If it wasn't for her, I would have never known about that school. And she was such a cool lady. In fact, after I graduated and moved to NYC, whenever I would come back to Florida to be with my family at Christmas time, she and I would get together and hang out. So we became friends.

    "And I'm particularly enamored of your school's old band pictures. Boy, do they bring back memories of when I was in high school band!"

    Ha! Yes, I had a feel you would love the band pictures because of your involvement with the band you play in now. My older brother (who played the trumpet) was in his high school band.

    Thanks so much for stopping by, my friend. It's soooooooooooooo great to see you back blogging. You've been missed!

    X

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