WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL TWO RIVERS WI CLASS OF 1989
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
PERSONAL APPEARANCE
I promised that the next two entries would be Chris Staudinger and Tom Grassman. Look for Chris on Wednesday. But despite requests from two different people, my Tom story is going to have to wait a few days. Why? Because an update in the Tom story hasn't happened yet.
What?
Here's a little tidbit on Tom. He's played in many local bands in and around the area where he now lives. However, after 17 years since his last visit, Tom is returning to Two Rivers. He's going to be performing at a place called The Waverly Inn.
I couldn't possibly pass this up. So Meff and I are heading back up to Carptown together - a rarity in itself. And we're going to watch Tom play. My digital camera will be coming along. He has no idea we're coming. I'm sure he'll be shocked.
So if anyone in the area wants to come see me, or take a swing at me (Craig, are you out there?) come to the Waverly Inn on Friday night. Showtime is 8:30.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:46 PM 0 comments
MARK SCHREIBER
I first met Mark in 8th grade. We shared Mr. Fencl's reading class, in addtion to Mr. Franke's science class. We got to be good friends.
Mark was kind of a runt. He was thin and short. But he was a really cool guy. Some of my early memories of him are from Fencl's class. Jeff Salstrand used to try to spit on Mark nearly everyday. Why? I don't know.
Mark used to come over to my house on occasion. We would play Atari and look at my dad's Penthouse Magazines.
Although I was unable to attend the 8th grade end-of-the-year picnic due to disciplinary reasons, I do know something that went on there. Richard and Meff came up with the idea to pee in a squirt gun, then shoot people with it. Richard pretty much did all the dirty work. To hear him describe it years later, it was pretty gross. Richard held the squirt gun up to his willy, and peed into it. Do you remember the tiny holes those things had? Have you ever tried to have a slow, drawn out pee? Forget it! It won't work. Richard apparently peed all over the gun as well as his hands. But in the process, he managed to fill the thing up. After cleaning up, Richard took the gun outside and allegedly made poor Mark his victim - several times. I wonder if Mark ever knew what hit him?
In our freshman year, we sat next to one another and endured a semester of Mr. Hough's history class.
Side note. For anyone who went to Clarke, do you remember that as freshman, the trio of Mr. Hough, Mr. Wood and Mrs. Mull used to constantly berate anyone that had gone to Clarke? If I had a fricken nickel for everytime one of them would say, "This ain't L.B. Clarke." Jesus, were we that bad? As a senior, I ran into Clarke teacher Mr. Schambureck. He said that at various school meetings amongst staff members from all the public schools, Mr. Hough would never stop talking about how horrible the students at Clarke were. What a worm.
Anyway, in the fall of our freshman year, Mark and I would join Kevin Dehne, and ride our bikes all over town, inevitably winding up back at Kevin's house. One time Mark tried to hop a curb or something, as he was going pretty fast. He wiped out and hit the concrete pretty hard, cutting open his hand. The best I could offer was a band-aid.
After our freshman year, Mark and I stopped hanging around with each other. Nothing happened. We just grew apart I guess. I think Mark started hanging around with fellow graduate Jeff Rausch.
After high school, I ran into Mark a few times at the video store. We talked a little bit. He remained friendly as always. He ended up getting married in 1996 to a girl named Ralee (cool name). Last I knew, they had two kids, and were living in Two Rivers.
UPDATE - 7/20/06 - On July 15th, Kevin Dehne and I stopped to see Mark. He didn't recognize us at first, and was somewhat reluctant. But he soon warmed up. He mentioned that he'd read this blog, and was a bit surprised to find out he'd been squirted with Richard Wheeler's urine. But he laughed about it. Mark lives out in the country, northwest of Two Rivers. He has a gigantic garage next to his normal garage. He's got an old car and a Harley as well. The shots below are of Mark, his wife, his kids, and Kevin and I.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:45 PM 2 comments
JAY ROZMARYNOSKI
Known as "Rozy" to his friends - or sometimes, "the bear."
For someone that I first got to know in 5th grade, I have surprisngly little material about him.
My first memories from Jay are from 5th grade. We had Ms. Krause together. One of things that a lot of us guys would do, was play some sort of war battle game on paper. We would draw a line down the middle. Then each person would draw a flag as far away from the middle as possible. We would then draw hundreds of tanks. Each person would then take turns with their pencil. You could eaither say "shooting" or "advancing." Either way, you would put the tip of your pencil on your tank, put your finger on the eraser part, then try to slide the lead on the paper. If your line hit an enemy tank, it was destroyed. If you were advancing, you would move to wherever your line ended. The object of course was to eventually shoot the other player's flag.
Anyway, Jay and I took the game to larger proportions. I got a big piece of construction paper from Mr. Spatz' art room. We then covered that with our various tanks. We played that game for weeks. And to be honest with you, it ended up being too much. I'm pretty sure we never finished it.
One of the things that distinguishes Jay was the manner in which he walked. He kind of slowly walked with a strut - with an emphasis on the shoulders. Picture Mr. Blonde in "Reservoir Dogs," when he first comes back inside the warehouse, right before he cuts the guy's ear off. That was Jay. Jay didn't move his arms when he struted. But he certainly swayed his shoulders.
In high school, I believe Jay dated class of 1990's Stacy Harms.
Jay was a member of the swimming team. I know firsthand that he had incredible lungs. No no, we never kissed. But in our junior year, I had Mrs. Berg for gym class when we had our six weeks of swimming. One of things she tested us on was underwater swimming. This is where I starred. Only one or two people in our class could swim the width of our pool underwater. But I could do two laps. Eventually I got to 2.5 and 2.75. Mrs. Berg kept a chart on the wall of the top underwater swimmers from all her classes. Only one person was ahead of me. It was Jay. He had done three laps. Everyday of class, encouraged by Richard, I set out to macth Jay's performance. I checked the chart each class. Jay was on three, as I was improving from two, and getting ever so close to three. Then one day I came to class, determined that that would be the day. I looked at the chart. "Fuck!" Jay had increased his record to four full laps! Dejected, I gave up. I know I could have done three. But Jesus, I'd never do four. Jay must have lungs the size of pillows.
In our senior year, Jay was one of the students who went to Mexico with the spanish class. Allegedly, he and Richard Wheeler smoked pot together while they were down there. I shudder to hink what would have happened to them, had they got caught. If watching thousands of movies has taught me anything, it's that Mexican prisons are not a great place to be.
I believe that Jay was also the ringleader of the senior commons poker games. Apparently several of the seniors used to play poker for big money. From what I heard, Jay used to keep track of all the winnings in a notebook. Eveyone knew what was going on. But they felt safe because no money was ever seen. The big time poker players used to settle up later on. I believe Jason Anderson and Craig Rysticken were also involved. I heard that Craig cleaned up more than anyone. My friend Dave joined the group one day - and ended up about $40.00 in the hole. He never played again. The fun came to an end when Mr. Wood busted them all.
After High School, I believe Jay went to UW Madison to learn about engineering or something. I believe he's married with two kids, and living in Berlin, Wisconsin. I believe he has coached some local swimming teams in his area.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:03 PM 13 comments
Monday, January 30, 2006
KURT PSENICKA
When I think of Kurt Psenicka, a few words come to mind - words like moron, pig and slob.
I think Kurt joined us at Magee, in 5th grade. If not, he definitely joined us for 6th grade at Clarke. One of the two is correct.
At the time, my two best friends were Chris Lohr (a.k.a. Chris Storlie) and Doug Wall. And the two of them took a fancy to Kurt. Although personally, I never did. I found Kurt to be an absolute idiot. He was stupid and loud. I think he smelled too. Nonetheless, Chris dragged the buffoon over to my house once. When he left, I noticed that my watch was missing. Granted, it was a cheap Snoopy watch that I hadn't worn in years. But it was there when he arrived, and gone when he left. You do the math. I was more surprised that Kurt could tell time.
In 7th grade, for whatever reason, Kurt challenged both Toby Schwartz and myself to a fight. It wasn't one-on-one mind you. He wanted to take on both of us at the same time. Now I was never one who had any interest in fighting anybody. But the prospect of a two-on-one situation intrigued me. So Toby and I took him up on the offer.
We were to meet up after school, in front of the teachers' parking lot, outside of Mr. Stodola's window. I guess we were all set to go, when all of a sudden, class of 1988's Mike Schwahert appeared. Apparently unrelated to us, Mike wanted to beat the crap out of Kurt for some reason. As soon as Mike appeared, Kurt took off running, and was gone. Our big fight never took place.
In high school, Kurt inevitably found himself in several special education classes. I can remember him walking down the hall, loudly yelling out to a friend of his, calling him "a banana in a tailpipe." Anyone who has seen Beverly Hills Cop knows where that phrase comes from. But what kind of insult is that?
In my junior year, Kurt sat a few seats down from me in study hall. Everyday (and I mean literally, every single day) he would walk in and greet me with, "Burt you buttfuck." Richard and I used to try to break this phrase down. What exactly was Kurt trying to say to me? Was he asking me a question, as in, "Burt, do you buttfuck?" Was he making a statement, as in, "Burt, I know that you buttfuck." Perhaps he was merely labeling me, as in, "Burt, you are a buttfuck." Or maybe he knew that I buttfucked, and was shocked about it, as in "Burt, of all people, YOU buttfuck?" Sadly, based on his "banana in a tailpipe" insult listed above, he was probably labeling me as a buttfuck. I guess Kurt enjoyed insulting people by applying labels to them that didn't make sense. Seriously Kurt, can you apply a verb as an insult? Buttfucking is an actual action. Just as people can walk, talk, drive and chew gum, they can also buttfuck. So based on Kurt logic, he could also call me a "chew" or a "walk." "Burt you chew." It's nonsense to me. But in Kurt's world, apparently it makes perfect sense.
I also recall Kurt walking down the halls carrying the Satanic bible. He was no doubt inspired by me, as I had turned quite a few heads a few months earlier, when I was reading it. For the record, I am not a Satanist - never was. But it is an interesting book to read. And trust me on this one. Kurt Psenicka would not be able to comprehend a single thing written in that book. But I guess he enjoyed the whole shock value aspect of it.
Kurt never graudated with us. I don't think he was there at all for our senior year. I did run into Kurt a few times at the video store. We never said much to each other. The last I knew, he had never married, and was living in a Two Rivers apartment with a roommate - none other than Doug Wall.
UPDATE - 7/20/06 - Kurt is still living with Doug Wall. Kurt's girlfriend also lives with them. She is currently pregnant. So Kurt will be a dad in the near future. Three pictures from July 15th (when Kevin Dehne and I visited him) can be seen below. You might note that Kurt is favoring his left arm, having recently hurt it at work.
UPDATE - 11/22/06 - Here is some video from that July 15th visit.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:46 AM 6 comments
KELLI KUPSCH
I'm really at a loss on this one. I believe she was with us for all four years of high school. But I have no concrete memories of her at all. Pretty much all I know is that on our senior video, she joined Kim Nokes and Julie Landon, and sang a few songs.
After high school, I have no idea what she did. She expressed an interest in working with little kids. She may have moved to Green Bay. Because it appears as if she adopted a dog from the Green Bay area humane society. She got a boxer named Petey. At some point, Kelli moved to Minneapolis - where she may still be today. I believe she eventually married, and became Kelli Bartol. If you're interested, look her up. If you have any school memories of her, share them. Because I got nothing.
UPDATE - 3/8/06 - Kelli has provided me a picture of her and her son Aiden, after his first haircut. Thanks Kelli. Click it to see it larger.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:19 AM 13 comments
CORY SCHULTZ
Ok, admitedly, this one is a real stretch. Cory was a staple of the Two Rivers Public School System, through 8th grade, when his parents decided to ship him off to Roncalli. But what the hell. Jason Anderson already mentioned him in his comments. And there's no doubt that others will recall him. So here goes.
I first met Cory in 5th grade - in Ms. Krause's class. Jason put it best. Cory was kind of a dick. He was rather loud and obnoxious. But he more-or-less got along with everyobody. I think he was part of the whole football card trading crew. What I remember from that year is a joke he told me. What do you call a girl with braces? A Black & Decker pecker wrecker. Priceless.
In that same year, I also recall Cory talking about where he would go if his parents ever died. He lamented the fact that he would remain in Wisconsin, while his brother would be moving to California to live with an uncle or something. He was jealous. Geez Cory, wouldn't the bigger issue be that your parents had just died???
Fast forward to 8th grade. By this time, a select few dubbed him with the nickname of "popper." Don't ask me what it means. Cory and Lance Spradlin once got into a small altercation near their lockers. Some punches were thrown. Mr. Stodola caught them, dragged them into his room (where I was staying after school on this day) and forced them to apologize to each other, and shake hands. Cory congratulated Lance on throwing a good punch.
My biggest Cory memory also comes from 8th grade. It's from November, 1984. It was right before the presidential election. L.B. Clarke school, in its ultimate wisdom, decided to hold a mock debate in the gym. And the moderators were students. I recall Richard Wheeler and John Kern being on the Democrats' side.
At one point, they fielded questions from the crowd. Cory had one. He posed some sort of question about coat hangar abortions. I'm, not sure what exactly happened. But somehow Cory got up, was egged on, and came down the bleachers, and joined the panel, where he sounded off about his views on coat hangar abortions. Eventually the debate turned to other topics. But the unprepared Cory stayed on the panel. Whenever it came to him to speak, he changed the topic again, always going back to coat hangar abortions. He did this several times. I think they eventually stopped talking to him.
The debate ended with half the students chanting "Reagan, Reagan," while the other half (well, probably slightly less than half) chanted "Mondale, Mondale." We all then had the chance to vote. The next day, Ms. Koeppe announced the results. My numbers are obviously wrong. But it went something like this"
Reagan - 135
Mondale - 115
Other - 200
Yeah, we really took that vote seriously.
I saw Cory several times at the video store. He was nice enough. I do remember he tried to pick up a girl once, by telling her that she smelled really nice. He and his movie left alone. The last I knew, he was still living in Two Rivers.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:05 AM 7 comments
Sunday, January 29, 2006
PHUONG BAUM
Phuong joined us in sophomore year. Where she came from is a mystery to me. She has the distinction of beings someone who has her named spelled multiple ways, depending on the yearbook. As a sophomore and junior she was Phoung. As a senior, she was Phuong. I believe the senior yearbook got it right.
I don't have a whole lot of firsthand accounts of Phuong. She and I didn't cross paths too often. But in the little time that we did communicate, it was pleasent. I think a lot of people sort of viewed her as catty. But with me, she was cool.
In our senior year, I had Phuong in Mr. Kakuk's sociology class. On Fridays, we would have sort of a free day. Mr. Kakuk would split the class into two groups and read us trivia questions. I kicked ass at this, and would generally lead the class in questions answered. But after awhile, I could no longer play, as Mr. Wegner (a class I had before Mr. Kakuk's) started doing the same thing in his class. And because I knew many of the answers, it wasn't fair. So on occasion, I would try to whisper an answer to a teammate. One day I did just that. And Phuong was convinced that the person I told would never have known the answer. She was convinced I had told - which of course I had. She tried to stare me down, make me laugh, and get me to admit what I had done. She almost got me too. But I was able to keep it in, and not burst out. After a few minutes of Phuong's stink eye, she turned away. Whew!
As a junior, an interesting event happened. Apparently fellow graduate Joe Antonie couldn't stand Phuong. So he drew a rather unflattering picture of her. Joe was a decent artist. And the likeness was incredible. Photocopies were made, and spread around school. From what I heard, Phuong was furious about it. Although she allegedly never knew who was behind the drawing. Sorry Joe. After 18 years, I can't keep it to myself anymore. Your secret is out. Joe gave me the last copy he had. And now, after all these years, let this picture breathe life once again! Click it for the full-size version.
If you view are senior video, you'll see a group scene with several students. Both Joe and Phuong are in it. And Phuong is actually next to Joe, kind of playing with his left ear. Joe is kind of smiling, trying to be polite. But it looks like he is uncomfortable, and gritting his teeth about it. I don't think he liked Phuong at all!
After graduation, I don't think I ever saw Phuong. I believe she may have moved to Milwaukee for awhile in the mid-1990's - perhaps to go to school. Today I'm pretty sure she resides in New York City.
UPDATE - 8/15/06 - Phuong has sent me two pictures. The bottom was was taken at the New York Botanical Gardens. The lucky guy is her boyfriend.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 8:43 PM 30 comments
Saturday, January 28, 2006
THOMAS HOLMES
In honor of Gus' comments in my David Kanera post, I've decided to post something on the weekend. So Gus, this is you - from my perspective.
His name was Tom. But he was better knows as "Gus" - or "Gussie G"
Gus joined us just for our senior year. I'm not sure where he originally came from. But he was a breath of fresh air.
I first got to know him in Mr. Wegner's Current Events class. Gus sat right in front of me. Was there anyone more cheerful and outgoing than Gus? Perhaps B.J. Lutterman. But B.J. left us after freshman year. Gus always had a smile on his face, and was about as good-natured as anyone I've ever known. Everytime he saw me he would greet me with a loud, "BURT!" It was hard not to like the guy.
