Jim Alexander:  

Life Hmmm...where do I start? <br><br> 35 years ago I probably knew you. Whether or not we were friends or hung in the same clique or not is irrelevant...I probably knew you. <br><br> I was talking with one of my neighbors a while ago, and the subject turned to "school subcultures", I'm sure all of you remember them. <br><br> There were seven (7) collective subcultures in the L.A. Unified School District as 'main perceptual anchors'’ of local status systems. Our generation had chosen super-ordinate terms to organize & simplify reference points: Soshes, Stoners, Surfers/Skaters, Low-riders, Rockers, Nerds and Punks. <br><br> We adopted the term "Soshes" as a generic collective for preppies, socialites, collegiates, jocks, shiddities, ivy-leaguers, elites, nine-0'’s, etc.; "Stoners" for greasers, druggies, potheads, hempies, burnouts, gowsters, etc.; "Surfers/Skaters" for the plank-riding population, "Lowriders" for the obvious, "Rockers" for those of us who had progressively musical potential, and "Nerds" for brainiacs, intellectuals, egg heads, geeks, pencil necks, etc. <br><br> Last, but not least were the "Punks", or Alternative Kids - This is the group that got the worst of everything. They generally dressed to match the music they enjoyed listening to and were generall...Expand for more