Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life: My Sharona

This post is a year or so old... I wrote it as part of Kristen Chase's "Blog Exchange" The premise was to write a short story based on the title of a song that you like. Since "My Sharona" has been one of my favotites for nearly thrity years, I used it.

I "found" it again when I was transferring my posts from my old blog. It's good for a few laughs. If you weren't reading me then, you might enjoy it.

Looking back at a distance of 27 years, I suppose it was kind of stupid, but, back then, what did I know?

It was 1980 and I was in love.

I met her when I was almost 17. It was summer vacation and she was the cousin of my friend Kim, who lived down the street from us, in sleepy Vauxhall, New Jersey.

Her name was Sharona…

Sharona was beautiful. She was exotic. Most importantly, Sharona wasn't a local. She was from... The City. Not just any city, mind you... when you live in northern New Jersey and you mention "The City", you can only be talking about New York.

I was a goner from the start.

She paid me scant attention, because in those days, I was known locally as "The Professor" because I as a kind of doughy and bookish. I was pretty bummed about it, and wondered when she was going to give me some time. Luckily for me though, I got to stay in her orbit (below her radar screen, of course) because I was pals with her cousin.

It was a great summer, and by the time it was over, Sharona and I had become friends. She told me all of her secrets and wishes, because, as she said: "You're sooo nice, Billy!" (the kiss of death, romantically). It was great, and I wanted it to last forever. If I couldn’t have her, I was content to just be around her. Sadly, summer came to an end, and she went home.

School started and still she was on my mind. I tried to be cool and not ask Kim about her too often, but I am sure that she knew I had the hots for her cousin. Time passed, and 1980 gave way to 1981. I was something of an athlete in those days, and that was the year that I shed all of my baby fat, and started to bulk up (I was a discus thrower and a shot-putter) and come into my nearly-adult growth. Before the school year ended, I was the biggest kid on my block. Girls started paying attention to me, but at the end of the school year, my thoughts turned, once again, to my Sharona.

Kim had remained my friend, and had told me from time to time that she had been in touch with Sharona, who had asked about me in passing. Just knowing that Sharona had mentioned me had sustained my hopes for the following summer.

When summer finally arrived, Sharona, once again came to stay with Kim's family. She and Kim came to visit me at my summer job (loading and unloading produce trucks for Big Mike, who was a local wiseguy... youknowwhadI'msayin'? fuggedabowdit), and I was so excited to see her, I dropped a crate of cabbages that rolled into the gutter. Well, I had to pay for it since they were ruined, but what did I care? She was back.

Since I had a job and was old enough to drive, I was able to screw up the courage to get close enough to look in her eyes and ask her to go out with me. She told me that she had be waiting for me to get around to it all along! She was mine!

That was a happy summer. The happiest I ever had up to that point and for several years afterward. Sharona and I spent lots of time together, going to White Castle for burgers out on Route 22, going to see "Escape from New York" at the Union Drive-In (I miss the drive-in). It was a summer romance, and in those days, that was the best kind.

The summer came to an end, as summers do, and Sharona and I parted, promising to stay in touch and see each other, since New York City wasn't terribly far away. As it turned out, we weren't going to see each other many more times at all.

Since it was my senior year, I had to make some decisions about what I was going to do with my life. College wasn't a real option for me, despite my good grades. The only way I was going to get to go to college was if I was going to Kean College, which was right there in town, but with all of the things happening in my family, staying home wasn't an option. I decided to enlist in the Marine Corps, and was scheduled to leave for basic training at the end of the summer.

When I told Sharona, she was upset, but not as upset as I thought she would be. As it turned out, she had started seeing someone else.

Well. That just wrecked my plans for the summer!, which included what would have been our first time... well, you know. Anyway, I contacted Staff Sergeant Lohr, my recruiter, and told him that I wanted to report for duty right after graduation instead of hanging around for the the summer... like any recruiter, he was only too happy to oblige.

I drove to Long Island to say goodbye, face to face. I suppose there was some glimmer that she would tell me that she wanted me after all. I told her that I loved her.

I haven't seen her since.

That was more than 25 years ago, and I am happy with my life, but I always wonder about what could have been. To make matters worse, I still hear that song on the radio from time to time to remind me of those days.

I wonder where they ever got the idea for that song, anyway?

****Please note that this was mostly fictional. The girl I was dating in that time frame was named Kim... and my recruiter's name was Staff Sergeant Blake Lohr. I did live in Vauxhall New Jersey, I was a discus thrower in high school, and Big Mike gave me my first job. That stuff about Kean college (now Kean university) and leaving home is also true. Oh, so is that stuff about being "sooo nice", but I didn't figure it out for a couple of years.

Sharona Alperin