I don't have a whole lot of memories about Gus. But one minor thing stands out. As mentioned above, we were discussing the current events in the news. And in the fall of 1988, there was (if memory serves) some huge catastrophe in Armenia or somewhere. I think it may have been an earthquake that killed tens of thousands - perhaps hundreds of thousands. Mr. Wegner was talking about how the country was having problems with looting. Apparently some people were raiding the pockets of the dead bodies that were strewn about. Mr. Wegner was disgusted by this, and said so. But Gus raised his hand with what I thought was a good point. He told Mr. Wegner that he shouldn't be so quick to condemn the looters of the dead people, because he wasn't in the same position that they were. In other words, if your home and village were destroyed, and you were in that type of desperate situation, then you too might actually lower yourself to raid the pockets of a corpse. Mr. Wegner still insisted that he would never do such a thing. But Gus argued that he couldn't possibly say for sure. It was a cool exhange to witness. Way to go Gus!
Gus appears twice on our senior video. In one scene, he sings a rap he wrote about the class of 1989. His second appearance is a bit more odd. He faces the camera with a huge handful of grapes, then stuffs them all in his mouth and chews them up. I have no idea what that was all about. I'm sure it's something that I was never made aware of. But I've always been curious.
Gus is one of the rare people that I never ran into after graduation. I knew nothing about his life after highschool. But if memory serves, he was planning to join the Air Force.
About two weeks ago, in anticipation of posting about him, I began to try and track him down. I found some possible information. But I wasn't 100% sure if I had the right guy. But here goes. If I'm correct, I believe Gus got married, but unfortunately divorced in 2004. I don't think they had any kids. I believe he's in the Wuakesha area, and is possibly working for some sort of youth treatment facility in Oconomowoc. Since Gus has stopped by the blog to say hi, perhaps he can tell us more.
UPDATE - 11/11/06 - Here is one of two appearances Gus made on our senior video.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:20 AM 7 comments
Friday, January 27, 2006
TODD ALLEN
Who the fuck is Todd Allen? I don't know. Do you?
Open up our freshman yearbook. Do you see Todd Allen? No. How about in our sophomore yearbook? No. What about our senior yearbook? Did he graduate with us? No. But our junior yearbook...
I got my junior yearbook in 1988. I opened up to page one of our class. And there, in the top left, first person on the page, right next to Jennifer Andersen, is some guy named Todd Allen. The first words out of my mouth were, "Who the fuck is that?"
I recently saw the yearbook once again. And as I had uttered 17 1/2 years ago, the words "Who the fuck is that" passed my lips once again.
Your guess is as good as mine. To my knowledge, I never once laid eyes on this guy. Was he there for the year, one semester, one fricken' week? I don't know.
Where is Todd today? I don't know. Is Todd married, divorced, gay, bankrupt... I don't know. For his sake, I hope he's not the Todd E. Allen from Wisconsin, who was born in February, 1971. For if he is, the guy appears to be a career criminal.
Anyone? Anyone? Todd, are you out there? Shed some insight on the fellow with the goofy grin who sat down for a picture at WHS in September, 1987.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 2:09 PM 9 comments
TERESA VOHWINKEL
Ok, this one might be hard to write about. Not only is the subject matter difficult. But I have something really gross to reveal.
I first met Teresa in 6th grade. We shared Mrs. Casey's class together. How do I put this? Teresa was ugly. There, I said it. Throughout the entire time I knew her, if someone had to make some sort of "ugly person" joke or reference, Teresa Vohwinkel would ALWAYS be the one chosen.
One might find a way to feel sorry for Teresa. But don't. If you knew her, you wouldn't. For Teresa wasn't only unattractive. She was also paunchy, obnoxious, annoying, and was somewhat a slob. She had a mouth on her.
Because of our proximity in the alphabet, I was doomed to be next to her for many years. Our lockers were always side by side. Teresa on the left, Lori Warunek on the right. Can there be better example of hell? At least Lori was friendly.
In 8th grade, Teresa and I had Mr. Monka's social studies class together. If Monka caught you with your feet in the baskets of the seat in front of you, he'd make you squat on the floor in a catcher's position. Teresa got caught one day. So she got on the floor. But instead of squatting, she got on her knees, with her legs behind her. Monka yelled at her. But I got to give Teresa credit. She yelled back that she saw a baseball game that weekend, and the catcher was sitting like that. Some catchers do. But Monka didn't let her get away with it.
Ok. Here we go. Here's my reveal. And it's disgusting. In my sophomore year, I sometimes spent my lunchtime by myself, hanging out in the basement. I explored every inch of that school. But for awhile, I would sit and eat in a small dark room, which was positioned behind the girls' shower area. The room was actually a towel room. And the gym teacher would hand towels to the girls who were showering. There was a small, raised door to hand towels through. Well, sometimes that door was unlocked. And if one wanted to, they could go into the locker room that way. One day, I did. As it turns out, there was a gym class going on at the time. So the locker room was empty. But there were various books and stuff sitting on some benches.
Now, before I go any further, I need to make it clear. I wasn't some pervert or anything, with a desire to smell girls' clothes, or jack off on them or soemthing sick like that. I was just wandering in some place where I shouldn't.
Anyway, I spotted something. It was unmistakable. It was Teresa's sweatshirt. It was blue and yellow. I'd seen her wear it a million times before. And of course, I couldn't stand her. So what did I do? Well... I'm almost ashamed to admit this... almost. I whipped it out and peed all over it - a full load. I then exited the room as fast as I could.
Imagine my shock, when a few hours later, while at my locker, I notice Teresa strolling up to hers. And she's wearing the fucking sweatshirt!!! I just about died! Of course I couldn't say anything. But I walked away in absolute shock. From the time I peed on it, to the time she came back to the locker room, maybe 20 minutes had passed. There is no way in hell it could have dried by then. There's no way she could not have noticed. I wonder what she thought. Did she think that water somehow got on it? But what about the smell? I'm sure my urine is just as potent as everyone else's. Then again, maybe not.
I don't know what became of Teresa after high school. She did not graduate with us. It doesn't look like she ever did. I did run into her a few times at the video store. She remained bitchy and unpleasant. Her mother however, was very nice. And get this. She also had a little sister - perhaps a half sister. I suspect it was a half sister, from a different father, as she had a different last name. And this girl was super cute! Granted she was about 10 years younger than me (class of 1998). But man, she was nice looking. And the strangest thing about her is that she actually resembled Teresa! You could tell they were related. I guess you should try to picture Teresa with a great body, pretty face, nice clothes, and a pleasant personality. Can't do it, can you? Well, you'll just have to trust me then.
The last time I saw Teresa at the video store, she appeared to be very pregnant. Last I knew, she was living in Oshkosh. I don't believe she has ever been married.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:03 PM 3 comments
TAMMY FRANZEN
I believe Tammy was with us at Clarke. But I don't have any real memories or stories of her.
My first memory of Tammy is from freshman year. It was somewhere close to the beginning of the year. It was at lunch. Tammy apparently got a little too rowdy. And the lunch lady demanded to see her student I.D. Tammy freaked out, and looked like she was about to cry. She didn't know what fate was in store for her. She protested a little, but turned over her card to the woman. The lunch lady looked at the card, then handed it back to Tammy. Then she walked away. Umm... what the hell was that all about? I don't know.
I first got to know Tammy in Mr. Conrad's sophomore year biology class. For awhile, we sat together at a table. I wasn't really thrilled about it. Tammy looked like a real bitch. Her face just looked "snotty" to me. And I think many people viewed her as such. But in all honesty, she was pleasant enough to me.
Tammy had blonde hair. And she loaded it down with TONS of hairspray. I remember Janice Ericson once patting her on the head. And her hair literally crunched! I have to wonder what the long term effects of that much hairspray would do to your hair.
I once overheard Ross Hofmann telling some friends of his that Tammy "had a great ass." But he then went on to say that he didn't like her face.
I believe Tammy hung around with the likes of Carrie Collard, Treesa Carron and Cindy Rohrer.
Tammy got married, and now goes by the name of Tammy Schroeder. And I'm happy to report that they have NOT divorced, as so many of our fellow classmates have. As far as I can tell, she lives in the Francis Creek are, and works part time at Holy Family Hospital. I believe she has two kids.
UPDATE - 1/2/07 - Tammy has sent me a few pictures of her. The first one is of her birthday in 2005. The second one is of her two girls. The next three are of her and Cindy Rohrer, having a good time in Key West. As for the person between them in that one picture... your guess is as good as mine. The final picture is of her, Cindy, and Carrie Collard (and families) this past July.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:25 PM 4 comments
ANNE WETENKAMP
I believe I first met Ann back in Mrs. Casey's 6th grade class. She was pretty friendly, and was hanging around with Carrie Collard.
I have limited memories of her. But I do remember her on the two-person clown swing at Clarke. Markus Petkevicius was pushing her. And somehow, the clown stopped moving, and Ann and her swing literally wrapped around the pole. In all my times on that swing, I've yet to see anyway possible how that can occur. But she pulled it off.
By high school, I believe Anne was hanging around with people like Jill Jansky and Becky Cookle. I'm not sure what kind of crowd she was associated with. It wasn't the popular sect. It wasn't the nerdy sect. She was somewhere in the middle, seemingly with her own clique. I believe she was a smoker too.
In our sophomore year, Anne allegedly had sex with Jason Radant. Obviously I have no idea if that's true.
Anne's senior sweatshirt had the word "Anabanana" written on it. Apparently Mr. Wood hassled her about the name, before finally approving it. Seriously, what the hell's wrong with that name? Was Mr. Wood's head in the gutter?
Anne was pretty nice. She always had a smile on her face, and seemed to be enjoying life.
I don't think I ever ran into Anne after graduation. I do know that she married a guy, and became Anne Williams. They're currently in the process of divorce.
UPDATE - 8/21/06 - Out of the blue, Anne sent me an E-mail and a recent photo of herself. You can see it below.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:03 PM 5 comments
TRACY MESSMAN
I met Tracy in freshman year. Over our four years together, I'm not sure I ever had any conversations with her. But she seemed pleasant enough.
How can I put this delicately? I don't know if I can. Tracy had a very masculine-looking face. Everyone knew it. I would hope that most people never said anything to her about it. But alas, there was Mike Zeman. I had both Mike and Tracy in Mr. Scriver's sophomore year history class. One day, as we were all shuffling into class, Mike walked in, pointed to the seated Tracy, and yelled quite loudly, "Look at her. She's a man!" Tracy looked disgusted. I'll admit, it was kind of funny to see someone act as brazen as that. But I felt sorry for Tracy too, as it was kind of mean.
Tracy was into sports. Don't ask me to verify them. But I think she played baseball, basketball and volleyball.
During our junior year, Dave, Richard and I would sometimes go downstairs, and hang out with Ms. Neveau, in her homeroom. She was a first year teacher - a cool teacher too. She kind of treated the three of us as peers, as opposed to students. Anyway, one day, Tracy came in to drop something off to her. As she left the room, Ms. Neveau turned to Richard and said, "She's more of a man than you are." A bit cruel and inappropriate for a teacher, but damn funny nonetheless! The three of us burst out laughing.
I'm sure there were some who thought that due to her manly face and athletic abilities, that Tracy was a lesbian. I don't know if that's true. But I can confirm that she did in fact get married. She became Tracy Newberg. They divorced in 2000. I don't think they had any kids together. The last I knew, she was still living in Two Rivers.
UPDATE - 11/10/06 - Here is Tracy from her appearance on our senior class video.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:43 AM 6 comments
Thursday, January 26, 2006
MARK GORDON
I first met Mark Gordon in the spring of 1981. It wasn't diffiuclt. He lived three houses down from me, to the west. Mark and his siblings Scott, Tina and Tammy all kind of showed up in my yard one day. We all became fast friends.
The Gordon's were an interesting bunch. They were all free-spirited and friendly. Their dad seemed like a leftover hippie from the 1960's. Their dad used to don a clown suit and ride a unicycle in local parades. Mark could ride that unicycle as well. I couldn't. Mark's dad had a policy. If anyone skidded their bike in the driveway, the offender would then have to scrub the skidmark away with a toothbrush. Of course I didn't know this when I skidded my bike one day. But no, I never heard anything about it.
To this day, I have some odd tape recordings of all of them. We were just messing around, and occasionally singing. The Gordon's also came to my 10th birthday party at McDonald's. They had a husky named Neenah.
My friendship with Mark and his siblings only lasted about a year. Nothing really happened. We just stopped hanging around together. I think they all went to a Catholic school. So I didn't see Mark on a regular basis again until we got into high school.
Mark was pretty personable, and got along with most everyone. Although he did seem a bit scatterbrained. Meff told me that Mark once insulted him in some way, to which Meff calmly smiled and lightly patted Mark on the back. Mark started to freak out, and got all fidgety over it. Maybe he didn't like to be touched. I don't know.
In our freshman year, I had Mark in Mrs. Fischer's language class. Mark gave a speech where he recalled a time that he fell out of a car. He ended the speech with some sort of reference to "crusty grunts." Talk about skidmarks!
In my sophomore and junior years, I was the Gordon's paperboy. When I came to collect, Mark often answered the door. He was always friendly. Quite often he would be singing.
I believe that Mark dated class of 1990's Sally Graczykowski (pretty girl).
After highschool, Mark married class of 1991's Brenda Gillespie. Thus she became Brenda Gordon - obviously no relation to class of 1989's Brenda Gordon - who married fellow graduate Jeff Gordon, and is now today... still Brenda Gordon.
I believe Mark and Brenda had three children. But marital bliss was not to be. It looks like they got divorced a few years back. It looks like a somewhat messy affair too, with some apparent psychological evaluations that were performed.
Mark got into a little trouble with making harassing phone calls. One can guess that it was related to family matters. It's also interesting to note that Mark tried to take out a restraining order against fellow graduate Troy Rezachek. What the hell was that all about? I don't know. But Troy's wife's maiden name is Deanna Gillespie. I suspect that Brenda and Deanna are sisters. I'm guessing the divorce was an ugly one. Anyway, the restraining order was denied.
I don't have any additional information on Mark, other than the fact that he filed for bankruptcy about a year ago. I believe he is still in the Two Rivers area.
UPDATE - 2/20/06 - Mark has sent a couple of pictures. In the first one, you can see him in the middle. One (or eight) too many Mark? You can see his brother James (class of 1999) on the far right. The second picture is of his three boys. Click for the full-sized versions.
UPDATE - 11/13/06 - On Saturday, August 12th, 2006, Kevin Dehne and I took our second trip to Two Rivers. We stopped by a home where we thought Mark lived. But the woman there said Mark hadn't lived there in two years. So we thought we were going to miss him that day. However, several hours later, while visiting with Mike Polich and Ann Rank, they informed us that Mark was actually staying with his parents - who were only a block away. So we decided to give it a shot. Sure enough, Mark was there. We rang the doorbell. Inside, I could see a shirtless Mark fast asleep on the couch. One of Mark's kids answered, then went and woke him up. Mark let us in, gave Kevin a soda (I declined) and talked with us for awhile, while two of his sons played a Pac-Man game. We then went outside and took some pictures. Mark had a rather bizarre story about Mr. Wood. Perhaps he'll share it someday. You can see the pictures below.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:22 PM 6 comments
SCOTT JAKLIN
This is going to be another long entry. I have a lot of history with Scott. Most of it's good. Some of it's bad. But it's all interesting.
I first met Scott when I moved to Two Rivers, in 4th grade. I joined him in Mrs. Schmidt's class. I remember him participating in some sort of skit in class, where he played a weatherman. In pointing to the Florida area, he said it was so hot that people's skin was falling off. For 4th grade, that was quality comedy. Everybody laughed.
I don't remember it, but years later, he told me of a memory he had of me. Scott used to walk down 45th St. (where I lived) on his way to Clarke. It was a winter day. He said he was dressed in a sweater and a big coat. He was freezing. Then he saw me waltz out of my house in a T-shirt, and no coat at all. That was me.
Scott was really into ninja stuff. And he loved to emulate them. I believe the following incident took place right before sophomore year started. He was in his black ninja outfit, streaking through some backyards, when someone saw him. In an effort to get away, he tried to leap a fence. He failed. I believe his leg was punctured by the top of the fence. And as his weight came down, it ripped his whole leg - breaking it badly.
Scott and I started hanging out together near the tail end of our junior year. For the life of me, I don't recall how it happened. But I do know that it was Nintendo related. We had a common interest. And thus, we started hanging out.
Scott entered my world just at the same time that Richard was leaving it. I was still hanging out with Dave Svatek at the time. So the three of us became a trio. But we weren't equal. We were far from it. Dave and I often treated Scott like shit. As I mentioned in my post about Richard, he and I used to pick on Dave. And there's no doubt in my mind that Dave wanted he and I to be like Richard I were. But instead of picking on him, we picked on Scott. One of things that really upset Dave was the fact that Richard and I could finish each other's sentences when insulting him. Dave tried to do the same with he and I in regards to Scott. But it simply didn't work. Dave and I didn't have the same chemistry as Richard and I did.
One of the things we did was to come up with a nickname for Scott. And what a name we chose - "Butt." Yes, Butt it was. I still call him Butt to this day. Scott was obviously dismayed at the choice. But in time, he begrudgingly accepted it. We meant nothing by it. It was just a name.
One thing that Dave had in him that I did not, was a touch of cruelty - in a violent way. Dave would bully Scott around, and was not against a punch or two in the arm. Dave also had a habit of forcing Scott to submit to him, and let him pull out hairs from his legs. That hurt! It was some sort of "punishment." If Scott said something that we found to be rude or obnoxious, Dave would punish him. "That's five hairs." I never participated in a physical sense. But I was no better than Dave, as I would laugh about it.
