(Future callings were: avionics engineer, instructional designer and naval officer.)
No spring chicken,
The plot does thicken,
Makes the heart quicken,
To be told before I sicken.
Long before Frank…
Rat pack, no rank,
Famous anonymous prank,
Painted the Puyallup River bank (1957).
Cruised "Bushes" in squads,
Drooling over the "rods."
Young folks at odds,
Hoping not to be clods.
With Skip, Judy, and Mary,
Friends growing up, scary.
Acceptable logistics, hairy,
Overseers always wary.
Teenagers, hormones raging,
Not afraid of aging,
Futures just staging,
Serious, not engaging.
After the prom, minus two o'clock,
No fear, at "Johnny's Dock,"
Still in ceremonial frock,
Safe ending, a shock?
After graduation, one last time,
In a cool pacific clime,
Revisit the coast, how sublime,
Hurry, make it afore daytime.
Swimming in the Pacific,
38°F numbing, non-specific,
Beyond that, not scientific,
Years later, "wow" terrific!
Smoked fish in the bush,
Friends left with a whoosh.
A friendly ambush,
Or a stab in the tush?
And by the way.....
What happened to La Push?
research mathematician and school principal)