Rocky, the movie, Embarrassment, First Dates, Rare Wine, and Hickies
A Great way to get a Friday or Saturday Night date. Dec 3rd, 1976, was the first. Issue #33
…ifOnlyi…didn’t have the embarrassment of going to school wearing a Turtleneck in mid-March, I lost so much of my credibility after a winning streak for me at school. And all because of Rocky! I bounced back in time for a date to the prom, even though that was several months later. :-)
Well, Well, Well, the most fantastic opportunity came my way. The Rocky Movie was launching, and I was very excited. Thank God and Sylvester Stallone for that tremendous movie!
Rocky firmly secured its place as one of my all-time favorite movies, and my connection to it runs deep.
It was perfect timing… Just after my first car crash, I asked to use my Dad's Triumph TR-7, a bright yellow car. I needed to go to work, RIGHT!!! “Dad, help me out,” I told him, my voice brimming with excitement and anticipation.
My car was in the repair shop. “No worries,” he replied. “Here’s the key”. Happy Days, I thought!!
Dad had listened to me talk a lot about the new Triumph TR-7 for over a month. I was watching a wonderful, creative TV ad showing the TR-7 driving into a slanted garage! It looked like a big slice of Cheese. The car just slid inside the garage with ease.
My Dad was hooked and decided to buy a yellow TR-7. It was his little friend, and he, too, loved the car. The way it drove and the 5-speed stick shift made it so much fun to drive; in fact, Dad took me out to learn how to drive the car without using the foot brake, just the gears and a balance of clutch and gas to stop the vehicle on hills without brakes.
It was a fun time. Where I grew up, there were plenty of hills to drive on, and I became a better driver because of Dad. He cared enough to go above and beyond what I learned in driver’s ed school.
So now it was my job to keep the TR7 in top beauty and ship shape. I had that car glowing 24/7. As they say, dress to impress, baby, right? I was dedicated to maintaining its pristine condition.
So, car key in hand √
Car buffed and polished. √
The car is filled with super fuel; I charged it to Dad’s account. √
Air freshener √
Get car music set up; remember my Cassette tapes. √
Armor-all one more time, all tires and the Blacktop √
Did I forget to say I had something else planned? A Date!
Was I ready for my date? Let’s go…I was just out of our driveway. Oh no! Wait, run back, open the front gate, sneak into Mom’s wine cabinet in the garage, grab one of those beautiful rare bottles of French red wine, and take the wine opener, too.
I pick up my first of seven “Rocky” dates, and off we go to listen to the waves gently crashing on the rocks and watch the submarine races! Really lol?
Glasses are not needed. It’s fun drinking from the neck of a rare French wine bottle I stole from my Mom’s precious collection. Sitting on the cliff’s edge where no one will ever see us in the dark of night. I hope!
I never considered that my bright yellow car would stand out at night with other vehicles passing by and their headlights right on it. Oh no, would they recognize it was me out there?
WHAT WAS I THINKING?
Everyone in town knew that was our car, and if one of the girl's parents had ever driven by and seen that car on that night I was with their daughter, I promise they would have pushed me off the cliff. Bye-bye, Bye-Bye, Ollie…
I was so stupid sometimes, many more times indeed. Oh, Help!
My dates loved the idea of French red wine, the ocean breeze, sitting on a warm blanket, and then watching ROCKY in the Movie Theatre.
The first time I saw Rocky was terrific; he drank four raw eggs. After using Rocky as my excuse for a great date seven times, I saw him drink 28 raw eggs. Who does that?
I always acted as if this was the first time I saw the film, so I knew this movie inside out; it started getting weird when I suddenly got excited about a part “before” it took place. Ollie, have you seen this before? WHAT? No, this is the first time.
I woke up one Sunday morning, getting ready for breakfast, and went to shower and shave. When I noticed two substantial glowing hickeys on the side of my neck, I screamed, 'WTF! I am going to go down blazing with the school kids.' I was in a state of panic, desperate to find a solution to this embarrassing situation.
I used every single penny I could muster up as fast as possible, and boy, I did some further severe damage. FECK, I kept hearing Mom saying, “Ollie, breakfast is ready.” On my way, I screamed as I rushed, looking left and right and anywhere I could, thinking of a way to hide this beast, even asking for help from God himself.
That’s when I heard a voice in my head say, “ Wear a long-sleeved turtle neck.” I did precisely that, ran to my ski wear in the middle of March. Oh yeah! This Sunday was warm outside as it rarely rains in southern California, hahaha. I stole that from Glen Campbell. All of a sudden, within seconds, it seemed like all eight (8) eyeballs were directly on MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE: Mom, Dad, and my two sisters.
What the hell are you wearing a turtleneck in this weather for Ollie… Mom was grinding me for answers. She must have known I was hiding this glorious beast of a hickie under the turtleneck. Let's see, she kept on me over and over.
Dad was quietly sitting there, minding his business, with a snigger or two, thoughtfully ignoring my humiliation. I hoped my two younger sisters would not rub it in, but one of them did, and now two women were firing at me simultaneously. Let's see, let's see, Ollie!
I decided it was best to finish breakfast and run, run, run, hoping that this penny thing I did would kick in and the hickie would go away by the following morning before I had to go to school.
Now it’s Monday, and I’m off to school, flipping and wearing the same ski turtleneck, and it’s still March.
This one left-sided Hickey caused me minutes of pleasure but days of pain and embarrassment. It indeed was, for me, a pleasure, but those few minutes were not worth the weeks of pain for me. OLLIE.
The cheerleaders kept coming to the tennis court where I would play, and one by one, they asked why I wore the turtleneck playing my matches; it became the joke of the school, and I was it!
Now I felt like Rocky: from unforgettable punches in the ring to the inspiring journey of an underdog, his story captivated me like no other film. That means we were both beat up pretty well.
...ifOnlyi... short stories are published chronologically and follow my life growing up in California from 4 years old. If you’ve just found me, the stories will come together when you start reading from….Issue #1