The three of us spent that entire summer together. And for most of it, Scott's mom and stepdad were in New Mexico and Arizona, looking for a place to move. So we literally had the house mostly to ourselves. Scott did have an older brother and sister. But they weren't exactly authority figures.
That summer marked a milestone for me. While at Scott's house (without Dave) we got drunk. For me, it was the first time. I had 10 shots of some sort of whiskey. And seeing as I had never really had any alcohol before, I was very drunk in no time. I remember playing Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo, and beating the game. I was so proud of myself for being able to beat the game while I was intoxicated. When I woke up the next day, I had no hangover whatsoever. Wow! I was so pleased. So two nights later, we got drunk again. This time I wanted to get even more drunk. I ended up drinking 22 shots of either 80 or 88 proof whiskey. And by the end of the night, I couldn't stand up. That's a lot of booze for an experienced drinker, let alone someone who never drinks. Four shots would have been enough.
The rest of that night is kind of hazy. I tried to beat Super Mario Brothers again. But I couldn't get past the second board. So I started a new game. Then suddenly a feeling I'd never known before hit me. It hit me hard. I crawled down the hall to the bathroom, where Scott was cleaning his contact lenses. I pried myself up, announced thatI was going to throw up, then promptly let loose all over the floor. It was red and nasty. I found my way to the toilet, and puked some more, while Scott took the bath mat outside to clean it with a hose. I was in such pain. And all I could hear was that fucking music from the Nintendo game, as the time just ticked down over and over again, for each Mario had. I somehow got to a bed, and tried to sleep. Scott said I threw up a total of 13 times. And at one point, I was throwing up blood. Nasty! For some reason, he put Icy Hot on my stomach, thinking it would help. It didn't. The next morning, I had a slight headache.
The summer went on. And Dave and I took advantage of Scott's house and home. On one occasion, we made him buy us a meal at Pizza Hut. I also remember being at McDonald's. Scott was buying. While we were at the counter waiting for our food, I yelled at him, "You're drunk!" Of course he wasn't. But there were a lot of people around. I thought it was funny. Another time, as Scott took a shower, Dave and I completely dismantled his room, bed and all, and hid it around the house. We thought it was funny. Scott didn't.
We gave Scott two other nicknames as well. One was his African name - Abubaca. The other was his Israeli name - Sayed Ouita. We would make him repeat (and spell) those names from time to time. And if he made a spelling error, he'd get punched. One day, Dave banished Scott to under my bed. He was to stay down there for 15 minutes. If he tried to get out (which he did) Dave jabbed at him with a pool stick. Whenever I would make a point to Scott, I often ended it by saying, "You dig?" I expected Scott to answer with, "I dig it like a rolling stone." If he refused, I wouldn't respond to anything. I would just keep repeating, You dig? You dig? You dig?"
Scott was a very homophobic, anti-gay person. He made fun of homosexuals a lot. So I naturally poked fun at him. I told him that he had girl lips, and that he'd make a good woman. It was all in fun. I'm not anti-gay at all. He knew I was just joking with him. But he was quite vocal in his stance. So I kidded him about it for years.
Dave and I had a game where we tried to borrow the most unusual items from Scott's house. Dave got Scott's DVD player once. I managed to get some bizarre piece of art that his mother had hanging in the dining room.
One might ask just why in the hell Scott put up with all of our shit. That's a very good question. When Scott and I were alone, things were different. We behaved like real friends. When Dave and Scott were alone together (which was almost never) they behaved like friends too. But when the three of us were all together, Dave and I picked on Scott. Needless to say, Scott wasn't happy with the situation. And he would go on and on saying things to me like, "Why are you doing this?" I never had any real answers for him. But to be honest, Scott's lamenting got really tiresome. He would sometimes keep me on the phone for hours. And honestly, sometimes I fell asleep listening to him. He wouldn't let me hang up.
At some point, Dave hit Scott in the chest, knocking him down. I don't think Dave meant to hurt him. But he did. Scott recovered a few minutes later. But he was more embarrased at being caught off guard. Scott had pride and an ego. About a week or so later, he told me that he had "done a few things" to himself so that if he were to ever get hit like that again, he wouldn't be hurt. So he wanted me to punch him in the chest to prove it. I refused. But he was insistent. Still, I refused. Finally I told him to pay me $2.00, and I would. He did. So I hit him. He felt justified after the punch. I didn't have the heart to tell him that the reason he got hurt before was because Dave had caught him completely off guard.
Later on that summer, Meff had come up for a few days. And he was spending the night at my house. My parents were out of town. So we had the place to ourselves. At some point after midnight, Scott came by on his bike. He wanted to come in. He was in a foul mood. So I wouldn't let him. After several minutes, I "went downstairs" to go to bed. Meff was left upstairs to deal with him, talking to him through the window. I actually came back up to listen to the conversation. Meff decided to play with Scott, telling him how great I was. He went so far as to tell Scott that I had special powers, and had actually witnessed me bring a dead bird back to life. I don't know what Scott thought of it all. But he told Meff thatI was all wrong, and that he had to break free from me...
During some of our lengthy phone conversations, Scott would bring up the fact that he had dropped all his other friends for Dave and I. But Dave and I were a lot closer to each other. And we shut Scott out at times. I'll be honest. I always chose Dave over Scott. I refused to make future plans with Scott, simply because I wanted to keep myself available on the chance that Dave wanted to do something. That really frustrated Scott - rightfully so.
As our senior year began, nothing changed. But there was a new wrinkle - Richard. If you read my post about Richard, you'll remember that Richard and I weren't on speaking terms that year. Although both of us were still friends with Meff. Well, Scott had Richard in Spanish class, and would pour his heart out to him about the way Dave and I treated him. He looked to Richard for advice on how to deal with us. But Richard had a much different experience with us than Scott did. According to Meff, Richard got really tired of hearing Scott's stories about us. At one point, Scott had mentioned for days that he wanted to beat me up or something. Finally out of frustration, Richard screamed at him, "Just do it already!" Of course Scott never did.
In the fall of our senior year, Scott's mom and stepdad moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico. And Scott decided to join them after the semester was over. Did Dave and I drive him away? Who knows. But I was sad to see him go. I enjoyed my time with him.
So Scott moved to New Mexico, and ended up graduating down there. After graduation, he moved right back to Two Rivers, and moved in with his dad. We called each other at times, but didn't hang out much. By this time, Scott was boning class of 1990's Molly Jindra. He was also hanging out with Amy Schmidt's little brother, class of 1992's Jon Schmidt.
At some point around December, 1990, I know that Dave and I went to see Scott at his father's home. He was showing us his new Sega Genesis. He'd also taken up the nasty habit of smoking. God, did his room reek of that stench!
After that, I don't think I had any contact with Scott for about five years. Then in December, 1995, I was a senior in college. It was the winter break. I was working at T&R Video. When out of the blue, Scott called me.
ME: "Hello, T&R Video?"
SCOTT: "Hey Burt, it's Scott."
ME: "Oh, hi Butt."
SCOTT "Who do you call me that?"
ME: "Cuz it's your name."
SCOTT: "No it's not."
ME: "You said a long time ago, that you'd accept it. It is what it is."
Anyway, Scott was now lving in Manitowoc, with a roommate - class of 1992's, Brodie Reichardt. Their landlord (some sort of smelly mongoloid) lived downstairs. Scott invited me over. So I went. We started to hang around together again, mostly on weekends. It was fun. We drove around, caused a little trobule, played video games, got drunk, made prank phone calls and watched a lot of movies.
In the fall of 1996, Scott lost his job at Food Country. I think he was fired. But he was never clear as to what actually happened. From that moment on, things changed for him. For whatever reason, he really dragged his feet in finding another job. He basically laid around his apartment all day. Eventually he and Brodie moved out, and found another apartment in Two Rivers. They had a third roommate (his name escapes me) join them.
As the winter moved into 1997, Scott was still unemployed, and was feeling great pressure from his roommates to come up with the rent. His third roommate had also brought something else into the equation - a computer. Scott beacme obsessed with the computer, spending most of his waking hours on it. It was like a drug to him. He was surfing, and chatting, and everything else. He was a madman!
In March, 1997, I finally found a real job. The job was in Milwaukee. I moved to Sheboygan, and lived with Dave Svatek and his wife. I had Wednesdays off, and would often come back to Manitowoc to do my laundry at my parents' home. I would visit Scott as well. He was still unemployed, and was really catching hell from his roommates. Then the unthinkable happened. He lost use of the computer. I believe the computer actually belonged to the mother of the third roommate. And she came to get it. Meff and I were visiting him one evening. And he was literally pacing back and forth, saying that he needed a computer. It was like he was suffering from drug withdrawl symptoms.
Prior to getting my own place, I hooked up with Scott one more time. I'm not sure how it happened. But somehow he made contact with me. And I invited him over to the apartment in Sheboygan. Dave and his wife were gone for the weekend (as they were every weekend). So Scott and I had the place to ourselves. We watched some TV, went to Burger King, and basically did nothing.
I'm not exactly sure what happened next in his life. But I believe that Scott's mother came up from New Mexico to get him. I could be wrong though. But I think she was somehow involved in getting his life straightened out a bit. I spoke with Brodie at one point. And I believe Brodie told me that Scott had literally left in the middle of the night, packed a few clothes in his car, took his cat, and drove off to St. Louis, leaving nearly all of his possessions behind. Apparently Scott's thinking was that all his stuff would make up for the lost rent. In May, I got my own apartment in Grafton. And I bought a couple of items of Scotts, that Brodie sold me. Up until three months ago, I still had the entertainment center.
So what was in St. Louis? Apparently he met someone online, and went to live there.
I'm not sure how long the St. Louis affair lasted. But eventually Scott came back to Wisconsin, and moved to Sheboygan, and found a roommate named Dave. That lasted for several years. But tragedy struck in 2001. A fire broke out in their apartment. A wall of flame struck Scott, horribly burning his neck and back. He was sent to a hospital in Milwaukee, where he eventually recovered. My wife and I went to see him. He was in a lot of pain. To add insult to injury, the homeowners blamed them for the fire, and sued. Neither Scott nor Dave fought it. They may not have even been aware. But a judgement of over $34,000 was entered against both of them.
The two of them eventually stopped hanging out. And Scott was on the move again. This time he drove west, arriving in Idaho, to live with someone else he met online. That apparently didn't last long. He then moved to Spokane, Washington. Today he is back in Idaho once again. I E-mail with him from time to time. Although he doesn't keep up with E-mailing as often as he should. He says he misses Manitowoc though.
Come back to Wisconsin, Butt. You've got some friends here.
UPDATE - 6/20/06 - I talked to Scott for about 40 minutes on the phone the other night. He directed me to a recent photo of him which is online. You can see it below. The next three pictures are ones that he sent me. Also, by request, I have edited our portions of this entry. If you want the "uncut" version, E-mail me.
UPDATE - 12/14/06 - I found some old camcorder footage of Scott. I believe these two clips are from March or April, 1990. The clips are of Scott doing some impressions of L.B. Clarke teachers. I believe the other guy is a friend of his by the name of Aaron Rathsack.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:42 AM 14 comments
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
PETER FLORA
I mentioned him in the previous post. So why not?
Peter first joined us in 7th grade. He shared a few classes with my group. He seemed to have somewhat of a British accent. As it turned out, he was simply high-pitched and snooty.
Peter was a first class asshole. He was holier than though, and thought he was above everyone else. But he was far from it! He had only a small number of friends. Overall, he wasn't very well-liked.
Let's be honest here. Peter carried with him every homosexual stereotype there was. Was he gay? I don't know. But I sure wouldn't bet against it. In today's society, you might even put the metrosexual label on him. I can recall Chip Pelnar once referring to him as a "little femme." You nailed it Chip!
I had Peter in Mr. Franke's 8th grade science class. Mr. Franke had tables. Two people sat at each. I sat with Ken Bartz. Peter sat with Robin Richmond. Ken and I used to annoy Peter every chance we got. He would get so flustered. It was great. What it means, I have no idea. But I remember Ken and I constantly repeating "Eat your Peter, on a platter." I don't know. But whatever we were saying, Peter didn't like it.
As we got into high school, Peter became even more annoying. I know he despised me, and loved to make fun of me. I remember him in French class one day. He happened to be sitting next to Jenny Malley. And he was quietly trashing me. "Look at his hair." Granted, my hair style was awful. But I'll take any Peter Flora insult as a badge of honor. Anything I can do that irritated him was fine by me. And bless her heart, Jenny didn't acknowledge Peter's comment. I knew there was a reason I loved her!
As far as I know, Peter Flora's best friend was Robin Richmond. But as the years passed, I believe Robin came to dislike Peter as well. Wow. That says something. Anyway, my friend Scott Jaklin once told me that Robin was left in charge of the Flora's house once, when they went on vacation. I believe Robin had to come by and feed the cat or something. Well, Scott went with him one day. Scott thought as highly about Peter as most everyone else did. He couldn't stand him. But he was curious to see Peter's room. Peter (for whatever reason) had locked his bedroom door before leaving. But Scott found a way to break into it without causing any damage.
Scott described an impeccably clean room where absolutely everything had its place. Peter even had labels on his drawers - "sock drawer," "underwear drawer"... How pathetic is that?
Peter moved away after our junior year. I don't think anyone knew he was gone, or even missed him. I believe he moved to Florida. Pity the sunshine state.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 2:40 PM 2 comments
ROBIN RICHMOND
My first memories from Robin are from our days at Clarke. Robin was a somewhat hefty boy, not very well-liked, with the exception of his small circle of friends - which included the likes of Valori Franco and that twink Peter Flora.
Robin was the kind of person who could be very obnoxious - but only if his friends were around. Otherwise, he was too timid to say much of anything. When I was in Mr. Franke's 8th grade science class, Ken Bartz and I used to pick on Peter Flora quite a bit. Since Peter sat with Robin, some of our verbal attacks floated his way as well. Robin was such an easy target. He was annoying.
In freshman year, I had Robin in Mrs. Fischer's french class. At one point, we were learning how to say how old our parents were. When it came to Robin, he said (in french) that his mom was something like 34. Most people thought he'd made a mistake. That would mean that she had Robin when she was around 19. It's young, but it did happen. People were even more shocked when (in french) he said that his grandma was something like 49! Does anyone else remember celebrating the 40th birthday of one of their grandparents?
I don't have a whole lot of memories about him from high school. He just existed, as did I. By junior year, I believe he found himself hanging out with people like Scott Jaklin, Chris Staudinger and Marty Johnson. I believe Peter Flora was still around as well.
Near the end of our junior year, I started hanging out with Scott myself. And Scott more-or-less dropped Robin as a friend. Scott told me that he did tell Robin how cool I was, and that he should try to accept me as well.
No thanks Scott! Neither Robin nor myself were the least bit interested. Although if memory serves, Scott did drag Robin over to my house once, for a very brief visit. I was thrilled... In the end, Scott picked me and Dave. And Robin was history.
I ran into Robin many times at the video store. Now most guys will inevitably lose some hair as they grow older. But Robin had some sort of accelerated process going on. The kid was nearly bald within a year or two after graduation. It was a hell of a sight!
Robin lost his driver's license for excessive speeding once. Today, I believe he lives and works in the Milwaukee area. I don't believe he's married.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 2:18 PM 8 comments
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
WHO'S NEXT?
I must admit, I'm really into this right now. A wave of nostalgia swept through me a few weeks ago. And I've been on a roll. I think I've created posts for 30 people thus far. But I still have a long way to go.
This past weekend, I dug out the old yearbooks. I also was able to find the senior video. What a trip. You have to really look hard to find me on it. I wasn't one to participate. I even ditched the senior class photo.
This blog is taking up too much of my time. But it's too much fun to stop. It's not just the blogging itself. It's the research. It's amazing what information is available, if you know where to look. I even know what church Shannon Koch belongs to. But some people are hidden pretty good.
I came across Stephanie Gardner in the yearbook. I have very little to say about her. But I'll throw in a couple things. She's someone who seems to be a bit hidden. But I think I tracked her down. I even found a phone number. Of course I called it. I spoke with her briefly, pretending to be a wrong number. I didn't have the balls to tell her who I was - or ask if she was the same person I was searching for. But I feel braver now. I'll call her back to verify. Once I do, expect a Stephanie Gardner post.
In the interim, I'm opening up the blog request lines. Who do you want to see me write about? It's open to all members or potential members of the class of 1989. People like Jeff Messerman, Ken Bartz, Ben Franco, Travis Wilson, Kurt Psenicka, Doug Wall and Kevin Dehne never graduated with us. But it's stupid not to include them. They were all there for years.
Comment here, or E-mail me at BUSTERKOONS@YAHOO.COM. Tell me who you want to see!
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 8:33 AM 0 comments
Monday, January 23, 2006
JULIE LANDON
The more of these I write, the more I discover that there's a lot of people I don't know much about. Julie Landon is a prime example.
What can I say about Julie? Nothing really. I know she was with us at Clarke. She may have been with us at Magee too. I don't recall. Quite honestly, the only concrete memories I have of her are from our senior class video, in which she hooked up with Kelli Kupsch and Kim Nokes, and sang a few tunes.
Julie wasn't part of the "in crowd." But she wasn't shunned either.
That's it! Oh, wait. She was kind of short too - not that that's a bad thing.
From what I know, she married class of 1991's Scott Buvid. They divorced in 2000. As far as I know, they had no children together. But don't quote me on that. Well, quote me if you like. Just know that I might be wrong. So quote that part too.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 2:26 PM 2 comments
LEWIS STEPHAN
By request, here is my entry on Lewis Stephan.
