Those sultry Newark summer nights were
just made for first kisses and puppy love.
When was it that you first "went out" with someone,
maybe the 8th grade or early high school? Can you remember his or
her name? Sure you can; and probably all the awkward moments that
went along with it. We all started learning about relationships
and how to act......or maybe not act.
That first kiss could have been a front porch kiss, or maybe one
under a nice big shady tree as dusk was just about turning into
night. Perhaps there was the scent of honeysuckle or jasmine in
the warm air to give that night an extra special meaning.
Maybe it happened at the local candy store soda fountain, or maybe
in a booth?
You could have stolen that first kiss under the artificial moon
of an old fashioned Newark streetlight-right out there for everyone
to see. Were you that brave?
Or maybe you planted a smooch on your girl at a dance in your
school gym, or after a CYO social on a Friday night. Could have
been at a friend's house party or a Holiday season get-together.
Might even have been a "spin the bottle" session too--that's
where mine happened.
I remember mine. It was Christmas time at my friend’s house,
over on 4th Street, playing spin the bottle. We almost wore a bare
spot in the living room rug with that old Coke bottle. It was smokin’
when we were through! Still think about that first kiss, trembling
lips, and pounding heart.
Sometimes it happened in the back row or balcony of a movie theater.
Could have been something that just sort of happened while walking
someone home.
Ever steal a kiss at your girl’s high school book locker?
Maybe you did it on a dare......but you did it and so did most
of us...and we survived to want to do it again.
Once you did it, you didn't feel weird about it anymore. You just
wanted to pucker up and give it another try. That's the signal.
When you would rather smooch than play ball or hang around with
the guys, you started growing up.
Did you have a favorite girl’s perfume? That always made
the kisses seem better. Me, I liked the smell of Cotillion. It always
got my attention.
Ever get caught kissing by either your parents or maybe your partner's
parents? So what colors did you turn?
I dated a girl in high school who's mother periodically yelled
from the kitchen to us in the living room, "Let's hear some
whistling and hand clapping in there!"
Rides in your old jalopy with your best girl squeezed up close….remember
those? Who needed seat belts when all you did was cruise Bloomfield
Avenue and steal kisses all night.
Ever go to a favorite diner and seat together on the same side,
kissing between bites and slurps of a soda or malted. The waitress
probably just rolled her eyes, or if she was young enough, sat there
remembering doing the same thing.
Ever have an ice-cream kiss-where both of you get to taste the
other’s flavor?
What did you prefer---plain lip kisses or lipstick kisses?
And then there were prom kisses, a whole special class of kiss,
for the experienced and erudite practitioner of “smoochery”.
Kids don’t seem to date with intensity any more. They go
places in a sort of mob or group-seeming reluctant to pair off.
Maybe it’s a rebellion against commitment, or some such thing.
Saturday night for us was the night of nights. If you did not
have a date or a best girl, you were lower than “you know
what” in the deep blue sea.
I noticed the young kids dance weird too. Looks almost like a
tribal ritual, with arms and legs flying around. Can’t tell
if anyone even has a partner. I remember living for the slow dances
with the check-to-check stuff, and maybe both arms around your partner.
Where did that stuff go?
Give me that old 3 and 4-chord progression rock and roll guitar
music anytime. It takes me back to innocent days. I remember it
like it was yesterday…..my first kiss….Judy was her
name …..no, Lena….. no, it was definitely Linda….wait……it
could have been Diane…….oh heck, it was somebody!
|
