Page 57 - Philly Girl

Philly Girl 41

Williams Hall

It was 1969: Woodstock had completely worn me out.
My parents could not persuade me to come home after
that summer. I moved into Williams Hall, the women’s
dorm at Temple University, typing Dewey Decimal
numbers on cards for the library to pay for my room.
On the first day, I met my college roommate, Sue, along with
her parents and her boyfriend Neil, who studied music at the
Curtis Institute. I have two things to thank Sue and Neil for.
First, they gave me a birds-eye view of two people having
sex every Saturday night. And second, Neil taught me to
appreciate the sound of classical violin music; he practiced
all the time. Over the next few years, I came to appreciate
Brahms violin concertos and also the proper way to respond
to receiving oral sex. Thank you, Neil and Sue, for that!
Then there was Reeva, the smartest person I had ever
met. I was unsophisticated and silly, and she hated me at
first sight. As dorm switchboard operator, she knew every-
one’s business—who called whom and who didn’t receive
any calls at all. She had all the power.
Reeva got to know every boyfriend by the sound of his
voice, and the same with our mothers. She would announce
one of my suiters: “Mr. Plaid Pants is here—Janice Shapiro.”
Ouch. She was definitely the mistress of Williams Hall.
That year, we both loved Danny. But Danny had a crush
on me, and Reeva wanted Danny for herself. Danny came
from Athens, Pennsylvania—absolutely nowheresville, USA.
He wore suspenders and saddle shoes and horn-rimmed