On The Run But No Fun ...

I was a good boy as a teenager living in Beaumont back in the 1950s. No smoking. No drinking. No dancing. No promiscuous activities. Good grief … Nothing …

You see, our family lived in a glass house. Dad was a prominent C.P.A. with offices in downtown Beaumont. Also he was a strong leader (Elder) with the South Park Church of Christ.

My mother was a popular Sunday School teacher at church and also a substitute teacher for Giles Elementary School. She was active in the P. T. A. and local politics. Every time Ted Walker, Sr. ran for some local political office, my mother would knock doors handing out brochures supporting Walker. She even put signs on the side of our car and drove around South Park honking the horn.

Then there was my sister. Ann Lowell was four years ahead of me in school. She was popular with the boys and had an impeccable reputation. She was a member of the South Park High School Cadets Drum and Bugle Corp. She sang with the Melody Maids. She made excellent grades in school. I never knew her to do anything the least bit wrong. Well, she did take me riding in our dad’s new 1950 Olds Super 88. Several times, we hit 60 mph on Elgie Street. She made me promise never to tell anyone. So since I promised not to say anything, I have to write it. I never promised not to write it.

And then there was me. I really wanted to try some daring things but refrained from doing so for the sake of our family name. But some of my friends and I managed to pull some little stunts just to say we had done something “bad.”

One night, Linda and I decided to go parking out in the Spindletop Oil Field. Spindletop had a reputation for being a lovers’ lane. It was not considered proper to go parking anywhere but especially at Spindletop. Linda and I wanted to pull a stunt that we could be proud of. So, we parked at Spindletop. For about two minutes. It was so dark out in the oil field that we became scared and immediately headed back to civilization. Linda was so thrilled that we had parked even for two minutes that she bragged to her older sister who told their mother. Their mom gave me a good “talking to” the next time I was there. She told me that if I had to park in the car at night with her daughter to do so in their driveway. I felt pretty embarrassed about getting “chewed out” by my girl friend’s mother. Linda thought it was funny.

My junior year in South Park High saw another “bad” highlight. On the night of the junior-senior prom, Mary and I tripled dated with Jimmy, Joy and another couple. After the movie, since we did not dance, we loaded up in my dad’s Oldsmobile. We didn’t know where we were going but it was our special night to stay out really late. So, what boast-worthy action could we do without really doing anything sordid?

We three guys decided it would be really sophisticated to take the underage girls across the state line. Actually, we three guys also were underage. So, we drove to Orange on highway 90 and crossed over the Sabine River bridge into Louisiana. That was not too exciting. Everyone went to sleep but me and I had to drive.

Anyway, it was fun being a wicked teenager growing up in Beaumont during the 1950s. I may work up the nerve to confess other horrible deeds at a later time.

Winston Hamby
The Beaumont Enterprise
WinHamby@gmail.com