And that was just the first day! This was a whole new world being opened up to me.
I attended Calle Mayor Elementary School. The Principal, Mr. Papadakis, had been Penny’s kindergarten teacher. That shows you just how deep the Leonard roots were in Torrance. Stacy and Kelly were still at Calle Mayor when I started. But I never walked to school with my sisters. I always walked with Kathy Nix. She lived two doors down on Zakon Road and had been born just six months after me. We were the best of friends.
Along the path to school were honeysuckle bushes dangling over a neighbors’ fence. We would stop and pick one every morning just to suck out the sweet nectar. We were told to always use the cross walk, but that meant having to pass the school first, then back tracking. So sometimes, okay, mostly always, we were naughty and would jay walk across Calle Mayor Boulevard so we could get to school quicker.
Show and Tell was a big part of kindergarten for me. I looked forward to my turn every week. Being the loud, outspoken child that I was, it was my chance to be in the limelight, and I loved it. I tried to think of bigger and better things. I liked trying to out do the others in class, a habit I still kind of retain to this day. So when my sister Stacy was soooo excited about buying her new bra, I figured the kindergartners would be thrilled as well.
I confiscated the bra early one morning with great anticipation of the oohs and ahhs I would get. I wore it discreetly under my own shirt and headed off for school. When it was my turn, I stood proudly in front of the class and announced that my sister had just bought a new bra…then pulled my own shirt over my head to display it. No such adoration was received.
I was swept away to Mr. Papadakis’ office before I knew what hit me. Stacy was summoned to the office and told to take me home immediately. I don’t know if Stacy still remembers this, but at the time she seemed definitely scarred. It did not bode well for Stacy when her friends found out why she had been whisked away from her fifth grade class in the middle of the day. I received a really good tongue lashing all the way home.
Some brief memories of kindergarten are also of the girl who would hang upside down on the monkey bars…without any panties on. And playing kissy tag with the boys. I especially remember chasing Donny Maurer around. But when I caught him, I never had the nerve to actually kiss him. And this from the girl who didn’t mind wearing her sisters bra!
When the school science fair came around, I wanted to participate. So I did the experiment about burning a paper towel inside a mayonnaise jar. By putting the lid on, the fire would extinguish, thus proving fire needed oxygen to burn. I was so proud. I took first place in my grade. The blue ribbon was presented to me during flag ceremony. The whole school was there to watch. I proudly wore the ribbon all day. And the fact that I was the only one who entered a project from kindergarten didn’t diminish my pride one bit.