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    Joe asked for and received more hours and worked several 8 hour days during the week and, of course, all day Saturday. He was offered a full-time job on the night crew (10 PM to 7 AM) but declined. A change like that to his schedule would totally fuck up his time with Mary and, with the end of summer, he would have to jump back to a part-time schedule.
    Other events of a global nature were unfolding that would ultimately affect the lives of the Class of ’64. Southeast Asia was becoming a hot bed of activity and LBJ was leaning towards military involvement in the tiny country of Viet Nam. Learning nothing from the French defeat and humiliating withdrawal years earlier, Pentagon hawks pushed hard and would eventually sway the President to jump in with both feet.
    As they returned for their senior year, Joe and Mary rarely talked about the draft and Viet Nam. It was a time to enjoy what was left of their high school years and the friendships that would end with graduation. When yearbooks arrived, the majority of Joe’s friends who signed his wished him luck with Mary. In every one’s eyes they were still very much a couple; however neither of them signed the other’s yearbook. Mary was afraid her parents would see Joe’s words as proof that they were still seeing each other and she chose to give Joe a card rather than reveal her most intimate feelings for others to read. Her words reassured Joe that all their plans for a future together were still intact.
    By the end of the year, most college bound seniors had been accepted and, with that important issue behind them, they kicked back and cruised through the months leading up to graduation. It looked like the colleges of choice were split among the dominant state universities and the new community college. A very few were accepted at the most prestigious campuses like Yale, Stanford and, of course, Phil at Annapolis. His freshman year would start right after graduation with a full summer of P.T. and learning basic seaman skills…pure hell.
    Mary was treasuring every senior moment, attending school concerts and plays, participating in the madrigal singing group (with Joe in attendance), and becoming fully immersed in every club that would enhance her coming college experience. Joe was a passive bystander but was happy for her achievements and proud that she was still his girl.
    The first Beatles album came out in January and Joe began his quest to acquire every new LP they released the minute it hit the shelves. This was followed up by their first visit to the USA and appearance on the Ed Sullivan show on February 9th which also was the same day the first Mustang rolled off the assembly line.
    Joe was running the ’57 into the ground. The poor Power Glide transmission was not designed for street racing and it was nearing the end of the line. Joe had picked out a black Corvair Monza as a potential graduation gift. The best he could hope for was the down payment as a gift his family might afford but he would have to make the payments on his own.
    By spring it was apparent to Joe and Mary that Viet Nam was more than a temporary dust up. At the end of March, McNamara confirmed US commitment to expand aid, both military and economic, to South Viet Nam. Within a month a spike in draft notices began and with it, the dawn of student demonstrations on campuses all across the country.
    At first Mary thought Joe could avoid the draft by getting married but she was never serious and Joe knew it. The only real way to stay out of the service was to be a college student in pursuit of a degree. This student deferment drove a lot of kids not suited for college to enroll but the seniors at Lansdale had more pressing issues…like the Senior Prom.

 
    CHAPTER 8
    T here never was any doubt in Joe’s mind that he would be taking Mary to the prom which was to take place on the University campus in Ann Arbor. The chosen theme was “The Twelfth of Never”…thank you Johnny Mathis.