Frankly, It Was a Very Good Year

Frankly, It Was a Very Good Year

            Frank's September of my years                        my girlfriend Maryann

In 1965 we had the Beatles, we had Motown, and we had the Rolling Stones. “I Can't Get No Satisfaction” had been released at the beginning of the summer but by the end of that summer my father purchased a new Frank Sinatra album, "September of My Years". It was of course the Beatles hey-day and on my own, I was listening exclusively to rock songs either from my own record collection or on the radio. I mostly listened to WMCA with the “Good Guys” and WABC with Bruce Morrow (“Cousin Brucie”). I had previously listened to 1010 WINS as well but by the summer of '65 they had changed formats. Still, my parents liked music so music was played by more than just me around the house. My dad had a good selection of big band jazz records. My mom had some classical albums. They also had a bunch of Broadway musical soundtracks – Oklahoma – South Pacific - Porgy and Bess – The Boy Friend – My Fair Lady – Li'l Abner – The Music Man - Annie Get Your Gun – Bye Bye Birdie - West Side Story. While none of these were my first choice at that point of my life, I did enjoy listening to them. It seemed like all the new music coming into the house from my parents was Broadway soundtracks. I remember just three non-Broadway soundtrack albums. There was a Steve and Eydie album, Harry Belafonte's album “Calypso” and then there was Frank's “September of My Years”. I still listen to the music from all of these albums. Certainly Belafonte's album is a classic, after all, who doesn't know the Day-O (“The Banana Boat”) song, but it's the Frank album that floods my mind with memories of that time today. The hit song from the album was “It Was a Very Good Year”. The song, as you probably know, is about a guy looking back on certain years of his life starting with his 17^th year. I was only 16 and about to start my junior year of high school. It's odd that the album resonated with me as the songs on that album, one of Frank's theme albums, are all about looking back on one's life when nearing the end. I can more fully appreciate the theme of that album today as I'm now at that place in my life but then I had my whole life in front of me. Why that album has stayed with me is a bit of a mystery. Yes, I heard it played around the house, I've always liked Frank, and music tends to stick to me. Still, why Frank over say, the Bob Dylan's “Highway 61 Revisited” album that I bought and was released about the same time?

My Dad was playing that album a lot at home around the time I attended a party at Mary Lou's house. Mary Lou lived a few blocks away in the next neighborhood over. I think I knew her through my friends Carol and Linda. (Mary Lou, you can let me know if that's not right.) Anyway at that party I met a girl, Maryann. We talked a little, and ended up sitting out in the backyard by ourselves for awhile and eventually got to know each other a little more up close and personal. It was my first make-out session since I was 5. That one had been with my next door neighbor at the time, Margie. I'd experienced a few kisses here and there since then but that was about it. Maryann and I had our first real date a few days after the party. We went to an afternoon movie and saw “What's New Pussycat”. Well, we kind of saw it. The movie had been out for awhile and there were few attendees. We found a quiet place in the back corner of the theater. “What's New Pussycat” is a sex farce but we both missed a bit of the movie as we spent much of the time, shall we say, getting further acquainted with each other. One of the ushers came by to ask us if we were enjoying the movie. I thought it was rather obvious as to what we were enjoying. It became clear that it was important to him that we focus a little more on watching the movie, so thanks to his concern we did get to see a bit more of it than we might have. Looking back that movie probably was not the best choice for making a good impression on Maryann's parents as I doubt the Catholic Church had approved it. Maryann's family was Irish Catholic and Maryann was a good Catholic girl. Maryann became my first real girlfriend.

I guess Maryann's parents didn't hold the movie against me for her parents always seemed to like me. At least I think they did, although when I was over for dinner at their house later that fall they decided to break into the family's so called “special” fruit cake that they saved for special occasions only. I'd never had fruit cake before. Maryann's mom cut me a big piece. As I was discovering, cooking was not one of Maryann's mom's areas of expertise, to put it politely. Having said that I have to admit it was the best piece of fruit cake I ever ate. That's because it's the only piece of fruit cake I have ever eaten and the only piece of fruit cake I ever hope to eat. Maryann's family all seemed to love it. I don't want to have to say that the fruit cake was bad, but as far as I'm concerned having to choke down a piece of that fruit cake is the stuff that nightmares are made of....

Our 2nd movie date was an evening date. We went to go see Catholic Church approved “The Sound of Music”. My mother pulled me aside just before I left the house and informed me that I didn't need to get worried as everything turns out alright in the end. She later confided in me that her thinking was she didn't want me to look foolish being scared or worried in front of my new girlfriend. I'm certainly glad she did as we all know how scary and nerve-racking a Julie Andrews musical can be. (Sometimes there is no explaining my Mother.) Being of the WWII generation, perhaps any story with Nazis seemed scary to her, although by that time she had to have known that I was well aware that we had successfully defeated them. Well maybe not our own Nazis but all those over in Germany anyway.

Maryann and I became girlfriend and boyfriend that fall. We would officially go steady and I gave her my high school ring to wear around her neck. That was the approved going steady protocol at the time, at least where I lived. We would be in a steady relationship throughout our last two years of high school, actually, until we both went off to college in the fall of '67. Maryann was an “A” student, a cheerleader, and and all around good person. She was a good and faithful girlfriend and even though she was a cheerleader she was not at all like the cheerleader type most of us think of. She went to Oneonta State College, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. While not a particularly highly regarded college it was pretty difficult to get into due to its popularity with New York State residents. The draws were location, low price, co-ed ratio, and a rep as a party school. It's reputation was probably similar to Chico State here in Northern California. Heck, I would of wanted to go there but I couldn't have gotten in. I was only a “B” student.

I never got my ring back. Maryann told me she lost it when a canoe she was in tipped over while she was on a date with another guy up in Oneonta. I can look at this two ways. One being shouldn't she have returned my ring before she started seeing someone else? The other is, hey, even though she was dating someone else she still thought of me enough to continue to carry my ring with her. I have chosen to go with option two. See, I often think I'm more important than I actually am. My wife Kris will back me up on that one.

Back to the album: I still like listening to all the songs on that album. “September Song” is my favorite song on the album today. I can now fully relate to the album's theme. But still, whenever I hear a song from that album I go back to the time when, thanks to Mary Lou, a good Catholic girl herself, Maryann and I became boyfriend and girlfriend.