I grew up in the Suburbia of sitcoms. Clean streets, friendly neighbors, kids riding their bikes until it was too dark to see, unlocked front doors - the whole megilla ;). I was in Girl Scouts and, later, the marching band, so I marched in several Memorial Day parades thru the center of town. I played trombone, and I remember at the parade my 6th grade year, my entire class had staked out space on the sidewalk just to cheer me as I went by. In 8th grade, I took drama class and that took first place over my other activities. By senior high, I was a budding diva - I was in the drama club and two small afterschool choral groups as well as the school’s big chorus. I was in all but two of the school plays in the 3 years there. But I was still naive and sheltered.
Then in late 1974, Levels opened up (the youth center to which I referred in my last hosting gig) Prior to Levels, the only youth center was affiliated with the catholic school and mom didn’t like it when I went there. She told me my sister had gotten beaten up there once (I later checked with sis and all that happened was a little shoving match that ended in the two girls being friends) but my best friend at the time attended the catholic school so she liked to hang out there. It was okay - there was a ping pong table, a pool table, and some snack machines. The boys usually played basketball on the adjacent playground, and the girls talked. It was meh.
Then the public library decided to section off their basement and turn some of it into a community room for poetry readings and such, and turn another section of it into a place kids could go after school. They put in large bench like platforms of different heights (different levels, get it?) all throughout the very large room, some partially enclosed with walls, others wide open. They hired a couple of grad students to act as counselors/chapparones. There were tape decks and a cabinet full of cassettes to listen to; there were rap sessions, board games, local bands played, theatre productions were mounted. It was a cool place. At first, they only let in the HS kids - grades 10-12 - but through the years, as those seniors went on to college, they kept coming back to Levels so the age was extended up; and later down to include junior high to allow for the younger siblings of the regulars.
We hung out there every day - weekends too. Some of us would show up at 10 am on Saturdays (when it opened) with a lunch bag (they had a fridge in the office) and we stayed until closing twelve hours later. We’d order in pizza at dinner time and drink lots and lots of soda. We laughed and talked and played games and dissed the teachers and the kids who thought they were too good for Levels. In the good weather, we went out onto the patio and played frisbee and catch.
I was offered my first hit of pot there - well not in Levels, but right outside, around the corner, under the overpass. I almost took it, but I chickened out at the last minute.
I stole The High School Love Of My Life[sup]TM[/sup] from someone while at Levels (I had my learners permit by then, she didn’t) - we dated that whole year and a bit beyond. I took him to see the first play produced there: Hair (without the nude scene at the end). A year later, they did it at the high school. Levels also produced Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell and a whole slew of Neil Simon plays.
Levels made high school bearable.
College opened up another world for me - that of illegal drugs. Picture it [del]Sicily, 1938[/del] - I was still mostly naive, sitting in my dorm room freshman year doing homework. Someone stuck his head in my doorway and asked if I wanted any something. I didn’t hear what he said so he repeated. I still didn’t get it so he said, exasperated “drugs. I’m offering you drugs” Shocked, I said “oh! no. No thank you” He went away and I cowered in my bed for an hour.
My birthday (my 18th) was early in the semester and I had 6 friends at that point, so I invited them all to my room for cake and booze. (did I mention I’d already been drinking for two years?) I poured myself a screwdriver - a little heavy on the vodka - got ready for the party. I poured a second one when my two friends who lived down the hall came by early with my present - a nickel bag and a pipe. I was determined to try it. So they filled and lit the pipe and handed it to me. I had never smoked anything before so I had no idea what to expect and was totally unprepared for the sensation of hot smoke in my throat so I grabbed the nearest cup and downed in one gulp…the screwdriver. I have no idea if I got high that night - I was too drunk. Long story short, I smoked, and inhaled, in college and a little after, but nothing stronger and not since. However, the ghosts of all the braincells I killed off in college keep coming back to haunt me. 
I have more stories but they’re for another time.
as for the promised girl-on-girl action? I once participated in a 4-way kiss. That’s it. I guess I’m still kinda naive… 
Happy Monday all.