I have very few memories of Lewis. He wore glasses, and had short, curly hair. He was with us at Clarke. I guess you could label him a minor troublemaker. He hung out with some people who were worse than him. But overall, Lewis was all right.
I seem to remember that as a senior, Lewis road a motorcycle to school. He had a girlfriend. But I have no idea who she was. One day she hopped on the back of Lewis' cycle, and drove off. My friend Dave remarked, "They're going home to screw." Could be. Who knows.
I believe Lewis joined the armed services - perhaps the army. For reasons unbeknownst to me, he wrote a few letters to Dave's mom, from Iraq. I remember a quote. "Same shit, different day." Perhaps there was some sort of church-related association between Lewis and the Svatek's. I don't know. In all the years I hung out with Dave, he never mentioned one.
The last I knew, Lewis had moved to Arizona, where he was working as a carpenter. I believe he's married to a woman named Catherine.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:44 PM 3 comments
TODD ZINN
How would one describe Todd Zinn? Grumpy? That's a start.
Todd was the kind of guy who always seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. Whenever you saw him, he seemed to be stomping around in a bad mood. I don't know know what it was. But he was someone that I tried to avoid as much as possible. You got the impression, that if you joked around with him, he would inevitably take it the wrong way, and get pissed off. A pissed-off Todd usually meant a punch in the arm - or incessant verbal threats.
My first memories from Todd are from 7th grade. One day after school, I found myself in Mrs. Westburg's detention. I was there a lot. I was rarely alone. On this day, Randy Ertman strolled in, and threw his knapsack across the aisle, knocking over the chair next to me. He meant no harm to me or anyone. He was just annoyed at being there. He picked his stuff up a few seconds later.
Well, Mrs. Westburg came back in the room, noticed the tipped chair, and told me to pick it up. I said "No, I didn't do it." She surmised that it must have been me, as I was sitting next to it. It was no big deal. So I eventually relented, and picked it up. I certainly wasn't about to tell on Randy. I wouldn't tell on anyone, under most circumstances.
Well, Todd Zinn (who was a few seats down, on my right) took great offense to my stance, and felt it was his duty to defend Randy. Keep in mind, Randy was one of the biggest guys around. He didn't need anyone's help, nor was he looking for it. And as far as I knew, he could care less about Todd. Still, Todd clearly wanted to make a positive impression on Randy (suck-up). So a few minutes later, when someone turned out the lights, Todd said to me, "Your ass is grass." When Mrs. Westburg walked down the hall to turn the lights back on, Todd came over and started pounding me. Of course it was winter, and I had a winer coat on. Plus it was dark. So Todd's flailing arms did virtually nothing. Still, I had to wonder what the hell was wrong with this guy.
In our freshman year, I had Todd in gym class. We were doing various activities in the basement gym. One of them included stuff on the rings. There was a box of chalk on the floor. And Mike Zeman (who was incapacitated due to a broken leg (or foot) took one of Todd's shoes, and tossed it into the chalk. Boy, was Todd pissed! He vowed to kill Mike - but only once Mike was off of the crutches. Todd had his pride you know!
Mike was on those crutches for several weeks. All the while, Todd continued to threaten Mike about their impending fight. Mike would just smirk at the situation. But he was a bit intimidated. Eventually Mike got off the crutches. But I don't think anything major happened between the two of them.
One of Todd's distinguishing features was some severe redness in his cheeks. No one dared to ask him about it. Well, that is except Mike Danzy, an inner city ruffian from Milwaukee. Mike was with us our freshman year. Where he went after that is anyone's guess. But he had the nerve to say, "What's up with your face, man?" Todd quietly stated that he'd gotten burned at some point.
My friend Dave once had a conversation with Todd's older sister Tami - class of 1988. She allegedly told Dave that Todd never got burned. I don't recall what Dave told me in regards to the redness. But I think she said it was simply natural - or perhaps acne. Who knows.
I had Todd in Mr. Conrad's sophomore year biology class. I'm not sure who he was talking to. It could have been Ross Hofmann or Tammy Franzen. But for whatever reason, their topic of discussion was centered around taking a shit. Todd went into some real specific details about the wiping process. I distinctly remember him talking about how sometimes a "little piece" hangs there, and how he would try to shake it off. But if that didn't work, he had to go up and get it with toilet paper, and oh man... Todd was laughing. And to tell you the truth, I was laughing too. It was funny as hell. So I guess Todd did have another side to him. He was quite jovial at that moment. How rare.
At some point during our junior year, Todd got pissed off at Richard Wheeler, and was planning to beat him up as well. I even heard him say, "I know where he walks home." To my knowledge, the extent of any "fight" was Todd grabbing Richard and shoving him up against a locker.
The next incident took place in our junior year. I had Todd in Mr. Bonino's gym class. Todd was a bit mouthy. And Mr. Bonino took offense. He literally grabbed Todd by the collar, got in his face, and screamed that he was tired of his shit. Todd was stunned, and backed down completely.
In that same gym class, later in the year, we had swimming. The pool water at the school was notoriously cold. We were required to take a shower prior to jumping in. So Richard and I would end our showers by turning the water on really cold. Then when we jumped in the pool, the water felt warm. One day Todd accidentally walked into my cold water spray. That cost me a punch in the arm. I guess I should have anticipated Todd waltzing into my shower area. What was I thinking?
I ran into Todd a few times at the video store. He never spoke much. I don't recall him smiling either. I wasn't about to pry.
Todd was dating class of 1988's Renee Van Zon. They eventually married, had two kids, and divorced in 2002. Last I knew, he was still in the Manitowoc area - perhaps in Fish Creek.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:10 PM 1 comments
PETER SOUCOUP
Pete was kind of regarded as a slob. For the most part, he seemed to relish it. I don't think he really cared what others thought of him.
My first memories of pete are from Clarke. What stands out in my mind most was an incident that happened in 6th grade. Clarke had a set of swings that we referred to as the "dome swings." I believe it was a circular structure that held five swings. In the middle of the circle, hanging from the center, was a thick chain. The chain was used to strap the five swings to, during the winter. Apparently swinging is a non-snow activity. Whatever.
Anyway, that chain was something that we used to kick with our feet, as we swung up in the air. That poor chain would clang against the top of the bars as we took turns slamming it. But something unexpected happened to Pete one day. I was actually swinging right next to him when Pete went up... and didn't come down. Pete had somehow defied astronomical odds, and got the chain wrapped around his leg. He was literally hanging there, arms on his swing, leg caught in the chain, and his butt suspended in the air between the two.
It was one hell of a sight. Of course I couldn't even hear myself think, as any thoughts I may have had were drowned out by the panicked screams of Pete. He was absolutely terrified - and rightfully so. He was screaming and crying, pleading for help. I actually climbed up to see what I could do. But Trey Schenk had gotten up there first, and was frantically trying to pry Pete's foot from the chain. He asked Pete to push his foot up a bit, to which Pete screamed, "I can't!" Finally, after maybe two or three minutes, his foot become dislodged, and Pete came down, skidding in the dirt. He was then helped away, just as a few teachers arrived to help. The next day, the chain was gone.
My next memory of Pete is from 7th grade. I was walking with Toby Schwartz, when Pete came strolling by. Pete apparently had some gas. So he grabbed Toby, and tried to force his face into his ass, so he could let loose with some putrid fumes. Toby was able to struggle free, thus avoiding a horrible memory.
I don't have a whole lot of memories from Pete in high school. But he was there. I believe he was in some special education classes. But power to him. He did graduate with us.
One thing I do remember is that in our freshman year, Peter and I actually got together to play a trick on Toby Schwartz. It was probably the first and last time that I ever teamed up with Peter. Anyway, the last day of school before Christmas vacation, it was arranged that the student body would watch the film FLETCH. The juniors and seniors got to watch it in the morning. The freshman and sophomores got to watch it in the afternoon, during sixth and seventh hour. I was going to sit with Kevin Dehne (who I shit you not, brought a garbage bag full of popcorn). But at the last moment, I sat with Toby Schwartz on my left, and Ron Gretz on my right. Midway through the film, Toby fell asleep. I kept waking him up. But he was a lost cause. He just couldn't keep his eyes open. So Ron and I took his glasses off, wrapped up the lenses with masking tape, then put them back on Toby's face. Peter was a few seats down from Toby, and was laughing at our antics. Peter took it one step further. He came over, undid Toby's pants a bit, then took Toby's left arm and shoved it into the crotch area. It was funny as hell! Toby eventually woke up, and was actually pretty good-natured about it.
I ran into Pete a few times at the video store. We never had much to say to each other. Last I heard, Pete was working at Mirro. He was married to a woman named Anna, and was living in Two Rivers.
UPDATE - 11/24/06 - I got an E-mail from someone who knew Pete. This person would like to remain anonymous. So I've copied and pasted the E-mails below.
"Good ole Pete Soucoup worked at Mirro until it shut down and now lives in Sheboygan with a long time girlfriend named Melissa, last I heard. Oh yeah, he is quite the ladies man too, or at least he was until Melissa clipped him. He is a member of the Immortals Motorcycle gang and has impregnated at least four women previous to shacking up with Melissa. I remember him telling me multitudes of stories about his stripper exploits with his "brothers." He dated Christee Neuser (TR class of 90 or 91) back around 97 to 99. They got into a big brawl after they broke up one of their numerous times. He was screaming that she gave him a leaky faucet and she was yelling back equally loud that he could have picked it up from any number of his stripper friends. There were about 20 people rolling on the floor with laughter. I have fond memories of witnessing Pete eating a bag of micro popcorn, ripping the bag open at the seam, and licking out the grease on the inside of the bag. UGH. I dont know if ladies man is the right word for Peter. He was one of those enigmas. He treated women like crap and was only after sex for the most part. He wanted a woman he could dangle on his arm and to hold on when they were riding his motorcycle. One of the turning points in his relationship with Christee was the fact that he wanted her to wear an Immortals leather vest that said "Pete's woman" or "Property of Pete" - something like that. She wasnt going to be labeled as property of anyone. She was rather pissed. I remember another time I was working in the back area with Pete and he was bored. So he came over to talk to me. He told me about his "girlfriend" - a stripper at a local strip club. She only wanted to see him the weekend we were paid. She fed him some line that he totally fell for. Something to the effect that if she was hanging around with her boyfriend at the strip club all the time, she would lose her job. I tried to tell him she probably had another boyfriend the opposite week he was paid plus a couple others who were paid mid-week. Of course, he didnt believe me, what did I know I am just a dumb blonde! lol"
UPDATE - 5/1/07 - Kevin Dehne walked over to a local bar in his neighborhood yesterday, and lo and behold, Pete Soucoup was in there. Not one to miss an opportunity, Kevin ran home and got his camera. The girl with Pete is his girlfriend. There are two video clips as well. You can see them below. The second one if pretty crude. Notice he mentions "Brett Witting" (class of 1988). I'm pretty sure he meant to say "Brett Gruetzmacher."
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:20 AM 5 comments
BEN FRANCO
"Benji."
My first memories of Ben are from our days at Clarke. He was a pretty cool dude. He was never part of the "in crowd." But I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who didn't like him.
Ben was a certified member of the "black T-shirt" crowd. He loved his heavey metal music. And you'd be likely to see his notebooks covered with Metallica lyrics, or have the color of the notebook cover erased to spell out the name of the band W.A.S.P. or something.
If I'm not mistaken, Ben was kicked off of the freshman year football team for failing to quit smoking. Nicotine is some powerful stuff.
I had a language class with Ben in the second semester of our freshman year. Mrs. Fischer taught it. At some point we had to give a speech about ourselves. I remember Ben's speech. He told about a time when he lived in Arizona, and had had a really bad day. He said that he had encountered a rattlesnake, got away from it, back to the safety of his house - where he was promptly met by a scorpion. A bad day indeed! It turns out the whole story was bullshit.
In the beginning of our sophomore year, I loaned Ben three of my "phone madness" prank phone call tapes. These tapes had been passed around to dozens of people since the time I'd first recorded them, back in January, 1986. But on the day that Ben borrowed them from me, he decided it would be wise to break into someone's home. The police literally caught him with one leg hanging out the window. My tapes were in his pocket. Several months later, I got a disorderly conduct fine for those tapes. And they kept the tapes. I have copies of two. But tape #3 is never to be heard again.
I had Ben in Mr. Conrad's biology class in our sophomore year. And it was in this class that I discovered something else about Ben. He was smart. At the very least, he was much smarter than anyone ever gave him credit for. He and Christine Soppe kind of had a running, friendly battle with each other over their quiz and test scores. And more often than not, Ben would win. And Chris Soppe was pretty smart.
I believe Ben was present for our entire junior year. But I don't think he was around at all for our senior year. I don't think he ever left town. Because I did run into him once or twice at the video store. So he apparently dropped out of school. That's a shame. He was better than that. I believe Ben moved to Texas, and is married to a woman named Maria.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:18 AM 3 comments
SHEILA VANNE
I don't have a whole lot of memories about Sheila. But I can tell you this. She was regarded by others as being a bitch. And thruth be told, she probably was. I wouldn't be too surprised if she would even describe herself as one. She was probably one of those "mess with me and I can be a real bitch" type of girls.
I shared a homeroom with Sheila for four years.
In our sophomore year, we shared Mr. Conrad's 5th hour biology class. At that time, se was dating class of 1987's Brian Hoffman. For whatever reason, Sheila seemed to think that she had a good chance to see her boyfriend walking the halls. So whenever she got the chance, she would walk to the door, and glance up and down the hallway, hopeful thatshe would cathc a glimpse of her boyfriend. To my knowledge, she never did. But it certainly never deterred her. She checked every single day. Ross Hofmann poked fun at her one day for her obsession. She wasn't happy about it.
As nasty as she may have been to others, I can't honestly remember any instance in which she ever treated me poorly. I think I was basically non-existent to her.
My last school memory of her is from our graduation ceremony. She sat next to me, on my left. She was very happy and nice. We engaged in some friendly small talk.
I ran into Sheila many times while at the video store. She ended up marrying class of 1991's Randy Braun. I believe they had two kids. They divorced in 2000.
UPDATE - 9/18/06 - I've just been told that Sheila is currently engaged to be married. In fact, she's tying the knot next month. Congratulations Sheila!
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:16 AM 7 comments
Thursday, January 19, 2006
MINDY MOORE
I don't know a whole lot about her. I first met Mindy during freshman year, in Mr. Heuer's algebra class. She was a bit tiny in stature. She was kind of cute, but not in a drop-dead gorgeous sort of way.
Mindy was always smiling. That's a good thing. She seemed like she was always happy. She and I never had a whole lot of contact during our high school years. But what little contact we did have was always pleasant.
Mindy had an older sister named Molly. She had a younger sister named Cami. They were the classes of 1987 and 1992 respectively. I had a few classes with Cami at UW Manitowoc. All I can say is hubba hubba! My friend Dave once told me that he and a bunch of people were playing volleyball on the beach one day. And Cami's boob kept popping out when she jumped. I was so jealous!
Last I knew, Mindy was married, and living in Depere. She had two kids. And for the completists out there, I believe Mindy's father-in-law is a professor in the UW system.
UPDATE - 11/20/06 - I just got an E-mail from Mindy. She is married with three kids. She is now known as Mindy Gardner. She currently lives in West Depere with her husband John. She has three daughters - ages eight, six, and seven months. Her husband works as an IT guy for an Appleton company. While Mindy works as a civil engineer for the Wisconsin Department Of Transportation. She says she's involved with designing highways and bridges. Perhaps she could design an interstate to run from Ozaukee County to I-94 - perhaps ending somewhere around Waukesha County. That sure would be convenient. Anyway, she sent mefour pictures. One is of her and "the fam." The other three are of each of her daughters. Look down to see them. By the way, Mindy's middle daughter is the godchild of fellow graduate, Becky Prausa. Becky even named her.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:46 PM 2 comments
ROD LUMAYE
If there were a poster boy for the sterotypical nerd look, Rod Lumaye would win, hands down. He always reminded me of the actor Eddie Deezen. For those of you who may know him, check the pic in this link, and tell me I'm wrong.
http://imdb.com/name/nm0214430/
I first met Rod in 5th grade, in Ms. Krause's class. Two memories stand out. One is that when we got our pictures back, he was soooooooo thrilled with his. He was wearing some sort of sweater that had a colorful sunburst-type thing on it. And he was thrilled that it looked so good.
Later in the year, we had a party in the class, where everyone brought food. Ms. Krause made a really big deal about people eating whatever food they took. If you take it, you eat it! Imagine Rod's dilemma when he found himself disliking some sort of salad thing that he'd taken. He asked for my advice. I gave it. I told him to slyly go back to the table, grab the serving spoon, pretend to take more, but in reality, put the majority of the salad back ON the spoon, and put it back. I thought it was a brilliant plan. Rod did too. I would have pulled it off. Rod didn't.
I think I was in the process of trying to get seconds on Jason Anderson's meatballs (which were plugged in at the back of the room) when I suddenly heard the cackle of a few of the girls (was Amy Schmidt one of them?) screaming, "Rod!" Their outburst was immediately followed by revealing what Rod was doing. Needless to say, Ms. Krause was furious. I'm not sure what fate had in store for Rod. But I'm sure it wasn't pleasant.
