KFWB – Bill Balance Program – August 18, 1959 – Rob Frankel Collection –
You don’t know how it happened, you don’t know when it happened, you don’t know why it happened. But it happened.
All you know is; you’ve seen her around since fourth grade. You never met – don’t even know her name. You were both sort of there and living life and minding your own business. Didn’t cross paths much; none of her friends were your friends and none of your friends were her friends.
But somewhere between Sunday and Monday, when you were rushing for classes for the new semester a big clump of odd descended over you and the only thing you could do was stare at her; Mesmerized – transfixed – knuckle scraping. She became perfect and you wanted to get next to her. You wanted to hold her hand – you wanted to look at her face – you wanted to go somewhere and make out – for the rest of your life.
You’re staring holes through her. You don’t realize it – but she does. And she shoots you a look. She thinks you’re going to explode – you have lost your mind and who are you, anyway?
You mind goes blank. Without any way to stop it, a wave of heat lands on you and sets up shop on your face – you are fire-hydrant red.
Now you’ve done it – embarrassed yourself in a matter of seconds. Everybody is pushing their way past you in line to sign up for the next class – you’re frozen – they squint – they mutter – they chuckle. And the object of this sudden wave of affection has gone off to finish signing up for the new semester and disappears – she hasn’t given you a second thought.
You pull yourself together and finish signing up for classes. You’re stuck taking Typing as an elective and your first period is Gym. Fall ’59 isn’t looking like too much fun, but to be honest, you were in the twilight zone anyway and could have signed up for Home Ec or Badminton.
You take the snail’s pace through the main building, on your way to the street. You’re wondering what happened – how weird was it and why did it happen at all. You wonder if this is what life is going to be like for the rest of it.
There’s a tap on your shoulder. You turn around and the gangly girl who is about a head taller than you, with braces, saddle shoes, oversized socks and short bangs hands you a slip of paper, turns and walks quickly away, giggling.
You unfold the neatly wrapped piece of note-paper and see a phone number scribbled with a name: Brenda.
Everything on Earth just changed.
And to go along with the trials and tribulations of growing up on said Planet in Los Angeles in 1959, here is almost an hour’s worth of Bill Balance as he held court on KFWB, right after B. Mitchel Reed.
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