Picking Kathy up before the Prom (vintage super-8 film)
My Real Memoir
How could I forget my first love? Every now and then, when I was a teenager, Dad would drive us all the way to Hollywood for dinner. And that usually meant the Small World Importium, a wondrous imports shop and restaurant featuring international foods. And it was there that I met my first love:
Beef Stroganoff.
It’s not surprising that I would fall instantly in love with a dish made from sirloin steak and two of my favorite foods: noodles and sour cream. I’d loved noodles pretty much since the day I went off formula, but only as a teenager discovered sour cream (I still eat it weekly). In this case, an ultra-rich Russian version called smetana—which is also the last name of the great composer Bedřich Smetana (why his last name was “Sourcream” remains a mystery).
But I associate another love with stroganoff, the love of one of my dearest friends. I’d grown up around the corner from a smart, clever girl named Kathy. By the time we reached high school, we were inseparable, eating lunches together, using silly words only we thought were funny. She was the most supportive friend a guy could ever have, among other things forming my band’s first (and only) fan club.
She was also a brilliant cook. So, when she asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I’d said without hesitation, “Beef stroganoff!” And it came to pass that she did prepare for me a stroganoff of beef. But not just any stroganoff of beef, nay, verily, for it was the greatest stroganoff of beef the world hath ever known! Henceforth, I was even more in love with smetana. And with my amazing friend Kathy.
After my high school love Marty and I broke up, and near the end of my first year of college, Kathy surprised me by asking me to her senior prom at La Mirada High (whence I’d graduated the year before).
Being girlfriendless, and virtually dateless for half an excruciating year, I thought, “What-the-heck.” We had a jolly time, dressing pseudo-Victorian and cutting-up while cutting-the-rug. After the prom, we even found a secluded spot to amourize our affection. But since Kathy was the closest thing to a sister I’d ever had, it just felt wrong. So, yes, that turned out to be our only date. Nevertheless, it was a lovely finale to our high school years together.
Decades later, while I was shooting my first feature film as a writer-director, Healing River, Kathy called me out of the blue. She was driving through Cincinnati. So she dropped by to watch us shoot, and to spend a few precious minutes with the boy who’ll forever love stroganoff—
And her.
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❤️❤️
Lovely reminisce, Mitch.
Thank you, MSJ. (Btw, what do you prefer to be called?)
You’re welcome. I prefer Li but Lisa is ok also. Thanks for asking 🙂
Ah, good to know. Thanks, Li.
lump in throat
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My wife makes a great stroganoff. We’ve been married 22 years – never underestimate the power of a good stroganoff. 😉
I know, right?!
Mitch, Isn’t it funny how things come together with people and things we love. Fun memories. In Christ, Gary
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
Beef stroganoff was the one dish I remember making well in Home Economics class back in high school. I even made it for my mother and I on one occasion. Always have to laugh when I hear it mentioned, because it represented the full extent of my kitchen “skills.” The vintage film was a great accessory to this memory, Mitch.
Thanks, Bruce.
One of the first recipes I learned to make as a bride…only mine was made with ground beef, not sirloin steak. Back in the poor as church mice days when I learned what I could make with a pound of hamburger. We eventually graduated from ground beef to round steak. Ha!
;>)
How sweet. And beef stroganoff IS yummy!
Awww.. Beautiful Love Story
You were even a ham back then-lovely friendship story. 🙂
Loved the vintage film .. u nut!! My own first passionate love was lemon meringue pie (on someone else’s dime — on mine, a Chunky bar). Shortly after my best male childhood friend started to look SO much like Mark Spitz, we tried to date. Once. The goodnight kiss was a 2-hr failure. We were goon-buddies, apparently destined to remain those people who once chewed up cookies and spit them at each other in 100% hilarity. 🤗
;>)
Sweet story, Mitch!
Thanks, Mark!
How sweet! I love friends like that.
A lovely, special memory.
Thank you, Liz.
What a sweet story! Love the video and your picture at prom. How cool that she looked you up after all those years 🙂
Indeed. I was floored!
It amazes me how much you remember about your teenage years and in such detail. My teenage years are a blur. I think I might prefer them that way. But your stories are priceless! I love that hurricane lamp in the prom photo. My parents had one just like that one! And of course you are the kind of guy who a girl would reach out to many years later! Lovely story – stroganoff and all!
Aw, thank you, Joanne. I find that if I sit with notepad in hand and think back, memories start to float to the surface. Old photos help, of course, and the letters I sent to my pen pal–all of which she saved and returned to me years later–are priceless.
The notepad and thinking back did help me as I tried to remember a time when I took care of a little boy who is now 42. I wanted to be able to describe that time for him and it was amazing how the memories began to flow. I wrote a 52-page book of remembrances for him. High school? Not sure I want to remember. Maybe where the road block lies. Thanks again – Mitch. I so enjoy your writing.
Wow. The film is in pretty good shape. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure, Bob.
I’m glad she’s still a friend, and I appreciate friends who do not forget about their friends. It is very rare for/in my generation.
I should try Stroganoff. 😋
Stroganoff isn’t as popular in the U.S. as it was back then, but I think it’s starting to make a comeback.
I’ll keep an eye on each restaurant menu I read. 😂😋
Oh my goodness, Mitch.
I saw you mention stroganoff and just had to see what it was all about.
The first time my (future) husband came to my house for dinner, I made beef stroganoff, a dish I learned to make as a teenager with my brother-in-law. I was visiting my sister and him on the campus of Michigan State University (married housing). Laura had come home from classes exhausted and went right to bed so Dan and I decided to cook for her and we tried this new recipe. It came out great.
So, fast forward, and to try and make a long story short, my husband told everyone for years that he was sure I was the one because of the stroganoff. I passed the recipe to my daughter so she’d always remember where she — literally — came from.
Great memory to share. Glad your friend had a chance to see you at work!
Thank you, Anonymous.
Again, it’s Paula G. I guess WordPress wants something from me like a passport to identify me? hahahahaha
Ah, hi again, Paula!
A very sweet story with a sour (cream, that is) star. Very nice touch there with the vintage Super-8 movie footage. Not sure what all was going on there, but you both looked like you were enjoying yourselves a lot.
;>) We were indeed. Thanks, Russell.
Oh, I agree with you stroganoff is wonderful if it’s made just right! The Super-8 movie and longtime friendship is so sweet and a bit telling of your personality! 🙂
;>)
That’s sweet. I forget sometimes that guys can have those tender feelings (w/o the sex) too.
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