The Swimming Hole

If you didn't happen to be born in the post-WWII Baby Boomer generation, I can think of no story that would give you a better glimpse of what life was like back then. I loved your details and humor and believe other will enjoy seeing the difference between what we endure and what they went through in school.  

When I was in 3rd grade, just as Christmas vacation was ending, I started going into convulsions due to high fever.  At that time, it meant that I admitted to the hospital and I didn't get discharged until a couple of weeks before the end of the school year.  Since my teacher didn't know what to do with me, the school psychologist gave me all kinds of tests to determine (standardized tests and IQ tests) ro see if I should go to the next grade or be held back.  I was promoted, but I would have preferred being held back a year - no shame because I was out sick for all that time, but I missed so much that it made the next few years quite difficult for me.  

Thanks for the great memories and I highly recommend this story to anyone who would like a glimpse into what school life was like back then, including our introduction to school showers.  

Melancholic and riotously funny. Owen is a teenager who is just starting to realise he is not like all the other boys, or at least what he thinks all the other boys are like.

Life depicted in more "innocent" times, Owen is a young teenager growing up in the early 1960's.

A thoroughly enjoyable story by @drsawzall, one which captivated me from the get-go. 

The Swimming Hole is a delightful trip down memory lane that prods our own memories and is guaranteed to make you smile. 
A nostalgic revisiting of youth, the realisation of attraction and this first innocent explorations of sexuality. This is a great weekend read. 

1. First a tangent!  I grew up in small town Vermont in the 50's and moved in 1960.  I have been in a long distance relationship for over 30 years.  He lives 30 west of the town I grew up  in and I am here now after spending an afternoon in my hometown on the way over.  So have been thinking about so much of the memories of this era.  Air raid alarm tests every noon, the under desk drills.  Haircuts every two weeks.  Early television but also escaping the world by reading constantly and reading way above grade level.  We had a stunning Athenaeum/library and a very fine museum for such a small town.  Skinny dipping in the woods and bike rides or cellar adventures in jacking off.  And the growing realization that I was not like other boys.
2.  I only wish I had the wit of Owen. Or probably not.  The story so captured those times and in the days before internet the lack of information about anything other than male/female relationships.  I did a forty page report on the writings of Evelyn Waugh without mentioning homosexuality!  Unfortunately my versions of Randy were all straight.  I guess the ultimate test of this story is that I seem unable to get out of my ties with it and my past.  Thank you so much for this adventure into your mind and mine.  Pax Ste 

What a wonderful journey I was just on. Men of a certain age will especially like this revisiting of the past in a rural, small town setting. This story is humorous, touching, and incredibly authentic. Read this! You won't be disappointed, I promise you. Cheers!