Fall 0f '52 I entered my senior year in Jr High. This was the year that I learned why I was so unsuccessful in gaining the attention of girls that I liked. They all liked guys that were older than them. Okay, change of tactics; where to look? I was a member of my church's youth group, something our new pastor initiated. We were all 10-14 years old; I was second oldest. There was this girl, Helen Bresnahan, who was really cute. I tried to arrange a date but she kept putting it off. I found out later that it was her brother Jimmy that sort of threatened her if she dated me. Jimmy and I were never friends. Oh well, there were plenty of Jewish girls in my school who did not know or did not care if/that I was a goy.
Jessica Paloma was one of them; she was years ahead in development over her classmates. I actually got to touch them once. We remained friends for years. Then there was Barbara, Brenda, Eleanor, Sheila and Toby. We just sorta hung together at dances but without commitment. I really liked Toby (Klein) and followed her home from school one day only to see where she lived (1600 University Ave). I sent her a 'secret Valentine' It went nowhere.
Spring of '53 we took entrance exams to go to the many special schools that NYC had established. These were based on merit, not on geography. My score was 87% when the cutoff was 83%; I had decided to go to Stuyvesant High School, an all boys school, because of its reputation for graduating top notch college material. I never thought that I had put myself into an even more hopeless situation datewise by going to this school; it was 10 miles from where I lived. I still met new girls at the skating rink near Fordham Road which we went to about twice a month. One girl (Eileen Iskowitz) which both me and my friend Bobby Weiss were interested in asked her out on a date. She accepted both offers but after our second date she asked me if I was Jewish. I think Bobby threw me under the bus. Dating then was just a means of telling your buddies that you would not always choose their company above all else; you were saying that you were growing up. Girls enjoyed receiving compliments; they would even blush occasionally. When I received one I was totally unglued. I thought I was in love every other week.
June of '53 I turned 14 and was eligible to work on staff at our church's camp. I worked there for six weeks for $4 a week digging out a tennis court, then I went to Boy Scout camp for two weeks to unwind. It was a very good year.