What was the 'Dill' with Pickles?

Everyone remembers the Concession Stand, right? Gosh, the stories we could tell...

Nobody remembers this now, but I was President of the Student Council during my Senior year at RHS. (Yeah, I know, it doesn't mean anything 30+ years later, but it did get me a free pass to work the concession stand at lunch time each day. And, I did get offer Mr. Cash a Frito / Coke peace offering every now and then...a small but effective price to pay for all the crap that Mr. Cash had to tolerate from me and the rest of my heathen brothers! (Susan, if you read this, please tell your Dad that we're sorry!).

But, back to the Concession Stand (I capitalize the name because we always thought of the Stand as some kind of Holy Shrine, right?): why did we start eating so many dill pickles and, especially perplexing, why did we DRINK THE JUICE??? Do you guys remember that little bit of history?

Every weekday, without fail, we would sell mountains of Cracker Jack carmel popcorn, dozens of Milk Duds, boxes of Bit 'O Honeys, bags of Funyuns, Fritos, dozens of cups of Coke, Sprite, Mr. Pibb...and pickle juice! Pickle juice? So, when exactly did we develop an addiction to vinegar?

But, I loved those times! Mark Trucks (who wasn't a Council member) would often accompany me out to the Stand and help out where needed. Yet, I would pitch a fit if anybody else wanted to come into the Stand during lunch. I guess I showed preferential treatment. Sorry about that! I think Mark must've preferred junk food to lunch room-brand food, and I guess I can't blame him. Soy-burgers were not exactly a 'taste treat' if you'll recall.

We had funny eating habits that by today's standards are not healthful. I don' t know about you guys, but I NEVER ate in the school cafeteria. And, too, back then, the campus was closed as I remember. So, we couldn't leave - at least, not legally. 'Course, we skipped on occasion, but that is another story to tell.

The Concession Stand, then, was our Starbucks. It was a place of fellowship that still holds fond memories for all of us, I'm certain. There were romances that were started there - and many that were ended. Fights broke out between boys and sometimes between boys and girls. And, if you'll remember, there wasn't a chair to be found...we all stood around and laughed and talked - or maybe sat on the sidewalk. There were some that walked down to the bleachers and sat..then there were others that sneaked off under the bleachers and did whatever (kissed, smoked, or chewed..or all the above).

So, the Stand was a part of our culture, a gathering place where we relaxed, gossiped, swooned, fought and otherwise "chilled" or whatever we called it then. It was part of the fabric of our lives then - and frankly, I miss those moments.

-Ken

PS: I drank pickle juice too!