Rod never had a lot of respect around school. But he wasn't a completely typical nerd. He could be annoying at times. And he also had somewhat of a backbone.
I had Rod in Mr. Ertman's sophomore year, pre-algebra 2 class. Somehow we started talking about baseball cards. I had been missing one player from the 1980 set - a pitcher named Ken Holtzman. Rod said he'd give it to me, if he had a double. Sure enough, he came through. This was a few years before the baseball card boom of the early 1990's. So Rod was my only option. That was cool.
I ran into Rod a few times at the video store over the years. I also ran into him at UW Manitowoc. We shared a couple of classes together. He was still into baseball. So we had a few amiable conversations. The last I heard from him, he said he was going to become a police officer.
I guess it never happened. But he must have come close. These days, I believe he is a security officer at Oneida Bingo & Casino. It looks as if he's divorced, but has remarried. I don't know if he has any children. But it looks like his current wife may have kids from previous husbands. I believe they reside in Two Rivers.
UPDATE - 11/13/06 - On Saturday, August 12th, 2006, Kevin Dehne and I took our second trip to Two Rivers. We'd stopped by Rod's house on our first trip. But he wasn't home. This time we were more lucky. We found him in his backyard. Surprisingly, Rod has become a smoker. He said he'd started at some point in the early 1990's. We had a pretty good time with Rod. He also had lots of stories to share. We laughed quite a bit. We spent a good half hour there, perhaps even longer.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:50 PM 8 comments
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
SARA KVITEK
I don't remember much about her. But I was requested to do her so here goes.
Wow. I'm drawing a blank. About the only thing that stands out is that she had one of the most horrible freshman year pictures in the yearbook.
From what I remember about her, she seemed to aspire to some level of popularity. But it wasn't going to be. I will say that she improved her appearance over the years. Before high school ended, I believe she ditched her glasses - which was a major improvement.
No scandal, no nothing. She seemed friendly enough.
The last I'd heard, she was married, and going by the name of Sara Barnett. She was living in Manitowoc, and was working multiple jobs - including one at Natural Ovens. She and her husband also provide a home for retired greyhound dogs.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 2:41 PM 3 comments
BRAD STROUF
My first memories of Brad are from 6th grade - before he even went to school with us. I believe Brad went to another school, then join us at Clarke for 7th grade.
In 6th grade, I used to walk home with Greg Flemal. Greg was one of my few calm, non-rowdy friends. So there wasn't much troublemaking going on. He didn't have it in him. I lived about two blocks from school. He and I were walking west down 45th street, on the way to my house. Up in front of us was a kid who looked to be about our age. I think we laughed and poked fun at him a bit, as kids do. We thought he was out of earshot. But he did turn back at one point. I believe I then shouted, "What are you looking at?" He sheepishly ignored us and kept going. Of course THEN we poured it on thick. I don't recall what was all said. But a few houses later, he turned to the right and walked up on the grass.
Who was this kid? It was Brad Strouf. And he lived in my neighborhood! He was literally across the street, two houses down from me. I'd lived there for over two years, and had no clue that a kid my age was living there. I'd never seen him before. I don't think anyone had.
Well, Brad's mom happened to be outside, on the front porch. And she saw that we were giving her son a hard time. She lit into us big time. Greg wasn't the confrontational type. He said nothing. But I wasn't about to take any shit from this woman. She actually had the gaul to tell me that I wasn't allowed to walk on her side of the street anymore. AS IF! Truth be told, I had usually crossed the street by that time. But from that day forward, I made a point to always walk in front of her house before crossing. The two of us screamed back and forth at each other for awhile, as I kept walking towards my home. For the life of me, I don't remember what she all said. But I do know that she said something which I deemed to be threatening. So when I got home, I decided to call the cops on her.
Note to any who may be reading this. If you're a troublemaker, have a bad reputation, and have had lots of police involvement in your life, never call the police on something as petty as this.
It was quite common to see a police officer in front of my home. This time, I called them. The cop took my story, then walked over to the Strouf's home. Awhile later, the cop came back. By this time, my mom had come home from work. The cop chewed me out. Mrs. Strouf told him that I had made some sort of references to oral sex when I was talking to Brad. THIS WAS NOT TRUE! I never said anything like that! It was quite embarrassing to have him say this stuff in front of my mom. Then to top it off, the cop says that he's known Mrs. Strouf for a long time, and that she doesn't think she would ever say anything threatening to me.
Great. I call the cops. And I get in trouble. Needless to say, I was very, VERY pissed off at this situation. My anger was directed towards Mrs. Strouf. I walked by her home everyday, even though Greg wimped out and walked on the other side of the street. She would watch and glare at me. But I wasn't satisfied. I wanted to do something to get back at her. But what?
What I did next become a small, underground legend. One night, I went outside with a newspaper, spread a few pages out, and took a dump on it. I then carried it (wrapped in the paper) over to the Strouf's house, unfolded it, and plopped the offending blackness onto their front porch. To be even more disgusting, I used the newspaper to flatten it and spread it around. When I was satisfied that I'd made an effective statement, I went home.
After school the next day, my phone rang. It was Mrs. Strouf. She was quiet and reserved, in addition to very apologetic. She said things like, "I don't like this. We're neighbors. We should be friends..." She never once accused me of doing anything. But clearly, she knew. I wasn't exactly kind to her on the phone. I just had short, biting answers. I was in a defensive mode. But she said her peace. When I hung up, I proudly said to myself, "I won!"
A few weeks later, I somehow found myself locked out of my house. I had to wait until my mom came home from work. At one point, I decided to climb a tree in my neighbor's yard. The tree actually was growing over our garage. So I had a clear view of the driveway when Brad, his little sister, and some older kid came around. Brad had brought a friend to come beat me up or something. They wandered around the backyard, and peered into the garage (a clubhouse-type hangout). Brad wanted to try to get into the garage. But his sister warned him that she would tell their mom if he did. I was in plain sight the whole time. All any of them had to do was make one glance up. But defeated, they went home.
My next memory of Brad is from 7th or 8th grade. He apparently had said something to Scott Stephens that pissed him off. And Scott attacked him after school. Scott wanted to fight. Brad refused. Scott fought anyway. I distinctly remember Scott on top of Brad, repeatedly ramming his face into the ground.
In 8th grade, Brad was friends with Mike Zeman - an odd pairing, if you ask me. The two of them sat near us during lunch. And they would make an incredible mess every single day - crumbs, wrappers, bags... Mike lived a long way away. But I remember at least once, Mike and Brad walking to school together. Did Mike walk all that way? Or was he dropped off? Who knows.
I got to know Brad a bit in junior year. We shared Ms. Sapa's creative writing class. I found Brad to be quite nice actually. He was good-natured, and was always having fun. We got along pretty good. We even talked about the incidents from years earlier. He held no grudges. He said he didn't remember the incident involving the older kid that he'd brought over years earlier.
I believe Brad hung around with Mark Ciha in our later highschool days. Brad also gave me a ride home on several occasions. He had this little blue car. (A Chevette?)
Chris Staudinger allegedly told Scott Jaklin that he stumbled upon Brad, almost stepping on him, while Brad was having sex with someone on the beach - I believe in some trees or shrubs. According to Chris, they never even knew he was there. I don't know this for sure. But the girl may have possibly been fellow graduate Kelly Siudzinski. Obviously I don't know if any of this is true.
During our junior year, whenever Richard and I stopped at Mr. Donut in Manitowoc, we would always save one donut for Brad. We made a habit of dropping the box off on his front porch at the end of the night. (It sure beats a turd). I believe Brad told us that he sometimes ate it.
I believe sometime in our junior year, "The Lost Boys" was playing at the Mikadow in Manitowoc. This is odd, since the movie's release was the summer of 1987. But nonetheless, it was playing. Anyway, I was with Dave Svatek and Richard Wheeler. I happened to have some rosary beads on me. Dave's sister Kelly had given it to me for some reason. So I started wearing it. Not being catholic, I didn't understand the ramifications of wearing such a thing around my neck. Dave eventually explained to me why it was that I got so many dirty looks when I'd wear it in public. Of course I wore it even more then. Anyway, I was wearing them while we stood in line for tickets. The place was packed. Brad Strouf and some of his friends were behind us in line. He saw the beads and asked why I was wearing them. He looked slightly irritated, but didn't act too offended. I don't recall what my answer was. Something tells me Chris Staudinger was there too. I seem to recall him sitting right behind me in the theater.
I ran into Brad a few times at the video store. He was always nice and friendly. I actually ran into his mother many times over the years. When she first found out that I was working at the video store, she warned my boss about me. My boss said that he took more of a "Don't tell me how to run my business" approach. Although he just laughed it off in front of her. But believe it or not, Mrs. Strouf and I ended up getting along quite well with one another. She came to realize that I had grown up, and had grown out of that asshole mode from my childhood.
Brad became a police officer. Rumor has it that he actually pulled his mother over for speeding. I'm sure she got off with a warning.
The last I'd heard, Brad had married and had two kids. Unfortunately they divorced. I believe he's now living in the Green Bay area.
UPDATE - 2/9/06 - Brad has confirmed that the alleged incident with Kelly Siudzinski never happened. Damn you Dave Svatek for telling me that! The non-event actually took place at a time when Brad was devoted to class of 1987's Kim Kohls. In fact, the "girl on the beach" appears to in fact be Kim. Speaking of Kim, I witnessed a little tiff she and had Brad outside the community house one night. I asked Brad about it the next day, in Sapa's class. But he wasn't in the mood to discuss it.
UPDATE - 2/15/06 - Brad has provided a two-year-old photo of himself, in uniform. Save for the moustache (which apparently has since been shaved) he looks exactly the same. Thank you Brad.
UPDATE - 8/10/06 - Brad has provided a new photo of himself. I believe it was taken earlier today. This is Brad with three days of scruff, after having a few days off from work.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:19 AM 40 comments
Monday, January 16, 2006
JASON RADANDT
I don't know a whole lot about him. My first memories of him are going up against him in a football drill, in gym class, freshman year. Later in the year, in that same class, Mr. Bonino told Jason that he needed to take a shower, because he stunk. Should teachers really point out things like that? So be it. Everyone laughed. And I guess that was important to him.
Jason and I had Mr. Noll's drivers' ed. class as sophomores. At some point that year, a rumor started to circulate that Jason had fucked a cow. He got teased quite a bit for that. Richard even drew an incredibly detailed picture of the backside of a cow, with its tail raised. The picture got passed up and down a few rows, until it reached Jason - who promptly whisked it onto the floor. The picture eventually ended up getting into the hands of Mr. Noll - who looked at it and laughed. Richard was a good artist.
Dave Svatek told me that the way that rumor got started was because Jason had slept with fellow graduate, Anne Wetenkamp. Nice, people. Anne was friendly. She was no cow.
If memory serves, Jason hung out with Chuck Yauch and Kurt Psenicka. I think Jason may have enjoyed fishing as well.
I ran into Jason many times over the years, while working at the video store. We never spoke much. Last I knew, he was still living in Manitowoc.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:56 PM 1 comments
CINDY HAYES
Cindy Hayes joined us in 5th grade. She was put into Ms. Hynek's class. So I only saw her when I came in for reading class. When she first arrived, she resembled Sissy Spacek in Carrie - small, thin, pale, and very shy.
But she blossomed.
I had Cindy in many classes over the years. In 7th grade, we had every single class together. I have no real memories that stand out. But I'm pretty sure she didn't much care for me. I could be wrong, but I think she was friends with the likes of Amy Schmidt and Pam Schley.
I got to know Cindy a little better in high school - specifically our junior year. I had her in speech class, as well as Mr. Otto's geometry class, where she sat directly behind me. By this time, she had grown into a beautiful young lady. She was very, very nice as well. We also shared a car ride each day, as Cindy would hitch a ride with Dave Svatek. Dave had a slight thing for her. But she was unavailable. Her boyfriend was fellow graduate, Shawn Rappley.
I know I can speak for other people in regards to that one. How on Earth did Shawn get any girlfriend - yet alone someone as hot as Cindy? I liked Shawn. He was a nice guy. But Cindy should have been way out of his league. Was I jealous? You bet!
Cindy and I share a common bond. She is the only person who I had at least one class with, in grade school, middle school, high school, UW Manitowoc and UWGB. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, we both graduated from college with the same major and minor. The only difference is that she graduated in 1995. I followed one year later.
Cindy and Shawn were allegedly engaged, and were a couple for many years. Who knows what happened. But I guess things didn't work out. Cindy is now known as Cindy Eckes. I believe she's living somewhere in Wisconsin.
A few years ago, seemingly out of the blue, I had an erotic dream about Cindy. So for a time, my wife gave me some good-natured grief about it, comparing herself to Cindy.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 10:59 AM 3 comments
LARRY DAFFNER
Where do I begin? On our senior video, Larry mentions that we probably have many reasons why we'll remember him. Yes Larry, oh yes.
Some of the Larry stories predated my arrival in Two Rivers. But the stories were legendary. Larry apparently cried one day when he couldn't get chocolate milk at lunchtime. While at recess, someone found an old pair of pantyhose blowing outside. A few kids took it upon themselves to grab it, then stretch it over Larry's head. I think Larry also peed in a corner, outside at recess as well.
My first real memory of Larry was in 5th grade, in Ms. Hynek's reading class. As was mentioned in an earlier comment, Ms. Hynek was an enormous woman. She was also a rotten person. I don't think she liked children. Great career choice!
She taught the advanced readers. And kudos to the T.R. public school system. Because there weren't enough desks in her class to seat everyone. So three or four people had to sit at the table in the front. At some point in the year, Larry found himself there.
One day, Larry got yelled at for leaning back in his chair. Ms. Hynek gave him the standard warning about how he could fall backwards. Parents and teachers love to say these sorts of things. But of course nothing ever happens... unless you're Larry Daffner. Larry continued to lean back. And sure enough, he toppled backwards. Ms. Hynek threw a fit. And for the rest of the class, she made Larry sit on the floor.
I should point out that Larry was probably a genius - seriously. The kid had a brain, and was a perfect student. His I.Q. is probably over 200. But his social skills were lacking. And he wasn't blessed with dashing good looks.
One could tell that Larry did want to fit in, and did want to be accepted. When we got to high school, he went through the normal motions - buying a senior sweatshirt, buying a team jacket... The few times that I wasn't able to ditch a pep rally, Larry was always there, screaming and cheering. I also remember him attempting to start the wave by himself. That was both funny and sad. He was unsuccessful.
Poor Larry. He could never catch a break. One of the perils of adolescence is that horrible creature called acne. I was somehow spared any major problems. But Larry... oh Larry. Larry didn't just have acne. He had some sort of super acne - the kind that completely craters your entire face, and no doubt leaves scars. I've never seen anyone who had anything close to what Larry had.
When the senior sweatshirts came out, they were adorned with the name of every graduate from the class of 1989. Well, almost everyone. Somehow an error had occurred at the print shop. And Larry's name was omitted. Yet someone like Doug Wall (who never even graduated) was listed.
I don't know this for sure. But I heard that Larry had submitted applications to several prestigious colleges, such as Harvard, Yale and Purdue. Allegedly he was accepted by all, with the exception of one. Knowing Larry, the school that turned him down was the one that he had his heart set on.
Larry was a good guy. But I think that few people ever got to know that. His socially inept reputation preceeded him. Last I knew, Larry had relocated to Texas, and was a software engineer. He probably makes more money than the rest of the class combined.
UPDATE - 1/23/06 - A recent photo of Larry has been added below. Well, if you consider 2001 recent, it's recent. Also, it turns out that Larry wanted to attend Purdue University. And he did. Way to go Larry.
UPDATE - 6/26/06 - I found this second picture of Larry. It's from his personal website. Check it out. Although it looks like he hasn't updated it in years. LARRY DAFFNER
UPDATE - 11/10/06 - Funny, Larry was actually the first person I put a picture up for. And he was also the first person I got a video up for (that I put together myself anyway). Here is Larry from our senior video.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 10:39 AM 18 comments
JEFF BODWIN
There's no way to sugar coat this one. Jeff Bodwin was as obnoxious as they come. I think Jeff liked to think that he TRIED to be obnoxious in order to justify his true self. His true self was that he was in fact naturally obnoxious. He didn't need to try.
I met Jeff in freshman year, in Mr. Heuer's algebra class. He sat next to me, and behind Shawn Rappley. The three of us had many conversations that year. I liked Shawn a lot more.
Around that time, there was a somewhat popular book entitled "101 Uses For A Dead Cat." No doubt inspired, Jeff started a list of 101 uses for used foreskin. He liked my answer of "bottle cap." But he was put into hysterics by my second answer of "gum." It wasn't THAT funny Jeff.
One day Jeff came into class a tad bit late. He was red-faced and whimpering, trying his best to hold back tears. Apparently he'd just gotten into a small fight with Ken Bartz. Little Ken obviously came out on top.
Jeff never had to take gym class. He had some minor ailment that kept him out of it. It was nothing serious. It may have been knee surgery or something that he'd had the year before. I don't know that for sure though. But I do recall him bragging that he was going to be able to get out of gym class the entire time he was in high school. Jeff stated that he could have participated. But since he could get excused, why not? I certainly can't argue with that logic. Had he actually gone to gym class, I don't think he would have thrived. Jeff was a pretty big boy.
Jeff was smart. He was also smug and cocky. He was a natural born asshole. Don't ask him for a favor. He wasn't going to give it.
