This party is ....BUSTED . .

"Hey Mrs. C . . did you hear about the party that got busted this weekend?" "No" "Some kids had a party at their parent's house while they were gone and somehow the police found out and a bunch of kids got MIP's" "Oh, really?" "Yeah, it really sucked" "How would you know about that?" "Well, yeah, I was there and I got a ticket too, that's why I'm here I need to talk to Thomps, I guess I'm suspended from Track for 2 weeks, right?" "Yes, you need to come back after lunch for an appointment to talk to him" "OK". . . .

MIP's - the scariest kind of ticket for a high school student, worse than speeding, worse than not wearing your seatbelt, just the worse. I can remember - It was November of 1974, I was a junior and a big group of us met in town (dumb) at a friend's house who's parent's were away for the weekend. The guy had bought a keg, so of course there was going to be a kegger at his house that weekend (I don't even know if they call them that anymore?). We had been there for awhile, hanging out, listening to music playing, aaahhhh yes some kids were making out in the back rooms (just being honest), when all of a sudden somebody yells, "COPS!!!", So what do we do? We all RUN out side, some make it down the street, others just stay in the house, my boyfriend (yes, hubby now) and I hide in the bushes in the backyard (seemed the best spot at the time) UNTIL the police spotlight started shining on the yard and I thought I was going to go blind when the light hit us! So we get escorted to the police cars (there were 4), girls in separate cars from boys. All together they hauled about 35 kids to the police station that night. Girls were crying, Boys were upset, we sat in front of the police chief who gave us a lecture about drinking and proceeded to make arrangements for all of us to get rides home. THAT was the worse, THAT'S why I was crying, I really didn't want my dad to have to come and pick me up. What had I done??? He was the manager of the local JC Penney store and now I knew for sure the headlines of the local paper would be "Local Manager's Daughter Arrested at Kegger", OH GAWD!! that's why I cried. Well, my dad picked me up or signed for me as they call it. Spoke with the officer, walked me to the car and with tears streaming down my face I looked at him, and he had the funniest grin on his face. He was getting a kick out of this, he tried to be serious, but then that grin would come on his face again. "Well, you know you shouldn't have been drinking" he says "I know" "And you won't do it again, will you?", "No, I promise", Then he proceeds to tell me about the various times he got in trouble for drinking at parties and it was almost like I had made a rite of passage. And no there were no big headlines in the paper the next week.

So when the kids come in and tell me about a party, I think back to that moment and wonder what was their ride home like that night?