First Crushes

It wasn’t until I was in Standard 3 at Tauranga Primary School (in New Zealand) that I even realized boys existed. Of course I had two brothers of my own, and so boys just weren’t that much of a novelty.

However, my teacher that year was unforgettable Mr. Edwards. Oh my….was he handsome! If you’ve seen the movie Pollyanna, you’ll more than likely remember the handsome Doctor Chilton who swoops in to save the day.

Well, Mr. Edwards was Doctor Chilton handsome. With his wavy blue black hair, and a smile that said he cared, it was hopeless for a young girl smitten. He was a hero in every sense of the word. Besides being a standout teacher, he had about four other jobs. I was aware of two of those. He had an early morning milk delivery route, then he drove the school bus, and all this before a full day of teaching. I loved my year in Mr. Edwards class, not only because of the eye candy up in front, but also because I thrived under his unique teaching methods.

The next few years I had crushes on probably three boys, who I’m sure had absolutely no clue about it. One was Russell Burns…..tall, rusty brown hair, and a nice smile. Then there was Gavin Cockroft, tall and gangly, with blonde wavy hair, and last but not least there was Colin Giffney, about medium height, with black wavy hair, lots of freckles, and a winning smile. They all three hung out together, and seemed to be well liked by all. Who knows what became of them, and who knows if they ever sensed my crush? Some things are better left unknown.

Now if you want to know about a reverse crush, P.K. Smith had a crush on me a mile high. I was now twelve years old and away at boarding school. Once, he even gave me a quick peck on the lips. Talk about scandalous! Luckily no one saw, so the secret was safe with me anyway. Who knows how many of his friends he bragged to.

In 1964 when I was 14, I of course had a huge crush on the Beatles, and still remember sitting in the back of the bus holding hands with my “boyfriend” (whose name actually happened to be Paul,) as we listened to the Beatles singing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.”

Well, it’s safe to say I discovered that yes boys did exist, and ultimately learned that love has a way of making the world go round.



Hilda S. Gamette
September 26, 2012