Skipping School

Skipping School…I was known to do this dastardly deed a few times in my high school life. I have a scar to remind me of one time hiding in some barn where I shouldn’t have been and sliding down and cutting my hand on something trying to get out. That is not the one I want to talk about this time though.

My friend Kenny had a black 1969 Chevelle Super Sport and it was fast. We decided one morning, that we were not going to attend school that day. Kenny had just put new wheels on his car and we were going to Nashville. I’m not sure what we were planning to do that particular day but it did not include listening to teachers.

We were on the interstate and Kenny was flooring it like he always did and suddenly we heard a loud POP. We didn’t think anything about it and kept rolling…again another POP. We looked at each other but were having too much fun and then POP POP…after that fourth POP…he started to slow from 90 and the car didn’t feel right…he finally pulled to the side of the road. 4 of the 5 wheel studs that held the wheel on was gone…hence the four POPs we heard.

One lug nut was the only thing between us and losing our wheel and ending in a crumpled mess. We ended up calling Kenny’s dad who owned a car shop in Nashville. We got the car fixed and were on our way again…but I think back on how that could have ended differently.

The next day Kenny was called to the principal’s office. He was punished for skipping school and spent a week or so in the “rubber room.” That is what we called detention. It was a room beside the cafeteria where you would sit and do homework or read in silence. When you went to lunch… all of the delinquents in the room would get up and walk together to eat lunch…but not talk.

As for your humble writer…I heard nothing at all about the escape from school until…two weeks later. That is when yours truly was called to the office. “Max do you want a paddling or rubber room?” To this day I don’t know how they found out or had the goods on me. I know Kenny didn’t tell…he didn’t want me to get caught. I have my suspicions but I enjoyed myself anyway.

I took the rubber room choice because I liked it. I could catch up with my homework or read a good book…I would claim it was for a book report and I enjoyed peace and quiet for a week.

This should have taught me a valuable lesson…but alas it didn’t quite do the trick. My mom was a single mom and she kept up with me the best she could…but I did make good grades so I took advantage of the situation. There would be more skipping days to come. Any interesting stories out there?

Advertisement

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball fan, old movie and tv show fan... and a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

63 thoughts on “Skipping School”

  1. A friend and I skipped school one day to skateboard in a parking lot and drink beer when our principal rolled up! She told us to get to school and we said we would but never returned. I don’t remember if we got detention later, but it was a pretty fun day.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. A friend and I skipped school and got caught by the police. My dad was super mad and took my car away for a month. There were no other consequences. I was a top student, so it’s pretty silly I couldn’t take a day off, especially at an age where you could legally drop out…

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  3. Paddling? Jeez, what kind of school did you go to, Max? 🙂

    I guess I was “a good boy” and never skipped school – at least I don’t recall. But I did some other stuff that could have gone wrong. Unfortunately, most young folks think they are invincible.

    Like that one night when after a school party I rode home with my bike, definitely being drunk. So were the two buddies who accompanied me.

    The way back included going up a long hill. I don’t believe I ever scaled it as fast as I did that night. It’s amazing what German beer can do! 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Just an ordinary public school. I can’t speak for anyone else or any other school but they never mistreated us…a paddling was a joke in high school…it only worked with grades 1-8…plus it was never hard…I only got 1 lick 3 different times and they were nothing….I could sit down fine lol.

      I was good and had a good reputation but during my Jr year…I thought…a day here and there won’t hurt…

      LOL…you all start early! I didn’t really drink a beer until I was 20 at least.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. In Germany, you’re practically born with beer! 🙂

        On a more serious note, in Germany you can generally drink beer legally (and other forms of non hard liquor) starting from age 16. If you’re accompanied by an adult, you can get away with it at even a younger age.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I can’t imagine that… When I did try it…it never appealed to me much but when I’m at a ball game or something….then I will indulge. When we were playing bars we would get all we could drink….although we didn’t have german beer!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. In my case, it was definitely an acquired taste. I remember when I tried beer for the first time I was wondering why anyone would dig such a bitter tasting beverage!😀

        My parents liked beer, so we had it at our house pretty frequently. As such, I had plenty of opportunity to try it. Eventually, I started developing a taste for it. Same story with wine.

