I was just sitting here at the computer staring at the family genealogy
I've been working on for weeks. It's making me crazy. I see dead
people. I need a break.
Out of the blue, I began to think about who I am now compared to who I
was in high school. But my brain is too frazzled to be profound.
Instead, I decided to set up a Google Group with my high-school's name
on it. I figured if any of my sisters in arms looked up the old school
on Google, they'd see it and come here. Maybe share a few stories. Then
I could figure out how different THEY are now compared to their high
school selves, and see if I'm on track.
My name was Rhonda Lee Richoux when I went to Annunciation High. I
graduated in 1970. I had attended Annunciation Grammar School, too,
from 5th through 8th grades. I remember being slapped in the face by
Sister Loyola for stating my case when she accused me of something I
didn't do. I knew it would be pointless to cry to my mother after
school, because on previous run-ins with nuns, she had always taken
their side and punished me for talking back to a nun. Sister Loyola
must've been going through menopause at the time. I can't explain her
demonic attitude any other way. The woman was mean.
I remember Sister Jeanne in 6th grade was beautiful. Sister Daniel in
7th grade was smart. Sister Grace in the 8th grade was....well, she was
Gracie. She defies description. She ruled from her desk because of her
"ailment", letting us take turns reading the lesson and giving tests to
the class. We devised a clever way of giving the answers as we read the
multiple choices and True or False questions. We all got A's in that
class. She didn't notice the cheating. She was too busy nipping on the
bottle of phenobarb she kept in her drawer. She had a crush on Vic
Damone and we had to listen to his records over and over. She was nuts,
and I liked her.
In high school, things were different. I was seperated from my dear
friend Lodema Ringheiser, and eventually we were merely on "Hi, how
have you been" terms. I miss her to this day, and wonder how she is.
She was such a good and faithful friend to me in grammar school.
Sister Anne Marie (SAM to us) was not only the principal, but our home
room teacher and English teacher to boot. We pretty much OD'd on SAM by
the time we hit Junior year. But, she saw something in me that no one
else saw. She told me that I was smart (Hah! I thought she was loonier
than Gracie when she said that!), and she told me that I had a gift for
writing. Well...that was something new. I hadn't even noticed it
before, but I LOVED to write! I kept a journal, I wrote poems, but no
one ever saw what I wrote. In high school, you have to write a lot of
essays and reports. And I guess I did okay with those. Anyway, she was
the first person in my life who had told me that I had any kind of
"gift". SAM gave us a hard time while we were there, but I learned so
much from the woman...things I remember still. Things that help me in
my career today. I'm grateful to her for that.
Well, I could go on and on about our class making a young seminarian to
decide against becoming a priest, about our class upsetting Sister Luke
so much she refused to teach our religion class. About our class making
Sister Lucretia cry for our lost souls. But, I'll save that for another
time. Or, better yet, leave those stories for my sisters in arms who
might find this page and add to it.
Semper Fidelis! Rhonda Richoux Fox Class of 1970
