I just heard “Boney Maroni” on the classic rock station. That song rockets me right back to that period in time. I know that hit song came out about 1957 but stayed popular for years. “Runaway” by Del Shannon does the same thing to me. I have ‘60s time quakes.

Whenever I hear “Boney Maroni” I immediately think of a friend from back then, we’ll call her Kathy Bird. She was best friends with my steady girlfriend. 

Me in 1959. Yearbook Pic. HS Senior

Man that gal could dance. Kathy was way before her time. She looked like a young Sally Kellerman, tall, blonde, sexy and beautiful. Her dance routines with her talented partner, Ted, plus the way she dressed, were so erotic that one night Kathy and Ted got banned from the dance floor, in one of the wildest joints in our area. (It was one of my favorite drinking/ rock band joints, The Diamond Horseshoe in Oglesby, Illinois.) 

I could not believe it when the owner (and bouncer) told Kathy and Ted they couldn’t dance there anymore. That stupid action damn near started a riot. Not only did all the men protest the banning, so did most of the women. We all looked up to those two, their modern ways and extraordinary talent. Kathy Bird was our "Bony Maroni," how could they do that to her?

One difference between Boney and Kathy was the physical description in the song. Kathy was not real skinny and boney like a stick of macaroni. Kathy was tall and slim like Sally Kellerman, but like Sally, had all her best and generous attributes nicely packaged and in all the right places. Kathy was definitely designed for sin! LOL!

Ten years later no one would have cared how anyone danced, especially in a wild hard drinking place like the Diamond Horseshoe.  (I’m pretty sure it was a few jealous girls, and I think I know who, that complained to the owner and his wife that caused the banning of the ‘dirty dance’ entertainment that night in 1961.) Man I can still see "Kate", as her friends lovingly called her. She was unforgettable. 

Kate left our area for New York in 1962. A couple years later she worked full time as an airline hostess and did part time dancing gigs in night clubs and some theater musicals. She finally got discovered and went to Hollywood and became a studio dancer and also was a feature dance performer in Vegas casino shows. 

What memories rush and overflow my brain when I hear certain ‘50s and ‘60s songs. I am right back there, at least mentally, with my fabulous family, buddies, girlfriends, music, movies, TV, food and drink and THE greatest cars of all time.

The bad part of that mental slam to the past is the coming-back-to-present withdrawals. One sure cure is a couple dirty martinis.  (A couple fingers of gin, a few drops of dry vermouth, a few more drops of 30 proof triple sec and some anchovy stuffed olives, pour a bit of the liquid from the olive jar and a squirt of real lime. YOWZER!!)

Back in the ‘60s almost all people and everything I loved, cared about and identified with was still viable. Now most everyone and everything from that era is gone or going! So by now, anyone that has ever read my stories knows it’s no secret the ‘60s is my favorite decade.

Yes! There were many bad things that happened in the ‘60s. The equal rights atrocities.  Our President Jack Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King got assassinated and the USA involvement began in earnest in Viet Nam.  However, for me here are some real solid reasons why the 1960s is my favorite decade.

Same as my 57 Mercurey Converable I had at 19. It was a stick 312V8 (Same engine as ThunderBird 312)

By 1960: I was 19, a year out of high school, pretty much free to do whatever. My parents were very liberal with me. I had a nice girlfriend, great friends and a fast ‘57 Mercury convertible. It was indeed also party time! I was biding my time going to junior college and working a decent job. I was A1 for the draft and knew my military time was coming.

Best Beer Ever. Made in Peru, IL

Until then I would have a ball drinking Star Model beer with my friends, romancing my girlfriend and of course more illegal drag racing on county roads.