Eight Grade English

In 1961 Harold Robbins published Carpetbaggers a salacious paperback novel loosely patterned after the life of Howard Hughes nor did not know that until just now when I was searching for one paragraph out of the whole volume. I of course knew nothing about the volume in 1961 I was 10. I would actually not interface with the book and tell 1964 when I was in the eighth grade, probably around 245 in the afternoon as I sat in Mrs. Sowers eighth-grade English class, at East junior high (another of my historical landmarks which has been raised).

I don't know where the book came from but for some reason that afternoon the questionable piece of literature is making the rounds in eighth-grade English. We sat in alphabetical order of course Mrs. Sower was anything but pragmatic. All I remember from that afternoon was that Rena Rodwell sat in front of me (my last name being Smith and Pam Turner sat behind me. There had been a rumble all morning and afternoon about The Carpetbaggers. The Carpetbaggers was hot and the must-read part was the scene where there's a naked girl drinking orange soda, orange Nehi soda in the soda runs out of her mouth down her throat between her boobs and out of the sheets of the bed. This is all witnessed by the protagonist of the book as he happened to walk past a room on a hot and sultry southern afternoon. The passage was marked by dogeared fold over of the page. It was quietly being passed around from one person to the next all through the school. I doubt that I was supposed to love read the passage after all I really wasn't part of the in crowd, so to speak. However Rena Rodwell and Pam Turner were and I was sandwiched in between the two. I remember Monday my own business probably trying to desperately follow along to either a play which is being read our discussion that Mrs. Sowers was leading when I was nudged on the back by Pam Turner and as I turned around to see what she wanted she thrust the volume into my hands. I have to admit I was impressed. Someone had taken one of those contact glue book covers that you can adhere to the book you want to protect and applied it to the front and back of the volume The Carpetbaggers. Someone had gone through a lot of work to cut the book cover down from its large size the size to fit the paperback book. I can still see the volume the school colors were orange and black. The book cover was orange with the letters EJ H on the front, actually just a portion of the letters because the tops of been trimmed off in order to fit onto the book cover.

I knew the book had to go to Rena but since I had access I thought I would read the passage and it was hot almost too hot a 13 year old to handle. Hands shaking I touched Rena on the back to get her attention. I love Rena but sometimes she was a little slow on the uptake. I thrust the book and her hands, I now want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. She fumbled the book at the floor and Mrs. Sower stopped her lecture and I the camouflaged paperback lying on the floor facedown page open to scandalous words. She asked Rena to please bring the book forward. I think Rena took the bullet for the piece of pureient literature. I don't think I've ever thanked her. I doubt she'd even remember me these days. But I know I'll never forget the hot hand off of The Carpetbaggers in Mrs. Sowers, eighth grade English in 1964