James Hogsett:  

t down in words what some might not even realize about what high school actually was/is. It's not a scholastic endeavor - it's a social event. First, the trends in attire had to be observed, which was not always easy. For instance, I was unsuccessful at explaining to my parents that I had to have wingtips now after refusing to wear them a few years earlier because they were old-man-shoes. Dressing right was the first step in being cool. Clothing had to be "boss." Then, I had to ignore any wisdom thrown at me from parents, teachers, Mr. Brimhall, etc. That's the second step in being cool. Then, I had to have girlfriends. I had dozens - maybe more than a hundred. Of course, almost none of them knew it. At any given point in time, I had at least one crush in operation. By graduation, half of the girls in the school had been my true soulmates. My two minor daughters both know the steps to be cool. They haven't said so but they pretty regularly make it obvious. Two things have changed: Instead of having a car with the satisfying rumble of a V8, they now have the most irritating buzzing noise of an unmuffled four in some Japanese car that we never heard of. Second, no matter how loud they make that annoying four with its megaphone exhaust pipe, it can barely be heard over the radio. Kids these days! Jeez!