Anna and the Guitar

Mary Forbes
EVWP Summer 2009


Anna grew up in the northeast section of Los Angeles. Anna was a high achiever, maintaining a straight “A” average throughout her high school years. Her family referred to her as “super student.” She took all the hardest classes, studied in the evenings at Occidental College (her goal was to attend Harvard), played the saxophone in the marching band, was the student representative for the high school in the PTA. But she had two disappointments - that she was overweight, and didn’t have a boyfriend. Being the high achiever that she was, she researched how to lose weight, and took it on as her summer goal the summer of her junior year.

In her research at Occidental College, she ran across a book that spelled out the workout for Air Force Cadets. She was planning on visiting her grandmother during the summer, and made it her goal to come back for her senior year fit and trim.
As Anna boarded the plane, she started to form her plan. One of her purposes for the trip to the Midwest was to document her grandparents’ story (there always had to be a purpose to things she chose to do). She planned to interview her grandmother in the mornings, and work out in the afternoons. As soon as she arrived at her Grandmother’s house she got to work.

Being a retired home economics teacher, Grandma didn’t take too kindly to her granddaughter’s food and exercise choices. She enjoyed talking about her life, and how life had changed in her lifetime. After each session of the interview, she would finish by stating her views on diet and exercise. Anna would respond with respect, but was resolved to succeed at her goal.

After spending the summer at Grandma’s house, it was time to fly back home, and start her senior year of high school. She had succeeded in her goals, and sported a slim, shapely figure and documented interviews of her grandmother’s recollections. To add to her long list of accomplishments in high school, she became student body president. Along with this accomplishment, she also had a first-her first boyfriend. Anna’s family was dismayed at her newfound fame and popularity. They were more dismayed by who she was dating. Her boyfriend was, as her mother said, a “motor head,” and didn’t see how they would have any future. “What will you do with a boyfriend who fixes cars when you go to school next year at Harvard?” her mother wanted to know. Anna said that she didn’t know, but she was happy to experience a boyfriend in high school. She was even more excited when she was able to go to the prom with a date. Her and her new boyfriend, Ernie, decided that they would do something different, and both wore a tuxedo (Anna wasn’t much for dresses).

The day finally came to take all her belongings and fly to Boston to attend Harvard-She had succeeded in going to the school she dreamed of since a little girl. She promised Ernie that she would not forget him. Anna did really good keeping in touch with Ernie her first semester in college. She wrote letters to Ernie every night, and talked to him on the phone every week. She cheered for him when he landed a job in a bank as a teller. One thing that really bothered Anna, however, was that she could tell that they were growing apart. Ernie’s father loved Anna, and told her that when she came home for winter break, he wanted to have a talk with her.

Anna met with Ernie’s father soon after returning from Harvard for winter break. She was not prepared for what Ernie’s father wanted to speak with her about. He wanted Anna to know that she was loved by Ernie’s parents, and wanted to propose something to her. He said that he wanted Anna to marry Ernie, and if she agreed, he would pay her $50,000. Anna knew that this would not work. She knew that things were changing between Ernie and her. She had not planned to break up with Ernie, but put to her in these terms; it seemed the logical thing to do. “Well, at least it happened at the beginning of the visit home, “she said. “Now the pressure is off, and I can relax.”

After returning to Harvard, Anna poured herself into her studies. She noticed that a young man named Jonathan never lost the opportunity to say “hi.” She didn’t think anything of it, because he was a member of the “Porcs”, THE fraternity, the hotsy totsy fraternity as many people said. Jonathan was obviously out of her league. Then one day, that all changed.

Anna was at her desk, and started to hear something funny outside. It was late at night, and hoped they would soon go away so she could get back to her studying. She kept hearing a voice singing, a guitar being played quite badly, and then started to hear her name. Anna went to the window, and much to her surprise she saw Jonathan outside her window, playing a guitar, wearing a tux (remember he was in a fraternity) and drunk out of his mind. He started singing “I Love You Truly” at the top of his lungs, strumming his guitar like mad, and then started to call for Anna. Anna opened the window, and tried to reason with Jonathan. All that Jonathan would say was that he loved Anna and he needed her to come down so he could sing to her. Finally, Anna relented, and went down to the “troubadour.” She said later that the only reason she went down was that she was afraid he would wake up the whole dormitory. Jonathan sang to her for quite some time, and Anna finally succeeded in convincing Jonathan to go back to his room, and yes, she would go out with him the following week end.

The next day, Anna saw Jonathan in class, and he reminded Anna that she had promised to go out. Anna was wondering what she had gotten herself into, but stayed true to her word.

Anna and Jonathan did go out that next week end. By the end of the month, they were spending more and more time together. Anna’s roommate started calling her the invisible roommate, since she would be in her room only briefly to change clothes and shower most days. Anna and Jonathan dated all the way through college. After college, they were married in the Harvard chapel and had their reception, can you guess? At the “Porcs” fraternity house. Oh, and no, he didn’t play the guitar at their wedding.