It's the last day of school today and that reminds me of the classic movie Dazed and Confused. Often imitated, never duplicated.
Our plot revolves around the last day of school and high school upperclassmen hunt down the hapless junior high students rising into to high to "initiate them". While mostly remembered today as an early star turn for Matthew McConaghey, the lead was really Wiley Wiggins as Mitch, the 8th grader coming of age, being paddled, cruising with the big kids, drinking, smoking weed. All those good things that an 8th grader might do... in 1976,
Also starred Ben Affleck as the paddling bully O'Bannion.
When I originally saw this movie, it quickly reminded me of my own junior high to high school experience in Austin in 1979. Thankfully I was not hunted down like that, but the threat of the hunter lasted during the summer. Others of my friends did get caught and their heads shaved. Just like in the movie, it was common for older brothers and sisters to set up and tip off the hunters of the availability of prey.
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