Richard told me that he'd had some very bizarre conversations with Jeff. I believe they took place in freshman year, possibly in Spanish class. Richard said that Jeff talked about creating some bizarre machinery which featured some sort of pulley system that he could strap naked women to, for the purposes of spreading their legs, so he could rape them. I could be wrong about this. But Jeff may have actually drawn some of the designs for these devices. Was he joking? Or was he some sick, perverted creep? Who knows. But even the usually unflappable Richard found these particular conversations quite disturbing.
Richard and Jeff used to have pencil fights after school. They would try to mark each other up in the face. How that ever started is beyond me.
In our sophomore year, I found myself in the company of Richard and Jeff after school one day. In a moment of defiance, I found myself jumping up and down on small bush. Mr. Sustman came out and threw a fit. But he didn't know me. He demanded to know who I was. I refused to tell him, and walked away. By late afternoon of the next day, I got called into Mr. Wood's office, and was given two detentions. Mr. Sustman knew Jeff. And Jeff had told on me the next day, when he got called in. In retaliation, I took all the gears off of Jeff's bike.
In our junior or senior year (perhaps both) he somehow found himself a girlfriend, in the likes of Marilyn Duprey. Miracles never cease. My friend Dave told me that he ran into Jeff at the hospital (Dave had a job in the kitchen) and found him crying in the hall. Apparently Marilyn had been admitted for something. Dave hugged him.
On our senior video, Jeff made some sort of comment along the likes of, "Most of you probably don't like me. And the feeling is mutual." It was easy to read what he was really saying. He was laughing and smirking as he said it. He knew that very few liked him. That was a given. But he tried to maintain that he had never liked any of them either, and that's the reason why he acted like such an ass. But that's not true. The truth is that Jeff was an ass first. And that's the reason why people didn't like him.
Last I'd heard, Jeff was in Michigan. I don't believe he was married.
UPDATE - 1/26/07 - Below is the above-mentioned clip from the senior video.
UPDATE - 1/29/07 - It appears as if Jeff was in Michigan for college. But he's apparently graduated. In fact, he has earned his P.H.D. Impressive! Today he is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry for the Minnesota State University, at Moorhead. According to his teacher ratings, he's pretty well-liked for the most part.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:41 AM 3 comments
CARRIE COLLARD
Carrie Collard has the distinction of being the first girl I ever had a crush on. When did this crush occur? Kindergarten! Probably unbeknownst to her, Carrie and I shared Mrs. Walters' kindergarten class at McKinley school in Manitowoc. I have a program from some sort of Easter show that our class put on that year. Sure enough, both our names are listed. After that year, the school closed.
The next time I saw Carrie was several years later, in Two Rivers. We joined up at L.B. Clarke in sixth grade. We had Mrs. Casey's class together. Carrie was still a pretty girl. At that time she was kind of fawning after John Steltz. I got to know her a little bit that year. She was incredibly nice. And she had the cutest smile. One day, Carrie wore a skirt to school. Marcus Petkevicius took it upon himself to run by, lift it up, and reveal her panties to the room. Way to go Marcus! Carrie was good-natured about it. But I think she changed into a pair of pants shortly afterward.
At some point at Clarke she found a boyfriend in Rob Kumbalek. After high school, they were married. Talk about a long-lasting romance. Unfortunately, I don't think it's lasted to this day. She's apparently been chasing him for child support payments. Rob may actually be in jail at this exact moment, for failing to pay.
Carrie sticks in my mind for one incredibly brave thing she did. I was never one for attending school functions. In fact, in my entire Two Rivers school career, I believe I attended a grand total of one school-related activity. It was the Halloween dance in 7th grade. I was hanging out with Jim Colby and Toby Schwartz at the time. The three of us decided to go together. I hope I enjoyed myself. The following year, the school put out a list of those students who were banned from attending. Yours truly was on it!
The school had hired some local band to play. The band was very loud too. You couldn't get near their speaker system. Anyway, the band repeatedly invited people to come and dance on the floor. But no one would. No one was brave enough. The students just milled around, socializing on the bleachers or by the door. But then Carrie did something I'll never forget. She wandered out onto the floor, in the middle of the gym, and started dancing all by herself. It wasn't a real dance so to speak. She kind of just shook her head back and forth. There she stood, the eyes of 100 people staring at her, as she did her thing. Within a minute or two, she was joined by a few friends of hers. And then the floodgates opened. Nearly everyone was on the floor, mimicking Carrie's head shake. Carrie, that was one of the coolest things I've ever seen! Way to go!
I ran into Carrie a few times at the video store. She may have moved to Manitowoc. She may have been employed at a hospital in some capacity. And she was still as cute and friendly as ever.
UPDATE - 7/11/06 - Carrie and her husband had a baby girl on July 7th. Also, I never mentioned it before. But Carrie is remarried, and is now known as Carrie Dunphy.
UPDATE - 7/20/06 - Kevin Dehne and I stopped in to see Carrie on July 15th. One of her sons wasn't home. But the rest of the family was, including of course the new baby. The pictures below are from that visit. Carrie's husband hails from Maine. I believe he said he works for the nuclear plant.
UPDATE - 11/10/06 - Here is Carrie from our senior video. The girl can't help but smile when she talks. Too cute!
UPDATE - 11/22/06 - Here is some video from that July 15th meeting.
UPDATE - 1/2/07 - Thanks to Tammy Franzen for providing this picture of Carrie, along with herself, Cindy Rohrer, and their families. It was taken in July, 2006.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:40 AM 8 comments
BRENDA LINZMEIER
I don't have a whole lot of information about Brenda. I found her decent enough. My first memories of her were in freshman year. I had her in the second semester, in Mr. Scriver's history class. I was on my own in there. If memory serves, she spent her time there talking with the likes of Shawn Olson (whatever happened to her?) and Stacey Erickson. I was pretty much a mute in there.
At the end of that year, I got into some really bad trouble at school. In addition to criminal charges, I also was given 10 detentions. At that time, Mr. Wood had a policy. If you spent an hour doing work around school (like helping the janitors) you could work off two detentions. I found myself using a study hall to do some sweeping of some stairs. That's when I encountered Brenda. We said nothing to one another. But she smiled. When she got to the top of the stairs, she stopped, turned around, looked down on me at the bottom and said, "Hey Burt, how come you never talk?" I looked at her, said nothing, and shrugged my shoulders.
My next memories of her are from junior year. We shared Ms. Neveau's speech class. She gave a speech where she talked about her boyfriend's (fellow graduate Kevin Shillcox) foot decapitation injury. I was a little more social with her in that class. I found her to be generally friendly. She was nice to me anyway.
According to my friend Meff, this girl was an absolute cruel bitch. "Look at the way he holds his pencil." I personally never saw any evidence of cruelty from her.
Brenda went on to marry Kevin, and now goes by the name of Brenda Shillcox. Last I knew, they had three kids. I ran into her several times at the video store. She always remained friendly towards me.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:37 AM 2 comments
Saturday, January 14, 2006
RICHARD WHEELER
This is going to be my longest post yet. I briefly talked about him on January 11th. But this is the full story.
I first met Richard in the summer of 1981. My parents saw fit to send me to Camp Sinawa. The buses left from the YMCA. For those of us in Two Rivers (seven of us?) they would send a van to come pick us up at the high school. That's where I first met Richard. Richard, his best friend John Kern, and their two sisters all went to camp. While at camp, I remember wanting to hang around with both of them. They seemed more intelligent than some of the meatballs we camped with.
The summer of 1982 saw the same reunion. Although I'm not sure the sisters were there. This was now the summer after 5th grade. And according to Meff's timeline, he had already infiltrated into Richard's life. And the friendship between Richard and John was waning. I saw evidence of this first hand.
One of the things we did at camp was sing songs. And the camp counselors kept asking us if we remembered any from previous years. Time after time, John would yell out (singing) "Way down yonder and not far away." The next lines of this goofy tune are "Blue Jay died of a whooping couch. He whooped and he whooped and he whooped all day. He whooped his head and his tail right off."
It's amazing how this crap sticks with you.
Anyway, they never chose that song to sing. And finally, after John had tried to get that song started for about the 20th time, Richard screamed at him, "WILL YOU SHUT UP!" I haven't heard that tune since. But it no doubt will be stuck in my head all damn night now.
My next real memories of Richard are from 8th grade. Richard had a folder or something that grew and grew to epic proportions. This thing was literally 12 inches thick. His folder grew to celebrity status.
Back at Clarke we had a phrase called "book burning." It had nothing to do with library books. What that phrase meant to us was flinging someone's books, papers, or notebooks on the floor, and making a mess.
By this time, I had aligned myself with Kevin Dehne. Kevin was obsessed with burning Richard's folder. He talked about it all the time. He made plans for getting it. Finally, he was able to do it. What a fricken' mess! Richard wasn't the least bit upset. He knew it was going to happen at some point. And he had repeatedly stated that there was nothing of importance in it. His "important" papers he apparently kept in a smaller, more managable folder. Kevin was so proud of his accomplishment. Of course Mr. Kern knew exactly who was responsible. And he made Kevin clean it all up. Kevin happily obliged. It took him about 20 minutes to clean it all. But he was happy.
During our freshman year, I had Richard's father as a homeroom teacher. As it was alphabetical, Richard was in there too. The two of us sat next to each other at the table in the back of the room. But we rarely spoke. As it turns out, unbeknownst to me, Richard loathed me. Why? Because I was becoming closer to Meff - and thus intruding on his friendship with him. Richard said that at times, Meff would go on and on about my exploits. It obviously irked him.
During that year, Richard wore bowling shoes to school. People used to go up to Meff all the time and ask him, "Why does Richard wear bowling shoes?" Of course Meff had no idea. That was just Richard being Richard.
At some point during that year, Mike Zeman had pissed off Todd Zinn. (More on that later). At the time, Mike's foot (leg?) was broken, and in a cast. The ever-grumpy Todd wanted to get back at Mike. But he had his pride. He was going to wait until Mike was no longer on crutches. But that didn't stop Todd from constantly threatening Mike. Richard found this whole episode amusing. He would openly mock Todd, by laughing and saying, "What are you gonna do Todd... beat him up?" Todd didn't get it, and simply yelled back that he was gonna kick the shit out of Mike.
At the end of the school year, I got into some major trouble by committing some vandalism at the school. The damage took several weeks to do. Although a few people knew of our exploits, Richard was the only one who actually witnessed us doing the acts. I'll explain that whole episode later.
After our freshman year, Meff moved to the Milwaukee area. Richard and I both lost our best friend - to some degree. Meff was constantly visiting us or his grandparents, who still lived in Two Rivers.
A day or two before our sophomore year, Richard called me on the phone. Mike Zeman and Meff had shared a locker the previous year. But only Richard and I knew that he'd moved. Richard devised a plan that he and I should pretend that Meff never existed. And when Mike began to ask about Meff, we'd respond with "Who?"
Richard and I became best friends that year. We remained friends throughout our junior year as well. When Meff came up, we all hung out together. Richard and I had very similar tastes. We were both warped out of our minds. We both liked to shock people. For the most part, we didn't set out to shock anyone. That was just who we were. And if things we said shocked people... even better.
Between the two of us, Richard was the social one. I tended to be social more often when he was around me. The two of us worked great together. In time, we became obsessed with The Beatles, Charles Manson, death, satanism, and just about any other non-normal thing one can dream up. We were weird. But it was a good weird. Of course most people never got to really know us.
Richard and Jeff Bodwin used to have a series of pencil fights after school. The two of them would go at it, and try to mark each other up in the face. It was an odd spectacle to view.
Richard often wore trenchcoats. Would that even be allowed today?
During sophomore year, I became friends with Dave Svatek. Dave was on the opposite end of the spectrum as Richard and I. But eventually we became a trio. But Richard and I knew that Dave was different than us. And we treated him very poorly at times. We would often mock him and insult him. We really hurt his feelings at times. Richard and I borrowed a line from the Beatles, and mockingly referred to Dave and everyone else in the so-called "in crowd" as being part of the "beautiful people."
Richard got a driver's license. The addition of a car added another element to our madness. Now we had the ability to be obnoxious on the road, all over town. Not a weekend went by where we didn't drive around listening to oldies music, screaming clever obscenities to anyone within earshot. If we weren't yelling at people, we were tossing pennies at pretty women, shouting, "Here's a penny for your tits!" Yes, we were classy guys.
When we were stopped at a red light, I would often reach over and lean on the horn until the light turned green, annoying the hell out of whoever was in front of us. One guy got so mad that when the light did turn, he drove off very slow. He slowed so much that Richard ended up smacking into him. It was unintentional of course. But I'm sure the guy was at the end of his rope. The two of them got out. And he said, "You hit me." Richard responded with, "Well you stopped, right in the middle of the road!" Since the cars were going about 2 MPH, there was no damage.
One day we were driving north on Lincoln Avenue, in Two Rivers. We were playing this game where I would hang out of the passenger side window, pretending to be dead. Richard saw a woman walking south, on my side. He screeched to a halt in front of her, grabbed me and pulled me back in, then pointed at the woman and screamed, "You didn't see nothin'!" We thought it was funny.
Every Friday night, Richard, Dave and myself would get together, drive around Manitowoc and Two Rivers, and generally be obnoxious. Boys will be boys. But in early October a new person was added. That person was Dave's older sister Kelly - Roncalli, class of 1986. Kelly was cool. Richard and I both took a fancy to her. Of course she was way out of our league. But that didn't stop some petty jealousy to rear its ugly head. When Kelly was around, I saw a new side of Richard - possessiveness. Kelly had to ride shotgun while Richard drove. Richard always had to be next to her wherever we went. It was so silly. She was our friend. But she had no romantic interest in either of us. I understood that. I'm not sure Richard ever did. I wasn't about to try and step on Richard's toes. In regards to her, I let him have his way. Eventually it buried him in her eyes.
Kelly joined us every Friday night on our weekly drives. She even hung out with us on her birthday, in March. But Richard's possessiveness towards her was wearing thin. And she'd had enough. The day after her birthday, she told Dave that she was never riding with us again. She'd had enough of Richard. And she never did. At one point I mockingly told her, "You're mine now." We both laughed.
Nintendo was really big at that time. And I would occasionally go over to Dave's house during the week. We'd play for hours. But we both knew that we couldn't tell Richard about my visits. Because if he knew, he would be insanely jealous that I could be potentially spending some time with Kelly. Truth be told, Kelly wasn't always there. One time I accidentally mentioned to Richard that I'd been at Dave's the night before. He got mad until I told him that Kelly hadn't been there. His affection for her was blatantly obvious.
The future was writing itself. Richard and I were growing apart, as Dave and I were growing closer.
Life in school remained the same. Richard and I shared a pathology class taught by Richard's father. For reasons unknown, we kept a running tally of every question Mr. Wheeler asked, and who answered it. We gave nicknames to everyone in the small class. Craig Rysticken was "pussy." Jennifer Kern (class of 1988) was "the animal." Jennifer kicked ass. But because she missed the last several days of class due to graduation stuff, Richard actually caught her. I finished close to the bottom - ahead of fellow graduate Brian Belongia, but behind class of 1988's Londa Bleeker.
We also shared gym class together that year. Each semester was divided into three sections. Both of us loved badminton. And we were very good at it. We would lose on purpose to our opponents, then spend the rest of the class playing each other. Just for fun one day, when we played the team of Brandon Podhola and Mark Schreiber, we let them get ahead 20-0, then played for real, coming back to tie it 20-20, before losing the last point on purpose.
We also had bowling in gym class. For that, we had to go down to the local bowling alley. Richard and I had fun there. Sometimes we would try to throw the ball as hard and fast as we possibly could. Other times we would tap the ball, and see how long it took for it to get down the alley. It always got there - except once. I tapped it so slowly once, that the damn ball actually came to a complete stop halfway down the alley. The guy who worked there was so furious! He started cussing up a storm, as he spread his legs, hopping down the alley, both feet in each gutter. That was a sight to see.
At the end of the year, we had baseball. Neither one of us wanted to participate. So we ripped our gym outfits and claimed that we didn't have them any longer. After two or three days of sitting out, Mr. Bonino was so mad that he took us to Mr. Wood's office. Bonino gave us an "F" for baseball. Mr. Wood put us into study hall. We were happy.
Richard and I shined in our first semester creative writing class - taught by Ms. Sapa. Both of us were excellent writers. But we also had a love of violence and anything shocking. Our creative writing packets were peppered with references to death, Charles Manson, satanism, vomit, and just about anything vile that you could think of. Richard once wrote a great poem about masterbation - something about being in a state of bliss, as he gave the paper a milky kiss. Was it gross at times? Sure. But for the most part, the writing was good too. Our packets were routinely passed around in class, as our fellow classmates loved to read our work.
One day in homeroom, Wyatt Wood told us that some kid was talking to a friend of his, complaining that there were these "two losers" in a class of his that would spend the entire hour talking about Charles Manson and death. The guy went on and on about how annoying these two kids were. It didn't take long to figure out that the complainer was class of 1988's Paul Streubel. And of course he was talking about us. We had Paul in our creative writing class. In that class, we were looked highly upon by our peers. While Paul was a virtual mute, with no friends. We were mad. And we were out for blood. We held the upper hand. In that class, we were popular. Paul was not.
