PS: Next week I will post a photo of me as a cheerleader. I don’t have access to it at the moment. I hope I can find it.
What wonderful weather comes with the autumnal equinox. Warm sunny afternoons and chill evenings, just right for bonfires.
With the changing season comes school. With school, there are football games. With football games, there are cheerleaders. With all that, there’s homecoming.
My granddaughter is on the Huron Tigers cheer team, so it seemed natural to spend a week in South Dakota and cheer her on.
And, guess what? I was a cheerleader. Not for long, but I gave it a go.
I remember one homecoming in Gackle. I can’t pinpoint the year, but I must have been at least a freshman. There was this friend of mine. One of those lifelong, don’t need anytime to catch up, no matter how long between phone calls friends. It wasn’t a date, but we did hang out together that evening, for a while anyway, and then… the unthinkable.
Strangely enough, I remember first and foremost how I talked my sister out of a pair of shoes she had just gotten. Things were different back then. It’s not like we had more than one or two pairs of shoes outside of gym shoes, which could never be worn on the street.
Why would I do that? Well, they had a heel. By heel, I mean about one inch. It would be the first pair of shoes with a “high” heel between the two of us. Today, I feel some remorse and guilt for wearing her new shoes before she could, for all things, homecoming.
Homecoming in those days involved several outdoor activities in addition to the football game. There was a bonfire. A huge bonfire at the ball diamond. Then there was a snake dance.
For those who don’t remember, a snake dance involves holding hands and weaving a path from the bonfire to the school for the homecoming dance. Can you imagine me needing a pair of “heels” to do a snake dance?
What greater joy than the feeling of Fall’s cool nights and the joy of being carefree to run about the entire town, laughing and shouting all the way.
Why does this particular homecoming memory remain embedded in my brain? It was the night my friend’s dad was killed in a car accident, cutting our evening short. In a community of 500 people plus a rural population, news traveled fast. Death affected everyone.
And, sadly, my friend Larry passed away in 2014. Seems like just yesterday we were young and full of life. I miss him and wish we had stayed closer over the years. Lessons learned. It’s a gift to be here and experience homecoming again. And, Huron’s colors are orange and black, just like the Gackle Orioles.
Today promises to be the beginning of a delightful week of dress-up days at school, cheer competitions, good food, and walks in the sunshine.
Oh, to be young again and hang out with school friends. It must be God’s plan that grandparents can relive the feelings of Fall through their grandchildren, observing from a distance and noticing emotions missed while raising their own children.
Here’s to beautiful fall weather. Go Tigers.
INDYchildrendotme 
Leave a comment