Free Ride

There was some drama surrounding which high school I would attend.

Most all of the boys from grade school assumed they would attend the local all-boys high school, St. John Neuman. Most of the girls attended the sister school, St. Maria Goretti.

My parents had bucked the trend seven years earlier by sending my brother to St. Joseph's Preparatory School, an all-boys Jesuit run high school in north Philadelphia. You went to the Prep with the expectation that you were going to college. The Prep was a better school than Neuman. The focus on academics was fierce. The classes were small. Not many from grade school would be attending. I was pretty much sold.

Then I was given a full scholarship to Neuman. What would we do? There was a big dinner/ceremony at a local hall. I attended with my parents and the principal of my school, Sister Something Something. Nuns always had two names. When we first started school, they had a man's name (Sister William Anthony, Sister Bob Jim). Then there must have been some kind of Papal decree allowing them to feminize themselves and suddenly they were women again (Sister Mary Rita, Sister Clair). I don't remember the name of my principal but she was very sweet and very proud and it was very awkward going to a dinner with my parents and her.

At the same time, I was making numerous trips to the Prep to test it out. These trips mostly consisted of dragging my parents to see their Spring production of "Evita", that's right I said "Evita" at an all-boys Jesuit school, three times and talking endlessly with the priest who was in charge of drama there, The Cape and Sword Players. I was thrilled to learn that he was planning on doing "Into the Woods" next year. There really was no decision, the Prep it was to be.

A few days later Mom received a phone call from Neuman. They wanted to confirm my attendance for the Fall. "Actually," Mom said "He'll be attending St. Joseph's Prep." I was sitting on the living floor in front of her, doing homework. All I heard from the other end of the line was yelling. Finally Mom said, "Yes, I know. Thank you very much and hung up." Then she burst out laughing. "That man just yelled at me! 'Are you crazy, lady? Do you know how much that school costs?! You'll be paying it off forever. He's got a free ride here!'"

Well, there are no "free rides" anywhere. And I would have had to pay dearly had I attended Neuman.

So alternating between playing Eva Peron and the Witch in my bedroom, I prepared for high school.