We all know that song. Simon and Garfunkel made it popular with the movie 'The Graduate' and it has been the musical feature in my freaky dreams for years. But have you ever really thought about the song? It's about a woman seducing a much younger man, hiding secrets from her loved ones, all the while acting like the perfect mom in the world. We call these women now days; cougars, but in reality they are nothing more than Mrs. Robinson and frankly, I like the word Mrs. Robinson better if you ask me. Cougar makes it sound so dirty. I think however the point of this story is to let every woman out there know they have been a Mrs. Robinson at one time in their life. Perhaps you just didn't realize it but you have.
As Valentines Day approaches, I think back to the loves of my life, which weren't many, but as I think back, one in particular love affair sticks out. This was before my husband, this was way back when I was in De Leon Jr. High and I was in eighth grade. I would have to say this was probably the real true love as they say, not so much for me, but for a little boy on the bus.
I shall begin this story with the fact I had to ride a crowded bus to and from school each day. Bus number thirteen, was driven by Hopei Alexander. He had the worse bus route you could imagine. Not only was it the longest at the time, but it was also the one that housed many kids. This bus was so crowded many students had to stand in the isle of the bus due to the over crowding.
Now before I proceed, I must explain a few things about this bus. One, the smaller children sat near the front of the bus. There was a reason for this. You see the high school kids and yes, we had plenty who road the bus, they always sat in the back of the bus. There was a reason for this. The older kids sat in the back to make out, which was done on a regular basis. There was a reason they called the Hispanic John Travolta look alike by the nickname 'Speedy'. If these older kids weren't making out, then you could guarantee they had their heads sticking out the windows yelling profanity to the world. I can't tell you how many times,
Each day the bus would gather the elementary students and bus them across town to the Jr. High where, not only did the Jr. High kids get on, but also the High School kids. Now I made sure I was quick in getting my stuff from my locker, because if you weren't on the bus fast enough you would be standing on the way home or until the bus lost some of the kids at their stops. So I always made sure I got my stuff and high tailed it to the bus.
Now once you got on the bus you would be there for a good fifteen minutes. Because as I mentioned earlier, our school was much bigger in those days which meant more students, which also meant, fifteen minutes spent waiting on the bus for the students to load up then another fifteen minutes to go through town to get home. But I always, no matter what got on the bus and found me a seat, usually with one of my younger siblings.
Well, there came a time that I didn't make it on time , in fact if I can recall, a teacher had to keep me behind to talk about a paper and all I could do was think 'great I'm standing on the bus going home'. When I finally reached the bus it was as I knew it would be standing room only.
Oh well, I just sucked it up and stood there. But suddenly I felt this little soft tap on my shoulder. I glanced down and there he was standing in a seat. A small blue eyed, blond haired boy with missing front teeth, smiling up at me as if he had found his first true love. His name was Patrick. I never learned his last name, which is a shame now, but at the time, his first name was enough. Patrick wanted me to sit with him and his sister Rebecca, who was also, blonde haired and blued eyed like her brother.
I took a seat of course, because I just didn't want to stand on that bus, but what I didn't know was that this little boy was going to want me to sit with him everyday from that day forward.
Patrick was cute and sweet and loved to talk. He would tell me about his day and how he loved recess that was his favorite time of the day. While telling me all of this, his sister rolled her eyes and would say repeatedly, "If he is bothering you tell him to shut up." He wasn't a bother, he was in first grade and obviously had his first crush and not on a teacher.
Now, every morning I got on the bus Patrick and Rebecca were not on the bus because their father went to work and he dropped them off at school. But in the afternoon, he couldn't bring them home so they rode the bus. And every afternoon, Patrick and his sister were waiting for me. I was always guaranteed a seat even if I was late because Patrick made sure I was going to sit by him no matter what.