        Notably, nowadays, I pretty much don’t drink any beer or wine for that matter. My wife doesn’t like beer, and my son doesn’t drink it either. Drinking by yourself is kind of not fun!

        I guess I have to come and visit you, so we can catch a ball game together!😆 Of course, when it comes to baseball or football, I pretty much have no friggin’ clue whatsoever, but I guess if I would keep drinking beer, after a while it wouldn’t matter much!🤣

        Liked by 1 person

      4. When Bailey came back from Germany I went to a German restaurant and had some beer. The one I picked…I cannot think of it had a burnt taste but my world traveler son picked one that was great…I liked it a lot. I will get it the next time I go.

        Yea we went to a minor league baseball game the other day…it’s fun… come on down!

        Liked by 1 person

  4. I had my rear driver’s side wheel fall off of my car on the highway. I had a flat the day before and I guess I didn’t tighten up the lugs good enough. I was able to put on another spare and I took a few lugs off of the other wheels.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. First of all….Nice to see you back Jim.
      I had a wheel barren go bad and my back wheel jumped over my RX7 and it rolled farther than I did…no one was hurt though and I got it put back on the next day.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. What an adventure! Did your friend figure out what was wrong to make the lugnuts fly off like that? I didn’t skip much in HS. But one of my best friends in the last couple of years there had a car that sounded a bit like your friends – his was a later-60s or maybe 1970 Cutlass. He put on the 50 series tires on the back and mag wheels all around and a real good stereo and it was always a blast to be driving around with him , and other buds, in that thing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes they were new wheels and lugnuts…I think the lug nuts were tightened too tight…we were lucky his father owned a body shop and knew cars.

      We all piled in his 69 Chevelle and I had the 66 Mustang so we were happening.

      Like

      Reply

    1. LOL… he scared the sh*t out of me doing a 100 on backroads… to this day I never go fast because of that.
      Yea you would witness me pi**ing in my pants riding along. I’m about to send him this link

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

    1. We all need a day or two away. My feeling was…I make really good grades…as long as they don’t affect that…I deserve a day of fun lol

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. In Spanish they would say ‘Eres muy pila’, which means you are just simply ‘Smart’. I envied other students who could do that. For me I found I had to study twice as much since I had a recall memory like a sieve.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Yes indeed! You lucky bugga! When I had my Year 12 farewell and sung ‘Yesterday’ with my mates I purposely got a photo with two of the smartest students in my year which I still have here. They were also good friends. Eric put me onto American Christian music at the time like Kenny Marx. He did some good stuff.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. I still stay in touch with mine by text and once in a while we will see each other. One of them I play music with.
        We took off to Coco Beach Florida when I graduated.

        Liked by 1 person

      8. We play in my garage…its a lot of fun. There is talk of us playing out at a fall festival coming up in October…that would be fun

        Like

  9. I never once skipped school. Didn’t have any way to do it. I didn’t get a car until college. I didn’t have any friends that were into skipping school. I knew some that did but, they weren’t in my orbit.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. I probably would have skipped, if given the opportunity. In my youth, I was known for going off on my own adventures…to the chagrin of my parents. I took a bad whipping, once, because me & a friend, from around the corner, decided to walk to the other end of my street to the Fire Station. I was in 3rd, 4th grade? We didn’t tell our parents where we were going. When we got back, OMG. I was whipped and my friend wad forbidden to ever come to my house, again. We remained friends all thru school and I even went to her wedding. I never recall seeing her parents…don’t even recall seeing them at her wedding but, she told me they didn’t like me. Apparently, I was deemed “too headstrong.”

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Too Headstrong….You???? Nahhhh. I can understand your parents being upset but having a friend forbidden to return was a bit much.

        Like

      3. Religious types. I was a bad influence. My parents were just the opposite. My mother detested religion because of her mother and my dad was agnostic. His parents were non-practising Methodists. My mother took me to sunday school because her mother demanded it but, that was it. She did that begrudgingly.