That day, we walked into class. Richard walked right up to Paul, waved his pencil in his face, and yelled, "I don't like you!" Paul mumbled back, "The feeling's mutual." From that moment on, we made it a point to make his life a living hell. No one else really cared for Paul either. So he was all alone to suffer the mental abuse we constantly flung his way. We enlisted Jeremy Karman (who sat near Paul) to write down every single thing that came out of Paul's mouth. Paul wasn't very vocal. So it wasn't too hard. Then we would take those quotes and loudly celebrate them. "It was exactly two weeks ago today that Paul said..." I'm sure Paul dreaded coming to that class each day. We would mockingly say hi to him everytime we saw him in the hall. We would drive by his house and scream things. We annoyed him every chance we got. In time we eventually let up. Oddly enough, Paul even drove me home from school once!
Early in the year, Richard and I somehow came up with a scheme to participate in a double suicide. It was more intended to aid us in writing material for creative writing class. We picked the date of Wednesday, December 9, 1987, at exactly 10:30 in the morning. We never had any intention of offing ourselves. It was just a joke between the two of us. The problem was, we told a few people about it. And we did write about it. So those who read our work learned of it.
Our suicide took a life of its own.
You have to undertstand that suicide was a real touchy subject at our school. During our freshman year, at least three students had tried to kill themselves. One was successful. As a freshman, I had entertained the idea (more than once) of killing myself. I had even spoken to the guidance officer, Mr. Boehlke about it.
Well, being who we were, Richard and I thrived on the attention. And we never let up. We were writing and talking about it all the time. Even with Dave and Kelly, we were always a bit hazy on our actual intentions. Were we serious? Or was it a joke? As the date approached, we would joke about it even more. If an assignment were given, with a due date after the fateful day, we would look at each other, laugh, and say, "We don't have to do it."
The week of the mock suicide was a strange one. Mr. Boehlke had pulled us into his office, and said that five teachers and dozens of students had come in to inform them of our alleged plans. Mr. Wheeler found out about it when he heard that we had made out our wills in Ms. Sapa's class. He knew we were full of crap. He told us that we'd had our fun, and to just stop it.
But we couldn't help ourselves. We just kept going. We had both planned to play sick that day and put the school officials in a tizzy. At one point we actually did dicuss doing it. We thought it would be the ultimate black eye upon the school. Imagine two kids who bragged for months that they were going to kill themselves on a certain date, and nothing was done to prevent it. But our plans hit a major snag on December 8th, when Mr. Boehlke took it upon himself to call my mom at work, and tell her what was going on. He explained to her in no uncertain terms that I absolutely HAD to show up in school the next day.
So we showed up. Mr. Boehlke made a point to peek his head into our homeroom, in order to verify that we were indeed there. And life went on. Although it was all stupid fun, I discovered that I'd really hurt fellow graduate Erin Hynek. If memory serves, Erin had made her phone number available during our freshman year, for anyone who wanted to talk about depression or suicide. So she was obviously disturbed by our antics. About a week prior to the date, she went up to Richard and asked him, "You're not really going along with Burt on this plan are you?" Richard showed her no mercy. He responded, "Are you kidding? This was all my idea!" He said that Erin turned and walked away, dejected and upset. A few days after the date had passed, I had the opportunity to read Erin's creative writing packet for that week. It was devoted to our suicide plan. Reading Erin's words were like a shot in the head. She was clearly hurt and upset by our trivial joke. And I felt like total shit. I didn't even have the balls to apologize to her for it. But years later, I finally got the opportunity.
Somtime that winter, I was at Richard's house. And he showed me something in his room. He had five or six giant pickel jars under his bed. They were filled. With what you ask? PISS! What the living hell was that all about? Apparently Richard enjoyed hanging out in his bedroom watching TV. So when he had to go, rather than get up and go to the bathroom, he simply whipped it out and went in the jar. Now I have nothing against lazy people. Hell, I'm the king of laziness. But Christ! Even I'm not THAT lazy! Richard brushed it off like it was no big deal. As open and honest as Richard was about everything, this little tidbit is one story that he would never admit to publically. He'd say to me, "Don't tell them that!" But alas, it's true. And I love it! Thankfully, there were no boxes of shit.
In the second semester that year, we had a speech class with new teacher, Ms. Neveau. Ms. Neveau was really cool. And she and Richard actually became friends, even spending their lunch time together. It was kind of odd. Richard even spent some time hanging out with her at her home, watching movies. A few rumors began to circulate that they were having an affair. Richard was content with people believing that. Ms. Neveau was mortified. Obviously nothing ever happened between the two of them.
As the end of the year approached, so did our friendship. After school, on the last Friday of May was a good time. Memorial Day weekend had arrived - a three day weekend. Richard and I had plans to drive down to Milwaukee that night to go to a triple feature with Meff, at the outdoor theater. "Rambo III" was one of the films. Well, I was at home when the phone rang. It was Dave. Apparently his mom had missed me, and asked Dave to invite me along to go up to their cottage with them that weekend. I asked Dave if he was inviting just me (and not Richard.) He said yes. I asked him when he was leaving. And he said I had two choices. I could either drive up that evening with him and Kelly. Or I could drive up with just him on Saturday, as he had to come back to work for a few hours. Perfect! I told him I'd go up on Saturday, as Richard and I were going to Milwaukee that night. The date was set.
Moments later, Richard called. He was mad. He was going to be unable to get his parents' car. So our trip to Milwaukee was cancelled. That sucked. I'd really been looking forward to going too. Since my plans were cancelled, I called Dave back and told him that I'd drive up with them that night. At the time, I was spending 5:00-6:00 taping Star Trek off of channel 32 everyday. That was later than they wanted to go. But they relented, and said they would be in my driveway at 6:00, ready to go.
About 5:55, I was all packed and ready to go. Dave and Kelly were on their way over. Then the phone rang. Richard belted out, "Pack yer bags. We're going!" My jaw dropped. Richard had somehow gotten use of the car back. And he was ready to come pick me up. I didn't know what to do. Dave and Kelly had already altered their plans to cater to me. And they were literally on their way over. I couldn't cancel those plans now. Richard could tell that something was wrong. There was no excitement in my voice. He asked, "You still want to go, don't you?" I said yes. He said, "Ok, I'm on my way."
If I told Richard not to come because I'd made other plans, he would have been pissed. And when I told him where I was going, he would have been even more pissed, in addition to insanely jealous. I took the coward's way out. I didn't tell him anything. Either way he was going to be royally pissed off and jealous. I simply chose to delay facing him for 3.5 days. Richard came over and encountered my parents, who told him where I had gone.
Richard went on to Milwaukee alone. According to Meff, he spent the entire evening screaming about me. He was very, very mad.
Because my mom had to work In Manitowoc by 8:00, she would drop me off at school around 7:30. I was often the first person to school each day. I was always the first person in homeroom. On that Tuesday after Memorial Day, I figured I'd get to school, put my head down and fall asleep, then deal with Richard when he got there. Richard always arrived at 8:00, sometimes a minute or two later, everyday. But on that day, Richard was there, and waiting for me. I was dreading the confrontation.
RICHARD: "Where were you?"
ME: "Well, you know where I was, right?"
RICHARD: "Well, you could have told me."
The mood was very tense. But that's all that was said. We basically forgot about the incident and never spoke of it again. And we more-or-less got on with our lives, business as usual. But clearly, some major damage had been done. The school year ended with Dave and I hanging out with each other more - along with the addition of Scott Jaklin, who had formed a friendship with me near the end of the year.
A few weeks after school had ended, Richard, Meff and I hung out together one last time. My parents were out of town for the weekend. They both came over. We smoked pot and dropped acid. I giggled my way through the night, listening to some awful Bob Dylan country album that skipped for hours. If I ever hear the song "Peggy Day" again, I'll probably split my wrists. Meff walked home to his grandparents house around 6:00 A.M. I woke up a few hours later, threw up in the toilet, watched "Super Password" with Richard, then sent him home. That was the last time Richard and I ever spoke.
The beginning of senior year found us in a different homeroom that Mr. Wheeler's. Instead, we were on the ground floor, in Mr. Witting's class. I took a seat away from Richard. We never made eye contact the entire year. I've always wondered what would have happened, had we had Mr. Wheeler's class for homeroom again. We'd sat next to each other everyday for three years. Inevitably, we would have sat next to each other once again. But it wasn't to be. 21 months of friendship had come to an end. We weren't enemies. But we weren't on speaking terms either. We simply coexited. See my January 11th post for some post-high school news about Richard.
Richard was my best friend in high school. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss him sometimes. He was funny, and had a very quick, intelligent wit. We had an awful lot of fun together. Overall, high school was not a fun time for me at all. But hanging out with Richard sure was.
UPDATE - 11/13/06 On Saturday, August 12th, 2006, Kevin Dehne and I took our second trip to Two Rivers. We stopped by Richard's parents' house, in an effort to see Mr. Wheeler. But he wasn't home. But we spoke with Richard's mom for awhile. She remembered me, having been friends with Richard. She gave us the scoop on what Richard is doing today. She also said that Mr. Wheeler should be home any minute. But he was late. We had to get going. But before we left, I made sure to tell her to tell Mr. Wheeler that I did NOT steal his final exam at the end of freshman year! She said she would tell him. She also said that she'd tell Richard about the blog. Lastly, I asked if she had a recent picture of Richard. We each zoomed in with our digital cameras and snapped the pictures you see below. Richard looks pretty much the same.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 3:12 PM 9 comments
Friday, January 13, 2006
DAVID KANERA
Was there anyone more starved for attention than Dave Kanera? Maybe Donald Trump - maybe.
I met Dave in 4th grade. Over the years, we shared several classes together.
One of my earliest memories of Dave happened outside of school. I was riding my bike near Magee, in front of a corner house - a house across the street from Ross Remiker's - right outside the cemetary. I was trying to ride on the curb - the few inches between the grass and the road.
The guy in the home took exception to my presence, and started yelling at me. He threatened to send his dog out after me. He had the hugest doberman I'd ever seen! Being the guy that I was, I refused to go. I was determined to annoy him.
Dave drove up on his bike. He was delivering newspapers (perhaps for his older brother?). He asked me what was going on. I told him the guy was being an asshole. Then Dave peddled off. He didn't stick around long enough to see the guy pull a gun on me! Needless to say, the sight of that gun made me get the hell out of there. I should have reported the asshole. But with my repuation, I was the one who probably would have gotten in trouble.
I found a photo from Mr. Ashenbrenner's class in 8th grade. Dave is on the far left, followed by Scott Stephens, myself and Chris Staudinger.
In high school, Dave was an ass. If anyone has our yearbooks, take a look at Dave's hair from year to year. It's an amazing transformation. He went from a bowl to Keith Richards in the span of three years.
Dave had a reputaion for being a ladies' man. I'm sure it was justified. There were also rumors that he may have "dabbled" with the fellas as well. Obviously I don't know if any of this is true. Hell, Dave my have put those rumors out there on his own, just to get more attention.
Dave needed an audience. He tried to charm everyone. But deep down, he seemed to have a lack of respect for anyone he deemed to be beneath him. He was a loud mouth, and was always up for embarrassing anyone. That's the kind of guy he was. He was Mr. Slick... Mr. Cool... or so he thought. Actually, he fooled most of his peers.
Another reputation that surrounded him was that he was a heavy, heavy pot smoker. He teamed up with Jeff Rehrauer. In fact, he somewhat "stole" Jeff away from my friend Dave Svatek. My friend Dave seemed to get disillusioned with Jeff, due to his alleged drug use.
I think this next event happened in my junior year. Dave Kanera and someone else went into the bathroom to urinate. Unbeknownst to them, Toby Schwartz was in one of the stalls. Toby overheard Dave groan and say, "Man, this gonorrhea shit's got to go." Apparently Dave was only joking. But Toby didn't know that. And he of course spread the rumor. I recall that Dave was a bit annoyed by that.
I had Dave in Mr. Schwantes' class during our senior year. One day, when the teacher was out of the room, Dave belted out (in a totally serious tone) "Has anyone noticed that girls don't swallow?" No one really responded - which must have really irked him. All Dave wanted was to get a little more attention by asking such a stupid question. All I could do was feel sorry for a girl named Kendra - who he was dating at the time.
In that same class, Dave sat in the front row, in the right corner. One day he pretended to be asleep. He had his eyes closed, head on hand, and was leaning up against the wall, in his seat. Joy Suthers (class of 1990, girlfriend of Jason Anderson) took his picture. It ended up in the yearbook. Of course Dave pretended to be shocked when he "woke up." Ha ha Dave... sad.
For those of you who had Mr. Schwantes, you'll remember that he was the kind of guy who you could get to talk about anything - sometimes taking up the entire class talking about nothing school-related. It was great! He was well aware of it. He related it to socializing - a vital part of teaching. There were no complaints from the students. He was a fun guy.
Well one day, Mr. Schwantes started class by saying, "What should we talk about today?" Before anyone else could answer, Larry Daffner (more on him later) belted out, "Let's all ignore what's-his-name in the corner, and see how long it takes before he goes nuts." That was one of the funniest lines I've ever heard. Larry understood the real Dave. Of course Larry was some sort of genius. His comment was lost on most everyone else.
During my senior year, my friend Scott Jaklin was interested in buying some pot. So who did he go to see? Dave Kanera of course. A deal was allegedly arranged. I was actually talking on the phone with Scott when Dave and fellow graduate Tom "Gus" Holmes came to his house. He let me go. And shortly afterward, Scott had a bag of weed. Obviously I have no idea what happened, if anything. I assumed that Dave sold it to Scott. After all, that's what Scott told me. And a day or two later, in Mr. Hensl's english class, Dave told my friend Dave Svatek that he had sold Scott $10.00 worth of pot for $20.00. Of course, I wasn't a witness to the alleged transaction. But you do the math. Nice profit by the way.
Dave allegedly did some modeling work. He was very skinny. So it was right up his alley. Apparently he was in one of those "I lost over 100 pounds" picture ads. If that boy were to ever lose 100 pounds, he'd disappear from existence.
Prior to graduation, we all had to write down what we planned to do with ourselves after school. Not everyone participated. But Dave did. And our comments were put into the graduation program for the parents and spectators. Dave's plans? He was going to spend his life trying to figure out why men have nipples.
I'm surprised they let that comment in the program. But I'm glad they did. His stupidity was laid out for all to see.
The last information I had on Dave was that he was living in Milwaukee. He was allegedly "retired." Yeah, right. Still the jokester after all these years. Then again, perhaps he had fulfilled his lifelong goal (male nipples) and had nothing more to do. I'd like to see the results of his research.
In the late 1990's, Dave's father was arrested for allegedly having 11 marijuana plants growing on his property. He plead no contest, was sentenced to 45 days in jail and 18 months probation.
Dave was sued by the gas company, most likely for not paying his bill. The judgement remains unsatisfied.
On more than one occasion, Dave has been caught driving after his license had been suspended. On one occasion, he was sentenced to five days in jail.
For about 15 months, in my sophomore and junior years, I was the Kanera's paperboy. They had the nicest, softest dog. They had a litter of kittens once too. Or was it puppies? I don't recall for sure. Dave had an older brother named Dan, and a younger sister (a very cute younger sister) named Kelle. Dave's parents were very nice. And I have a distinct memory of his dad mowing the lawn - in the tightest, leopard-spotted bikini swimsuit I've ever seen.
UPDATE - 6/15/06 - There has been a Dave Kanera sighting. A little angel told me that Dave is currently living in Madison, and works at Menards. Apparently he's worked there for years. From what I've been told, Dave is happy and well. I wish nothing but the best for him.
UPDATE - 11/10/06 - One thing I somehow neglected to mention was that Dave fancied himself as a Bobcat Goldthwait impersonator. Actually, it wasn't a bad impression at all. But the fact that Goldthwait had such an annoying voice, coupled with the fact that Dave was CONSTANTLY doing him, added to my disdain for him. Nonetheless, here is Dave on our senior video, with that very impression.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:08 PM 8 comments
LEE JACQUART
Lee Jacquart was a pint-sized, annoying little bug. Granted, that's just my opinion. I'm sure his mother didn't think he was a pint-sized, annoying little bug. I'm sure there are other people who didn't think he was a pint-sized, annoying little bug. But there were probably others like me, who did view him as a pint-sized, annoying little bug.
Lee was somewhat small in stature. But his ego more than compensated for his height-challenged self. While large egos can be very annoying sometimes, it is escalated when the person with that ego isn't worthy of it. This was Lee.
Lee carried himself around with absolute smugness. He looked down on nearly everyone. He sat across from me in Mr. Heuer's freshman year algebra class. He didn't like me for some reason. Of course I'd never done anything to him. But one day he looked at me and kept repeating, "What's your problem? What's wrong with you?" Keep in mind this conversation was completely unprovoked. No incident lead to it. I smiled and told him "Nothing." He wasn't satisfied. He kept repeating his lines. Why he attacked me that day, I'll never know. It's not like he had an audience. He and I were the only ones listening to our conversation.
Lee thought he was a lot cooler than he was. And that's sad.
Lee may have been involved in cross country skiing, if my memory serves.
According to my friend Dave, Lee was very good at the arcade version of Super Mario Brothers.
Back in 2000, I'm almost positive I saw Lee at a Brewers' game. It was a sparse crowd. He was one section over from me. I noticed he didn't have a wedding ring. But I had one! There probably aren't any ladies that live up to his standards.
Last I'd heard, Lee was living in Whitewater (seemingly unmarried) and working in Waukesha. Yay.
