Times to Remember

Somewhere several years ago, I lost recollection of the details about Beth Brady. Still, she took up a great part of my high school years as my girlfriend and deserves mention as such.

I seem to recall that we met because of her involvement with the stagehand crew, of which I was also a part. Beth had a bubbly disposition and a good sense of humor. It was her sense of humor that I appreciated most. It helped lift my spirits in times of despair. Beth was just what I needed at that uncertain time in my life, adolescence.

She was warm and affectionate, always by my side and always putting my needs above her own. In many ways, she was the personification of a girlfriend I would have later, Jennifer Harvey. Regrettably, I didn’t appreciate either of them as much as I should have.

I was a heavy partier in high school, drinking heavily and using every recreational drug I could get my hands on. It is a miracle that I survived that period of my life. And Beth was right there beside me through much of it. She never used drugs, but she did drink with me on several occasions.

One memorable drinking occasion involved Beth’s older sister, Tammy. Tammy was suffering from diabetes and had recently lost her eyesight. In her condition, she wasn’t supposed to drink, but she did anyway. It was a frequent point of contention between her and her boyfriend, a would-be Bruce Li karate instructor.

Tammy was a big fan of the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show and knew all of the words by heart. The movie was shown at midnight every Saturday evening in Salt Lake City.

One Saturday afternoon, I remember sitting with Beth in a big beanbag chair they had in their living room. Tammy and her boyfriend were across the room on the couch. Tammy suggested that we all go to the movie that night. For some reason I cannot remember, her boyfriend didn’t want to go. So, we went without him.

Before going to the movie, I didn’t know what to expect and wondered why Beth and Tammy insisted on bringing along several newspapers. They said I would find out why, and I certainly did!

Loyalists that attended the movie every Saturday night threw rice, toilet paper, toast and various meat products. They used squirt guns and yelled comebacks at the people in the movie. They danced in the aisles and acted out parts from the movie on a stage in front of the screen.

It was a good thing that we had the papers for protection, or we would have been soaked by all of the stuff being thrown around. I pity the person that had to clean up that mess every week.

I mentioned drinking before going to the movie. All three of us drove to Salt Lake City in my car, where the movie was being played. Then, we sat in my car and drank beer until we were quite drunk. Tammy and Beth could hardly stand as we got out of the car. It was a cold winter night and the sidewalks were icy. That didn’t help our drunken walk towards the movie theater. With Tammy on one side of me and Beth on the other, we stumbled our way there.

It was good that the three of us were holding each other up, as we seemed to take turns slipping on the ice. Drunkenly, we laughed quite a bit. Then, all three of us slipped at the same time and we fell down in the snow. We struggled to get up. Beth and I got up first and then Tammy happened upon the legs of someone in front of us to help her get up. As she was blind and quite drunk, she didn’t know that it was a police officer that she was using to help her get up.

As she climbed up the officers legs and got to his chest, she felt his badge. She quickly stopped laughing and said, “Oh shit, a cop.” We all fell back down laughing. The police officer could have taken us in for disorderly conduct, but he was sympathetic to our plight and continued walking down the sidewalk. Eventually, we made it to the theater and had a good time watching the movie. Tammy joined in yelling comebacks throughout the movie with the throngs of groupies in attendance.

Beth and I went together to the Prom at Davis High School. We did the whole traditional thing of dressing up. I met Beth at her house with a corsage and drove with her to the high school. After the dance, we drove somewhere to make out. We didn’t go all the way, but came very close to it. It just didn’t seem like the right time for either of us.

A few years later, while I was in Brazil serving a mission for the Mormon Church, I received an obituary from my mother. It was Tammy’s obituary. I felt very sad that her bout with diabetes had ended in her death. She was truly a special person. She always seemed to be on the go and always looked for the positive in everything.

I wish that I could remember more about Beth, but I can’t. Even though we dated for quite sometime, aside from the drunken police encounter, I can’t recollect any other experiences with Beth.