Our relationship was friendly and since we had to sit on the bus for a good thirty minutes he would bring out his homework, which was a little reader book he had to read and insist I help him with his reading. It was no problem really. But I can hear some of you say, I wouldn't have helped him. But he was so cute and well he did save me a place on the bus every day.
Now puppy love is what I called this, harmless to the ones around you, but Patrick was getting in deep. I soon realized this when I got on the bus one day and he pulled out a honey bun from his back pack. He had brought the honey bun from home and it had sit in his back pack all day. Now at first, I thought well, he was just bringing this for a one time deal. So I opened the honey bun and we shared it. Boy was I not thinking. Every day after that, Patrick had some sort of little Debbie Snack cake for us. Sure it was smashed at times from being in his back pack all day, but like a lady we sat, read and ate. I soon learned from his sister, that he insisted his mother purchase these little cakes each week, so he and I could bond.
I see all of your faces right now, laughing at the very thought of a first grader, saving his little snack cake for an eighth grader, but it was harmless or at least I thought it was harmless. Christmas rolled around and I would be getting a Christmas gift from Patrick. Lip gloss. Cherry flavored to be exact. Well, that afternoon when I got home I called my grandma to let her know I needed a cheap present for a little boy. I didn't care what it was just something cheap. Well, she bought a little Hot Wheel for the boy. It wasn't a real Hot Wheel, just a knock off from the Dollar store, but still it was suppose to mimic it and well, he was in love with it.
Valentines Day isn't my favorite holiday. Everybody around me loves Valentines Day. I was never a fan of it, because I didn't get the flowers or the boxes of candy or anything like that. The girls in my class would always get things like that, but not me. But this year I thought I would be nice and give Patrick and Rebecca a Valentines Day card with a sucker.
Well, I got on the bus as I normally did and I took my seat next to them. I quickly handed Patrick and Rebecca their card and sucker. Patrick was smiling his teeth were finally coming in. I saw Rebecca smiling also. She nudged him as he dug into his back pack. Well, our relationship was about to hit a high note.
Patrick brought out a box of candy; it was a small box with those little hearts in it, a card and something inside the card that was hard and lumpy. I opened the card and what was in it; a necklace. It was fake gold, with two hearts and a rose holding them together. I was suddenly plastered with a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Boy was I not only impressed, a little embarrassed but thought perhaps this relationship had gone too far.
Rebecca told me he had saved some of his Christmas money to buy that for me. Ah young love as they say. While most girls my age would find this disgusting, I couldn't help but think how sweet.
Well, I wore that necklace quite often however I would wear something different to school but change into the heart necklace before I got on the bus. My crush affair would come to an end soon, when Patrick one day had to tell me, with tears in his eyes that he and his family were moving away. I did have a smidgen of a broken heart. Mind you I said smidgen, in truth I thought to myself, now I would be fighting for a seat on the bus for sure.
I know this is silly, but it did break my heart the day I got on the bus and there was no Patrick. No listening to him read or talks about his day or shares a honey bun. Tender moments as they say gone. Of course as they say, I moved on rather quickly, but I always thought of my Mrs. Robinson moment with Patrick.
I still have the Valentines card he gave me that was crudely scribbled with his name and I still have the necklace, it lost its luster many years ago, meaning the fake gold finally rubbed off. But I sometimes think, I wonder, after all these years. What lucky girl got to be Patrick's girlfriend or wife? Was or is he attentive to them as he was to me? She would have been lucky to have such a boy in her life especially if she knew what he was like as a first grader Romeo.
Now ladies, the next time you state you have never been a Mrs. Robinson. Think hard before you answer. Sure you may not have been like Mrs. Robinson in the Graduate, but I think if you look hard at yourself, you will see there were moments you could be classified as one. Perhaps, it was just puppy love like Patrick or something more sinister. But I think every woman can safely say, at least one time in their life they got to be a type of Mrs. Robinson.
So, Here's to you Mrs. Robinson...
Books by Carla Landreth
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