Band, Basketball, and Bookworm

 

The very first extra-curricular activity that I participated in was the Jr High School Band program.  We started out during the summer before our 7th grade year by attending beginning sectional classes once or twice a week for an hour and gradually moved into meeting together with the entire band class, if I remember correctly.  I chose to learn to play the flute, and was very fortunate to have my parents purchase a flute for me to use, which I still have. During Jr High school we mainly performed  in several concerts each school year, and then in 9th grade we were able to participate with the Marching Band/Concert Band.  After my 9th grade year I chose to give up band class since it conflicted with another class I wanted to take, so I only participated with the marching band that performed in local  parades in the summer and during football and basketball games during the school year for that one year.   

Growing up in a small town, the local high school sports teams attracted quite the attendance at the regular Friday night games, especially during the football and basketball seasons  I attended games for both sports with my friends and siblings, but preferred Basketball over Football, probably because of the fast pace of the game.    People in town would joke that during the state championship playoffs the town would be so empty of people going to the city for the games that the town would completely shut down and they would roll up the streets!   I enjoyed watching the Basketball games, but I didn't really enjoy playing the sport myself.  I did play during gym class and tried to learn the basics.  WE also had a sports program at church, and I did play church basketball during junior high, but always felt that I was not a very good player, and was so nervous about letting down my team that I finally convinced my parents that I was ok to not play church ball.

I always have been just a bit of a bookworm, and that didn't change once I entered Jr High.  In fact, it might have gotten even worse during those years of insecurity and adjusting to life in a small town high school where everyone knew everyone else, and 7th graders were nervous walking down the hall that housed the upperclassmen lockers.  It was also exciting to have full access to the high school library and so many more books that we had at the elementary school library.  Biographies and historical fiction have always been among my favorites.  My best friend was a big fan of Louis Lamour, and the Black Stallion series.  I read a few of those, but I tended more towards books like the Shoe Books, or Christian romances and fiction.   My parents and siblings also were readers, especially my Mom, and our home was filled with books of all kinds, we subscribed to the Reader's Digest Condensed books, and almost always received books for birthdays and Christmas.  We also had the scholastic book club offerings in our English and Reading classes, and I almost always bought a new paper back book or two each time they came out.  After our parents passed away several years ago, one of the biggest jobs was sorting through all of their books and dividing them up between my siblings and I.  Needless to say, I still have many of these same books that I enjoyed reading all of those years ago, including some that had originally belonged to my grandparents, including several by Gene Stratton Porter, and Janice Holt Giles. 

How about you?   Did you participate in Band or Basketball during your school years?   Would you consider  yourself a Bookworm?   What were some of your favorite books or authors during your high school years?