A reminiscence from my senior year of high school. I was more than a bit of a nerd. I had gotten involved with the theatre department, and actually had a role in the senior class production of The Music Man. As a result, I had actually garnered a couple of freshman groupies. But I digress from the story I’m here to tell. This came to my mind late last night, and I had to promise myself I would write it before I could get any sleep. I take those things pretty seriously, being that I am a witch.
Our homecoming game that year (1975) was on Halloween. The school planned a spirit week, including a costume day on Friday the 31st of October. I decided I would dress as a classic vampire: cloak, pale skin, fake teeth, blood dripping from the corner of my mouth. When I got to school that day, I discovered that two of my friends had made the same choice. We spent every spare moment that day hanging together and scaring the girls. I don’t think they were really scared, more startled at the most. But hey, it was Halloween. We had a really fun time that day.
The game was against our cross town rival, so there was a lot of excitement, on both sides. We had attracted the attention of the Principal of the school, not in a bad way. He told us he was worried about the possibility of a “rumble” breaking out at the game, and wanted to have us perform on the sidelines to relieve tensions. In other words, give the students on both sides something to take out their aggressions on in a controlled way. We agreed to do so, and started preparing for that event. We really just needed to refresh makeup, and maybe our slicked back hair.
When we were almost ready, about half an hour before the gates would open for the game, he approached us with a suggestion for an addition to our act. He thought we should carry a fake coffin as we made our rounds on the sidelines. It would be emblazoned with the name of our rival team. We initially agreed. Simple enough to construct a light weight box for that purpose.
Before we had constructed the box, we heard a truly sad piece of news. One of their cheerleaders had been killed that day in an auto accident. Their entire school was obviously grieving. Here’s the incredible bit. Our principal was not deterred at all from his suggestion. He still thought we should do the coffin. We were incredulous, and as one, told him that no way would we do that. I’m sure we lost some value in his eyes.
We did however do the vampire routine for the game. We had fun, and played it up really big. We got to meet cheerleaders for both teams, and hang out with them. It was a blast, but what really struck me was that it was our team’s fans who were obnoxious. They threw sodas and snacks onto the sidelines at us, yelled ugly insults, and were just generally jerks. The visiting team’s fans were friendly and kind. They invited us to sit with their band, and were generally all-around good sports.
I don’t remember if we won the game, because to be honest, sports were never my thing. What I’ll never forget is the general jerkish behavior of both my principal, and my team’s fans. Maybe the visitors would have been less friendly if they hadn’t suffered that loss. Who knows? But I’m not going to forget how that night turned out. I like to think we made a difference, and that the coffin stunt would have been a huge mistake.
An Aging Trans Woman 