THE TRINE HOUSE

One of my favorite memories of my high school years is the Trine House.
I am always reminded of the fun I had there when I drive home from work. I usually take the College exit and drive past their house. I don’t remember the times I was sent there as a kid when mom was off having another baby but she told me about it plenty of times. One of my earliest memories of going to the Trine house was on a Christmas Day. They always came to our house on Christmas Eve along with Uncle Tom’s family. As if we didn’t already have a house full with our family and Grandma and Grandpa Bozie without throwing in about 9 more cousins and their parents. Anyway on this particular Christmas Day is when I realized the Trines were rich. They received from Santa a video game system. The Magnavox Odyssey. What? What the hell is a video game. Whoa Nellie............. Magnavox made a video game system that they could play on their 25 inch black and white console television. Depending on what game you wanted to play Tank Battle, Pong, Volleyball, Wipeout, Interplanetary Voyage, Shootout and many others. All you had to do was place a static cling piece of thin plastic on the TV screen and magical you were playing pong. Take that piece off put on another and you were playing tank battle. Funny tank battle looks a lot like pong. Hell we didn’t even care that is wasn’t in color, what was a color TV anyway.
I can’t even imagine how many times I stopped at the Trine house later in my life. Once I started driving it seemed like about every weekend I was there. Playing ping pong, board games and later graduating into playing poker and smokin’ a stogie once in awhile. We would wait for Bill to get off at McDonalds’ and he would usually bring home a couple bags of leftover sandwiches. A cigar. a quarter pounder and a full house. No wonder I loved my high school years.
I think I really need to thank Aunt Betty and Uncle Gene for all that they put up with. All the noise, the drinking and the smoke. As a parent now I know they heard everything that went on in the basement and in the garage. Either that or they were sound sleepers.
As I drive by their house in the winter with snow on the ground reminds me of the time I could have easily lost my virginity. I say could have because she was more than willing but I was a fine upstanding young man. That was hard to turn her down, no pun intended. Bill, me and some high school friends were in his basement drinking and playing cards. Barb came home with friends of hers, they had been partying as it was New Years Eve. One girl was exceptional drunk. She went running outside in to the cold snowy night. I offered to go get her, because I did have a bit of a crush on her. Hell going to an all boys high school I had a crush on about any girl I saw. Anyway, I found her in the neighbor’s yard face down in about 6 inches of snow. I finally got her to her feet and managed to get her into the back of my 64 Chevy because she wanted to be alone with me. YIKES! As she sat there about to pass out, she said “Joe, you can have anything you want”. Anything? What does that mean? I want a good job, a family and a happy life. What was she offering? The main reason I believe I passed on her offer of “ANYTHING” was…….…I just didn’t know what to ask for.
So the good little Catholic boy Joe took her back inside untouched and remains a virgin to this day. Her not me.