Thursday, May 29, 2008

That Yellow Line!

Family photo (Hawaii for Easter 2008)
This is my first blog ever so please be kind!

First off I felt the great need to post something on this site since only one woman from our class (Nisa) has done so (and I'm impressed since Nisa created a whole site of her own!). It is time, however, that more of the women from our class posted directly to the site. 4o years ago we had a lot to say (I don't think I was the only one who got poor conduct grades) and I hope we still do.

But back to that yellow line. I know back in the day it didn't bother me too much and it seemed to make some sense. (After all the guys were rowdier than we were back then.) However, once I got to high school and got to play basketball I realized how much fun it would have been if we too could have had basketball hoops on our side of the line too. And it wasn't until many years later when I was doing my third year paper in law school on Title IX that it occurred to me that we were also deprived of the opportunity to play lots of sports when we were little girls (notice the guys can talk about their CYO friends from back in the day - we didn't have CYO for girls back then). Anyway, I am glad the yellow line is gone and I am glad that times have changed. My daughter's friends (she is a senior in HS right now) used to laugh when I would tell them about the "old days" and the yellow line and that girls could not play basketball back when I was growing up because it was too physical for girls. My daughter has played sports since she was six years old and next year will get to play volleyball and basketball in college (only at the Division III level - she unfortunately is my kid and wasn't born with the genes to play at the Division I level).


And I keep trying to remember what we girls did on our side of the yellow line. Of course I only had 4 years at OLPH. I remember volleyball and four square (okay so we did get to play with a ball) and hopscotch. I remember lots of talking. (Little did I know what all the guys were up to on their side of the line.) We had lots of slumber parties and for many of us Girl Scouts. Were we boring? I can't remember!


For those I haven't been in touch with at all through the years, I went on to St John's after OLPH (go Class of 73 from SJU -which includes a number of our classmates), then on to Cal (where I was roommates with Donna Abrahamsohn) and then on to Harvard Law. I practiced law in San Francisco for about 24 years before I quit law firm life. I got married about 25 years ago (upcoming 25th wedding anniversary this summer) to a lawyer I worked with and have two kids. My son is a junior in college down in Southern California and my baby goes off to Philadelphia for college in August. We live in Oakland. This next year, as an empty nester, I will need to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life (definitely not law firm life!). (Wow, a whole life in one paragraph).

So hi to all of you. I will be sending emails. It's hard to believe that I have gone so many years without even talking to people who were my whole life back in the day.

Rick (see I can say Rick!), thanks for starting us all off. It is truly a gift.

Twila (still go by Foster)





6 comments:

Genise aka Nisa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Genise aka Nisa said...

Hi Twila -
Thank you so much for posting!
You have a beautiful family!
I liked to play hopscotch and tether ball during recess - I also enjoyed warming up by the radiator next to the girls bathroom - remember that!
Looking forward to seeing you again in 09!
Take Care!

Wabasco said...

Twila, I for one remember your basketball skills. One weekend my brother and I were playing ball in the schoolyard and you and Cathy Bender came out from the Pastor's residence and took us on two-on-two. You showed some moves back then!

See you in 2009!

RIlurky said...

Wayne, is there some reason you're not saying who won? :-)

Wabasco said...

Actually, I really don't remember if we played a full game. What I do remember is that we had a lot of laughs. Those two ladies could hold their own.

ricky said...

Have you ever gone into a friend's home , looked at their pictures on the mantle , noticed a frame that still had the "Hallmark Family Picture " in it?? ....You turn and ask your friend " Why haven't you put a picture in this frame ? " and they say " I like this picture better !!!" ...Twila , You guys are THAT HALLMARK FAMILY ....Thanks for a great post... thanks for bringing us up to speed...Thanks for asking the other girls to post and last but not least .....I know You and Cathy " OWNED " the Bascom brothers that day ...LOL Ricky