        Only child syndrome. I learned to entertain myself. I did my own thing.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. I have a sister but by the time I was 8 she got married….so yea I learned quick to entertain myself

        Like

      6. Yea that is true….we never fought…hardly ever. Our main time together was when mom would make her take me with her on dates lol.

        Like

      8. Yes…yes I was…she never seemed to mind though…it was just part of life lol. When she skipped school she took me also lol

        Liked by 1 person

  10. When I went to high school (13-18) we got caned for any and everything. In the first year (age 13) we had a race to see who could get to 100. Me and my friend both got to 99 and the teachers heard about it and made us roll the cricket wicket at 6 am each morning instead! Incidentally the cane really hurt – usually 2 but if you got caught smoking you got 6. I never missed a class – I was a goody-two-shoes!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I can’t believe that dark mind of yours didn’t get into more trouble!
      The paddling didn’t hurt bad…it was more embarrasing…it was a deterrent from doing something stupid until around 9th grade…canning would hurt much worse! That we didn’t have

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. I was told- ORDERED- to get a haircut by a vindictive balding small minded sadist of a science teacher during the last week or so of High School, so I bunked a few days. He had a personal crusade against me for some reason( I don’t know why, I was generally a good student, though bored witless by Science; especially when taught by a evil gnome who looked like a Klingon.) So, to protect my tucked-behind-the-ears-curling-over-the-collar locks from getting lopped off I bunked a few days. It worked.
    When you’d rather emulate the Ramones than Telly Savalas a kids gotta do what a kids gonna do.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. I started skipping in 7th grade and kept skipping until I dropped out mid-way through 10th grade. The teachers didn’t notice, the office was terrible at keeping attendance, and I still made “A’s.” I do remember one time my friend and I skipped and met up with some guys we met on a “chat line” through the local radio station (WTRU AM.) They were older guys and they shouldn’t have had anything to do with us. Don’t ask me how, but my mom found us. Seeing her walking up put the fear of god into me. Another time I skipped and knew my mom was picking me up for one reason or another after school and so was walking back to the school up the back way. Lo and behold here comes her car down that street. She could be wily when she cared to pay attention to what we were doing lol.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Oh geez that must have been down right frightening seeing your mom coming lol. My mom was working so I didn’t have to worry about her seeing me… as long as I made the good grades she was pretty cool.
      Our school wasn’t too good about attendance either…but someone told on me…I think to this day it was Kenny’s mom.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Not sure who was ratting me out! She probably went up to the school for something and they said I wasn’t there and so went looking. We were always within a mile or two radius of the school, almost always outside, so… Sorry that somebody ratted you out, Max! My mom worked nights at the bar so she was home during the day.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. That sounds logical… oh I was always a long ways away. Yea I was free…my mom always told me….as long as you get that diploma then you can do things your way lol… She wasn’t as easy on my sister. I made good to great grades and didn’t get into trouble….plus I was the baby.

        Liked by 1 person

  13. Fun stories… My main skipping school memory was at a much younger age. When I was 8 or 9 I’d every so often fake a sore throat/head/tummy just to get a day on the sofa watching TV – I didn’t hate school at all, I guess I just fancied some ‘me’ time : ) I’d do the ground work the night before, start complaining of a sore whatever, go to bed early… One time after doing this I woke to completely unexpected heavy snow, and schools were shut anyway. Safe to say I made a miraculous recovery, and my mum was a little more suspicious next time I tried it on…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. Hi Max, I wish I could contribute but I was the odd kid who loved going to school and never skipped classes. I was even in classes on Senior Skip Day. But my younger brothers never missed their chances of skipping school. They were the yang to my yin.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. The funny thing is I liked school somewhat also… but when I was with my friends…we started to have ideas…fun ideas that got us in trouble.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  16. I skipped school only once, to play in a chess tournament – my friend used it as an excuse for a day off and got people to go with him. I went 2-2 and had the best record in our team – none of us were members of the chess club or anything

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. I was a dork, as were the guys I hung around with, and a mostly A-student (other than for Algebra II, which I just couldn’t comprehend), so never skipped school. As an adult, though, I’d call in sick from work if I didn’t feel like going that day.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: