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Miss Binnie: Your Guidance Counselor – staunch believer in cows and raising sheep.

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You turn 16 and people start looking at your future for you.

Why is that?

Your parents: “What are you going to do with your life?”

Your girlfriend: “What college are you going to?”

Your friends: “You need to figure that out”.

You’ve only been shaving for a year and a half and they already want to know how you’re planning for your retirement.

And Miss Binnie, your guidance counselor. She was paid to hound you about your future.

She grew up on a farm – she thought you should live on one.

There was a future in raising cattle – people were always going to eat – you could help the planet by helping feed it.

You met a cow once – you stared at it for an hour – you die of guilt every time you pass a McDonald’s – those enormous sad eyes.

Maybe chickens – maybe eggs. Everybody tells you chickens are stupid and you haven’t lived until you’ve woken up at four in the morning to the sound of a thousand chickens yelling or be knocked unconscious by the smell that comes out of them every single hour of every single day.

You made the big mistake of nodding your head when Miss Binnie lights up and runs down the attributes of being a farmer.

She was transferring you to Pierce College – they had a student run farm. You were going to take courses in Animal Husbandry – you were going to learn about crop rotation.

Whatever happened to hanging out in Venice or going to Madame Wong’s on the weekends – or meeting a girl who wore Doc Marten’s?

You were being put on a crash course to a future you weren’t even sure about when all you wanted to do was quietly worry about nothing and live for the weekend.

Nope – everybody had plans and they all had your name on them.

It was a plot – your parents wanted you out of the house – they wanted to rent out your bedroom.

Just then, the phone rang.

It was loud and you bolted upright. Your mom is banging on your bedroom door, telling you to wake up. Some girl just called.

You panic – and then you stop. You got home from school and passed out – you were dreaming. What day is it?

You have no idea who Miss Binnie is. It’s gotta be the radio – it had to be Frazer Smith.

You are freaked out and relieved at the same time.

You need a shave.

And here’s an hour’s worth of Frazer Smith from KROQ – July 10, 1977.

The post It’s 1977 – It’s L.A. – It’s High School – It’s Your Guidance Counselor appeared first on Past Daily: A Sound Archive of News, History And Music.