Video Killed the Radio Star

by The Buggles

And now we meet in an abandoned studio
We hear the playback and it seems so long ago
And you remember the jingles used to go

Oh-a oh
You were the first one
Oh-a oh
You were the last one

Video Killed the Radio Star.

Video Killed the Radio Star...

+++++++++++++

The move from Middle School to Junior High was yet another transition period in the collective lives of the Class of '87.

We moved from a century-old three-story 'bomb shelter' to a modern half-buried 'strip mall' with two long corridors, one for the 8th graders and one for the freshmen.

From the outside, one could only view a strip of two-foot high windows, topped by a long rectangle of reflective gold metal to top off the roof. People passing by the Junior High while driving along I-70 often thought it was some sort of warehouse. It wasn't until someone decied to put "Reynoldsburg Junior High School" on the facade that people realized what was really inside: hormonal teenagers.

Every morning, I'd leave the house about 7:25, joining Tim Phillips and Scott Newberry at the bus stop near Greentree Apartments. The bus would normally pick us up around 7:30 and take us to the Junior High.

The familiar golden stripe of roofing would appear at the horizon as we made our way to the end of Baldwin Drive. Busses curled around the circular drive and parked in a row. The students who didn't ride mopeds emerged from the busses and gathered in front of the central doorway. Some would lean against either of the brick walls that extended from the doorway. Some would gatheer near the island where a few pine trees were planted. Still, others would gather near the bike rack. The greater majority would huddle in small, divided groups all along the blacktop.

I cannot remember the group I hung out with most. It may have been Dan Jones, Rob Partlow, and Mike Reddy. It may have been Mike Klein and Doug Leonard. It could have been Ward Singer, Kurt Dieckmann, and Tony Johnson. As I moved from one building to another, it wasn't the only thing that changed. Life at home had become quite different, too.

Mom had just divorced Dad a year earlier. She decided to move out of the house on Terry Drive and into one of Apartments in Greentree, on Wind River Drive. In fact, it was the same Apartment that Lynn Breweer and her family had just moved out of a few months before we moved in.

Being displaced that year had some sort of profound effect on me. I don't remember much about that year, except I was playing soccer, wrestling, and getting into fights with everyone who lived near French Run, except for this red-headed kid named Gary who always reminded me of the guy in the Brawny commercials.

For some reason, one of the most outstanding pieces of clothing I remember from Junior High belonged to Don Houser. He was the first kid from Reynoldsburg I remember that owned a Camouflage MTV Shirt, with the giant Pink M and orange t.v. inscribed on the front.

For all of us, it was one of the things we all wanted to own: an MTV T-Shirt. Even if we wore red and black leather 'Michael Jackson Thriller' jackets, parachute pants, or a couple dozen little rubber bracelets and lace fingerless gloves, we all wanted the MTV Shirt.

At RJHS, it was also the year of the blondes: Tammy Fast and Tammy McCaleb represented the ninth grade blondes. They could always been seen hanging out together, sporting their purple wind jackets. The two Loris (Frnacis and Pyle) represented the 8th graders. Lori Francis also had an MTV shirt and Lori Pyle always seemed to be wearing her Pink Izod. Stephanie Harris and Jen Sasfy were there, too. There were even blonde guys, most of which were on the wrestling squad.

Whether you were a blonde guy or blonde girl, you were sure to feather your hair like the bad guy or good girl in Karate Kid. Regardless of your hair color, you always made sure to own a black or purple Goody Hair Brush, just in case there was a hair emergency and you need to fix your feathers.

I also remember Lori Pyle and Stephanie Harris wearing those Izods with some stunning effects. It was the eighth grade, and both boys and girls were 'discovering themselves'. Girls were stuck with the curse of developing bodies and boys had the curse of their latest joystick. Everyone eventually had to pay the price for turning thirteen.

And it was the one time I had a crush on any blonde other than Kathy Winship - and that was with Stephanie Harris. Of course, she wore clothes that led me into this trap. She wore tight-fitting tops and even tighter fitting jeans. I also remember she was in Mr. Beech's Geography class, which was the first class of the day. One more than one occasion, she bent over, showing her back side to the rest of the class.

At that time, I definitely remember hanging out with Rob Partlow and Dan Jones. We were in a few of the same classes together, including Geography. When Stephanie bent over, not only did that get our attention, but it also got Dan Jones to make an audible gasp. I think Rob Partlow gasped and gawked, too. While she acted surprised at our reactions, I sat there slack-jawed and wide-eyed. To her, we probably seemed like a bunch of Lennys and Squiggys, over-reacting to a simple flirtation.

I also remember Rob Partlow talking about his barber.

He went to the Barber College that sat next to Harts/Big Bear. A female barber student used to always cut his hair. She'd lean over him and her perfume would catch his nose. Additionally, her hips would catch his elbow. He got into a habit of poking his elbow out just a little further, trying to cop 'an elbow feel'.

We were 13. You probably could not expect anything more or anything less from us at that point. We were all about 90% hormones and 10% Music Television.

Not quite ironically, MTV was about 90% hormones, too.