Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

September is back to school season and although this year will be very different, we are still reminded of our wild and crazy high school days.

Recently I posted a question: mention something you were good at in high school. Comments came from Somerville High School students from the 60’s, 70’s and so on.

I stated that I became pretty good at sneaking over to Nan’s Sub shop across the street. The real challenge was getting back into the building. It involves an unguarded side door and a roll of Certs (onions on your breath was almost as much a dead giveaway as cigarette breath). Anyway, here ya go. In high school I was good at:

“Being late everyday with no detention time, I would sign the last name wrong and the teachers never looked or read it. My last year I was late 122 times!”

“Failing the first three quarters and skipping school and getting suspended (8 times one year for being late) like crazy then showing up and getting honor roll in the 4th quarter to pass for the year. I had the entire SHS system gamed.”

I was good at, “Walking in the front door and immediately out the back! What a handful I was!”

“So many, lol! Never got caught at Nan’s, never got caught with the stamped book of late passes that I scoffed from the front office and I used one pretty much every day, never got caught having lunch in the cafeteria with my friends when I was supposed to be home sick, quit working at McDonalds two months into senior year while under work study, had every afternoon off and still managed to graduate, haha! School was great!”

“I was good at writing book reports about books I never read. Got mostly A’s. lol.”

“I went to Somerville trade, we had coffee and smoke breaks every day. I was good at that.”

“Let’s just say that I am glad there were no cameras around or cellphones when we were growing up!”

“Chewing and hiding my gum in Mr. Gregorio’s class, because if caught he would make u write 100 X’s, I will not chew gum, lmao!”

“I Don’t smoke now but got away stealing drags off cigarettes in the girls’ room. YUK, when I think about it now!”

For me, Jimmy, high school was a mixed bag of good friends, rabble rousing, music classes, and lunch.

One thing I almost forgot. In high school I was good at being at the wrong place at the right time. My sister Christine was a year in front of me and was always there to protect me. Yes, my older sister was pretty tough and always had my back. She was in the class of 1970 and I was in the class of 1971. She was my biggest fan right up until we lost her in 1992. When we got to public school, we were both still drunk with freedom after doing long stretches at Catholic school.

So if there was all this sneaking around, cutting classes, and sitting in detention, what positive things did I learn in high school? I discovered that there were a lot of teachers that really cared about us. They stood out among the bully teachers and administrators that were more like prison guards. There were fun teachers who could command respect while being kind, fun and understanding. Names like Mrs. Carafotes, Mr. Hrubi, Mr. Perno, Mr. Fasciano, Mr. Fedele,  Mr.Lonergan, Mr. Jones, Mr. DaPrato, Mr. Pignatiello, Mr. Gordinier and too many more to list. I thank these teachers that proved that you didn’t have to scare and intimidate kids to earn their friendship and respect.

Good luck to all the returning Somerville students during this trying time. I’m sure you will come away with some memories that will stay with you throughout your entire lives. A word of advice, when you have to do a book report, read the book! And always keep a roll of Certs or Tic Tacs handy.