Priceless

As the summer draws to an end I often find that nostalgia sets in and I am reminded of those long ago days when "back to school" still meant something. We had great summers back in the sixties and it sure was sad to see them end. But at that time of year there was also a sense of adventure and rebirth  - an opportunity to show the world who you could be. Or in this particular case - show the world who three people could be.

I hung out in those days with my lifelong pals Dan and Rick. All summer long we listened to rock and roll and dreamed of being in a "group" - meaning of course, a rock band. One of us even made it into an actual group and the other two were content to play the role of being "with the band". You would be surprised how easy it was to get into a dance in those days by just carrying a drum or an amp in through the door. Worked every time...

But the summer of '67 was special as anyone who was there will recall. Movies have been made about it and songs have been written and now my story must be told.  I think the three of us knew we were never actually going to be in a group together but that didn't stop the dream. If we couldn't actually be in a group we could look like one couldn't we? So the week before school off we went to downtown Fredericton to make the dream a reality - sort of.

First stop of course was Herbie's Music Store to browse the racks of new records and see what the latest fads were. Then off to Levine's Department Store where the matronly salesclerk must have been thrilled as she outfitted us in three handsome beige corduroy blazers. Next stop I believe was Zeller's where we found three bright red shirts and three pairs of sharply creased black slacks. But our outfits were not finished yet - something was missing... something that would make our look complete. But what? Off we went to the somewhat pricier downtown trendy men's stores in search of the elusive item that would make three mere individuals into that magical unit - the group.

Our budget was running low. Remember, we did this all on our own with nothing but lawn mowing and paper route money and maybe a few "Back to School" dollars from our parents. Luckily we already had three pairs of matching footwear or "desert boots" as they were called in those days.

So after checking out Capital Men's and Boy's and The Royal Stores we were starting to despair that our look would never be complete. Then in utter resignation we wandered into that last haven of desperate downtown shoppers - Chippin's Clothing Store. As we listlessly browsed through the aisles of rubber boots, belts and suspenders we knew we had hit rock bottom when we suddenly saw them... the fashion item that would set us apart from the crowd - forever.

We knew we had found our look! The cigar smoking salesman behind the counter agreed with us and assured us they were made of the finest polyester blend available and they just happened to be on sale. And size was no problem as they came in only one size. Imagine our joy as we headed home assured that come Monday morning and the first day of school - heads would turn.

And turn they did. All four hundred of them it seemed. What a sight we must have been strolling onto the school ground... who could these sharply dressed strangers be? Why with hair combed down over our foreheads in fashionable bangs and all dressed alike in shades of black, red and beige we could have been anybody or even somebody - we could have been a "group"!

And for that brief moment in time we were a group - we were "The Dickies". What better name for three teenagers wearing black turtleneck dickies to the first day of school on a warm September morning? A few of the more gullible younger students even approached us to ask if we were indeed forming a group. We played it cool and basically said no comment...

So that is the story of the dickies. We never did get around to actually forming a group with actual instruments but we had our 15 minutes of fame as they say. Thank God there were no smart phones or digital cameras in those days - or maybe I am wrong about that. On second thought I would love to see a picture of those three would be rock stars on that bright September morning. Or better yet, I would love to see the looks on those 400 faces as the Dickies walked fearlessly up that hill... that would be as they say - priceless.