UPDATE - Yes, this update is only an hour after my first post. What are you going to do about it? Anyway, I may have been mistaken. Recently obtained information now shows that Lee may have actually gotten married in 1998 to a woman named Cherie. Congratulations Cherie. He's a catch. It looks like they had a son in 2004. It looks like they are living in Illinois, near Chicago.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:15 AM 7 comments
RANDY KLEIN
I moved to Two Rivers in 4th grade. I was put into Mrs. Schmidt's class. About 15 minutes after I was seated in my desk for the first time, I accidentally dropped my pencil on the floor. I leaned to the right to reach down and grab it. Meanwhile, the kid sitting next to me also leaned down to grab it. I got it first. He then looked at me and said, "I steal."
That was my introduction to Randy Klein.
Randy has the distinction of being the first person in Two Rivers to say something to me. I'll bet he doesn't remember.
Later on, near the end of our 4th grade year, we all went on a trip to Green Bay, to see the circus at the Brown County Arena. So we had all filed to the hallway near the front of the school, in the 5th grade area, outside Mr. Spatz' art room. Apparently Randy spit on the floor. Why he did this, I don't know. But he was dumb enough to be seen by (I believe) the music teacher. Was her name Mrs. Hanson? Anyway, she caught him and chewed him out. But her words were nothing compared to what Mrs. Schimdt did. Mrs. Schmidt blew up at Randy to extreme epic proportions. She was really over the top. It ended with an exasperated cry of "You're the worst student I have ever had!"
Wow. She was pissed! Randy was sheepishly in the process of obtaining some paper towel to clean up his spittle. He was red-faced and nearly in tears. The students were deadly silent. There was a huge tension in the air. It had to be broken. And I was just the guy to do it. A few seconds after her "worst student" comment, I came back with, "Even worse than me?" There were some chuckles in the crowd. And Mrs. Schmidt exhaled, but still loudly proclaimed, "No Burt, YOU take the cake!"
Randy and I never got along much. But we weren't at odds with each other either. Randy never came across as the brightest of bulbs. But he was harmless.
As juniors in high school, we shared a health class with Mr. Franko. We had it during 4th hour. And our class was split in two by our lunch break. Randy sat in the front row of tables. He had this bizarre habit of rattling off absolute nonsense and drivel from time to time. Wyatt Wood sat next to me. We were directly behind Randy. Wyatt would often lift his arm up, make a mock gun with his hand, and shoot him. What was wrong with this kid? Well, I found out the answer later - from Randy's own mouth.
He was high.
Later on that year, against my better judgement, I approached Randy to see if he could score some acid for me. He wasn't able to. But in the midst of our conversation, he told me that he smoked pot at lunch every single day. That explained a lot of his antics in health class.
On our senior video, Randy made a comment about participating in the video, so he could be a member of the class of 1989, just once. Congratulations Randy. You participated one more time than I did. In the video, he claimed that after high school he had no plans, other than wanting to get the hell out of Two Rivers.
I ran into Randy several times over the years while I worked at the video store. He was married, and living in Two Rivers. When renting movies to people, I had to ask them for their phone number. One day I asked Randy for his. He looked at me and said, "You're kidding, right?" This is no joke. He'd forgotten his number! In his defense, he claimed that he had recently moved. Eventually he was able to reach into his brain and find that number.
As far as I know, Randy has now fulfilled his dream. The last information I saw on him was that he was married with two kids, and living in Minnesota.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:57 AM 3 comments
GREG BURR
Who is Greg Burr? Kudos to those who remember. Greg came to Two Rivers for one year - our senior year. And he graduated with us. He was generally accepted by the masses. Personally, I thought he was an ass. He was smug and snotty. I could be wrong. But I think he came from Texas.
I have two memories of this dolt. Both are from my second semester consumer economics class with Mr. Rusch. Mr. Rusch's legs were about five feet long. But I digress.
We had this class in fifth hour. Based on my proximity prior to the bell ringing, I would generally find myself to be one of the first students to enter the class each day. One day Mr. Rusch had a test scheduled. And he had the words "Test today" written on the board. Inevitably some students would come in, see those words and in a disappointed voice say something like "Woah... test today" - as if they were unaware, or had simply forgotten. This was common in all classes.
On this one particular day, Greg walked in and had the same reaction - and made the comment out loud to himself. I was the only other person in the room at the time. Well, Greg actually walked out of the room, disappeared, and came back about two minutes later. By this time,the room was almost full. And several of our classmates were making the woah, test today-type comments. And Greg (as if he had just entered the room for the first time) made a shocked reaction as well, and joined in.
In other words, he was starved for attention and needed an audience to hear his "shocked" reaction.
PATHETIC!
About a month later, Mr. Rusch broke us down into groups for a small in-class project. As luck would have it, I was put in a group with Wyatt Wood and Greg Burr. I had no problem with Wyatt. Wyatt and I got along fine. I liked Wyatt. But I despised Greg Burr. Unfortunately, Wyatt was out sick that day. So when Mr. Rusch told us to break off into our groups, I was disgruntled. So much so, that I decided not to move. I was a stranger to Greg. And he didn't have the balls to approach me. I just sat there and started doing something else. About 10 minutes later, Mr. Rusch looked down on me and said, "Burt, do you want to go work with Greg?" He wasn't really asking me. He was telling me. I looked at Mr. Rusch, shook my head, and calmly said, "no." Mr. Rusch looked bewildered. But amazingly, he accepted my stance! For the rest of the hour, he didn't bother me.
The next day Wyatt came back. And the three of us played together just fine. That was my last contact with Greg Burr.
Today, Greg appears to have moved to Houston. I've been to Houston three times in the last few years. We have friends down there. We're potentially going back over Labor Day weekend. So there's a possibility I could run into him. Maybe I should look him up. Then again, maybe not. If you want to E-mail Greg, I believe he can be found at GREG.BURR@HP.COM.
UPDATE - 11/11/06 - Here is Greg from our senior video.
UPDATE - 1/29/07 - It looks like Greg may have been married at one time, to a woman named Heidi. But it looks like they're divorced.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:31 AM 11 comments
MYSELF
I suppose I should say something about myself, before I forget it. Rather than rehash some stories that will appear in later posts, I'll just copy my bio from CLASSMATES.COM.
As of the end of 2005, I've traveled to 48 states. My two-year-old has been in 44. My 10-month-old has been in 25. All have been for leisure.
I attended Woodstock '94 (with a VIP pass).
I met my wife on AOL.We have four cats and 1 dog.We have three big screen TV's.
We installed a pool at our old house. Our new house doesn't have one... yet.
I currently keep in contact with no one from the class of 1989. Although I'm still best friends with Jeff Messerman - who would have graduated with us, had he not moved.
I still have a full head of hair.
We've been to Hawaii three times, with a fourth trip coming up in March, 2006.
We have two daughters.
My wife is six years younger than me. She went to school in Milwaukee, and was the captain of her cheerleading squad. How on Earth did I get so lucky?
I graduated from UWGB in 1996.
My wife got her Master's Degree in 2004.
I used to work at T&R Video.
I was an extra on a TV show.
Juliette Lewis is very friendly.
I've seen Don Ho in concert.
I've seen Paul McCartney twice.
I never met them, but I've seen Bill Clinton and George W. Bush with my naked eye.
I've twice held my breath for three minutes, 20 seconds.
My wife and I are hooked on Survivor.
At L.B. Clarke, Mr. Fencl once choked me.Mr. Kern said he wanted to "beat the shit out of me."
Mr. Wood once threw a throwing star at me. (He missed).
Mr. Wheeler accused me of stealing his final exam at the end of our freshman year. (I didn't do it). It must have irked him when I became friends with his son.Despite the accusation, Mr. Wheeler was a nice guy.
I love the Brewers and Packers.
I was not the nicest of persons as a kid. I'm very nice now - but shy.
I no longer have a "bowl" haircut.
I have my freshman year ID in my wallet.
My parents live in Manitowoc.
I have over 2000 DVD's.
In my entire life, I've been drunk about 30 times.
I surprised my wife with a renewal of our vows, on our fifth anniversary.
My wife and I have had sex in 25 states - including Kansas and Nebraska.
My wife is a stay-at-home mom.
My wife has a side business selling natural baby stuff.
My wife has a more lucrative side business selling sex toys.
Mr. Vogt kept a bottle of booze in his desk drawer. He would pour himself a drink while yelling at me.
I have a tattoo of a walrus on my upper arm. I got it in Hawaii.
My wife has two tattoos on her stomach.
I almost joined the Navy in 1989.
We own four timeshares.
We swam with dolphins on our honeymoon.
I was practically a mute in highschool.
In highschool, many people thought I was both a heavy drug user and a satanist. Both accusations were highly exaggerated. Although I never did anything to dispel the rumors.
Jason Krings was cool.
After college, I spent two years as a collector/repo man in Milwaukee's inner city. You haven't lived, until you've pushed your way past a group of strung-out crackheads, into a crackhouse, in order to repossess a stereo - or living room set.
I once climbed onto the grave of William Howard Taft.
Surprisingly, I lost my virginity at the age of 14. I told no one.
In our junior year, Mr. Otto kicked me out of his class. He made me follow him down the hall, up to the second floor. And as we passed Mr. Wood's office he said "This is where I should be taking you. But I'm taking you to a counselor. And believe me, you need counseling!" When we got to Mr. Boehlke's office, he sat me down in a chair. Then he went off on some sort of bizarre tirade about hippies in the 1960's throwing horse shit on police cars, and how they're now yuppies making $70,000/year jobs. He carried on for a couple of minutes, then left. Mr. Boehlke and I looked at each other in stunned silence. Then the normally reserved Boehlke burst out laughing. He then said to me "Mr. Otto has to kick someone out of class maybe once every five years. Congratulations!" Five minutes later, I was back in class, with no repercussions.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:20 AM 17 comments
Thursday, January 12, 2006
MARILYN DUPREY
One event stands out. And it still shocks me to this day.
I had Marilyn in my freshman year history class - Mr. Hough. One day, she wandered out of class, seemingly for no reason. If memory serves, Laura Fowler either helped her, or followed right behind her. Something was up. No one knew what.
A minute later, there was a loud crash. And Mr. Hough sprinted out the door. This was just a minute or two before the bell rang. Then it did. Students began pouring into the hall. And there was Marilyn - passed out cold, sprawled out in front of a locker.
What the hell was this all about? Where had Mr. Hough gone to?
What happened next still stuns me. Because nothing happened. Everyone walked around her, paying her no mind. Some people even stepped over her, as if she wasn't even there!
Hello! Dead person on the floor! This isn't normal!
Well, I exaggerate. She obviously wasn't dead. But I was shocked that no one seemed to notice or care. It's not like this happened everyday.
So what's the story? Well, I don't know this for sure. But I was told that allegedly Marilyn had some sort of problem when her period arrived each month. Was it psychological? Who knows. Did she lose so much blood that she got faint? Who knows. But whatever the case, this allegedly had happened before. But it still blows my mind that no one reacted.
The only other thing I remember about her is that during our junior or senior year (perhaps both) she dated Jeff Bodwin. YUCH! Jeff Bodwin was as obnoxious as they come. I can't imagine anyone being attracted to him - physically or emotionally. But apparently Marilyn saw something that no one else did.
I think Marilyn married a guy with the last name of Krueger, and worked at Shopko. That's all I know. But that freshman year incident still creeps me out. And it's stuck with me for years.
UPDATE - 10/20/06 - According to the Herald Times Reporter, Marilyn gave birth to a daughter on 10/9/06. The daughter's name is Abigail Judith Ernst. The father is class of 1987's Patrick Ernst. Marilyn's divorce papers were filed 3/22/06.
UPDATE - 12/7/06 - I was able to locate a couple of recent pictures of Marilyn. You can see them below. These were taken at her daughter's baptism. I'm thinking these pictures were taken in the last two or three weeks. Her husband is in both pictures. Also, you might notice class of 1990's Scott Ernst (brother of Marilyn's husband) holding the baby in the second photo. I also found out that the baby weighed five pounds, two ounces at birth.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:38 PM 3 comments
TREESA CARRON
I met Treesa back in 5th grade. I loved her name. She was a hottie too. We were never friends or anything. But we got along just fine. In fact, she was at my house once that year. Somehow she, along with Andy Reinhart and Lisa King came over. We sat in my basement playing Atari for awhile. I believe she and Lisa were friends at the time. Treesa was also a fan of my kitten Lucky, as everyone was.
In 5th grade, she was also friends with Nicole "Pookie" Bergeon. My friend Chris Lohr had the hots for Pookie. So much so, that he invited her to his birthday party in September. Now Pookie didn't even like Chris. But she did go to the party. She dragged Treesa along with her. I asked Pookie about it later on. She said that her mother had forced her to go. (Sounds a lot like a Leave It To Beaver episode.) I couldn't attend. Both my parents and Chris' mom had banned each of us from being friends - as if THAT would actually work!
I really have no additional memories about Treesa. I always thought she looked a lot like Belinda Carlisle. At some point, post high school, my friend Dave mentioned that he'd had sex with her once. I was envious. If that's true, way to go Dave!
I believe that Treesa got married and has at least one child. According to some additional information, she's now a massage therapist. I may need to make an appointment...
UPDATE - 4/21/06 - After a few E-mail exchanges with Treesa I feel it is necessary to point out that Treesa was quite upset over my remark about Dave. What's upset her is that according to her, nothing at all ever happened between the two. I have no reason to doubt her. And I'm sorry that it upset her so. So at this point, I'll simply chalk up that little tidbit to some typical male, macho bragging. The stereotypical male likes to brag about things that didn't happen. Maybe that was Dave that night. I don't know.
UPDATE - 11/16/06 - Out of the blue, I head from Dave Svatek today. And in his own words, in regards to Treesa, he said that "nothing really happened" between them, and that I could chalk his comments up to "false macho bravado." End of story.
UPDATE - 11/19/06 - Treesa has sent me two recent pics. One is of her and her puppy. The second one is of her son. You can see them below.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:01 PM 12 comments
JENNIFER ANDERSEN
Jennifer was with us at L.B. Clarke. I don't think she was with us at J.F. Magee grade school. But I could be wrong. I don't know if I had her in any classes prior to high school. I have no real memories of her until then.
In our freshman year, on the last day of school prior to Christmas Vacation, the school arranged for a viewing of the film "Fletch." This was totally cool! I found myself sitting with Toby Schwartz on one side, and Ron Gretz (formerly known as Ron Cuyler) on the other side. In front of us sat the trio of Jen Andersen, Julie Scott and Josie Scott.
The three of them carried themselves with an air of supreme superiority. At one point, one of them (I believe it was Jen) had a small white sticker in her hair. They blamed us for it. They got all snotty, saying things like "Grow up."
Truth be told, we were all innocent. The sticker was actually a label that was on the back of her seat. But noooooooooooooo, they wouldn't hear of it. They wanted to be bitches. Fine.
Two years later, Jennifer shared Ms. Sapa's creative writing class with me. And man, what a difference two years can make! Jen was the coolest chick around. She was laid back, happy-go-lucky, and fun to be with. I really dug her. When Richard and I staged a mock "bed-in" on the floor of the class, Jen joined us - as did Brad Strouf.
At one point, I questioned her about the incident from our freshman year. She didn't recall it. But she did say that she was a total bitch back then, and apologized for being one. I don't think she was hanging around with the Scott's at this point.
Jen had long hair and had a casual appearance - somewhat like a hippie chick. She was rather attractive too. I would have married her. She was that cool!
I think I ran into her a few times at the video store. She remained as nice and humble as ever. I haven't seen or thought about her in years. But if I'm not mistaken, she has relocated to Michigan.
Wherever you are Jen, I wish you well. I hope you're still as cool as ever.
UPDATE - 2/1/06 - I found a phone number for Jen. Of course I had to call it. She's living in the Detroit area, and is working for Schneider Trucking. She graduated from St. Norbert's. And the big news is that she's getting married in September. Congratulations Jen! I gave her the blog information. She said she'd stop by. Yes, she's just as cool as ever.
UPDATE - 2/20/06 Jen has sent me two photos. The first is presumably of her fiance and their pets. The second was taken on Mt. Olympus - which I believe is in the state of Washington. Still looks the same, not bad at all. Click them for the full-sized versions.
UPDATE - 4/11/06 - Thank you to Cindy Rohrer for providing this picture of Jen and B.J. Lutterman - circa Clarke years - probably 6th grade.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:45 AM 14 comments
JASON ANDERSON
I have many memories of him. He was in Mrs. Schmidt's 4th grade class with me, the year I moved to Two Rivers. We also had Ms. Krause together in 5th grade. It was there that we got to know each other somewhat.
That year several of us got involved with trading football cards. As far as I know, I was the only one who collected the whole set. Jason needed two cards: Joe Montana (his rookie card of all things) and a guy from the Chiefs named Horace Belton. Had I had doubles of them, I would have given them to him. But alas, I only had one. It's too bad too. Because about 15 years ago, I sold that Montana card for $200.00 to a baseball card shop.
In that same year, Jason was run over by the woman who runs Joy's Restaurant. He seemed to be on crutches forever.
Later on, as basbeall season approached, the focus went to baseball cards - and stickers. Jason had a sticker of Gary Carter on his desk. I repeatedly drew a giant penis on it. In a cowardly move, Andy Reinhart told on me one day. I liked Andy too. So be it.
As was with everyone I had in 7th grade, Jason was one of the students I had every class with. He teamed up with Kevin Dehne (much more on him later). The two of them together were like poison. We were all somewhat friends that year. But Jason and Kevin were much tighter. And they had no problem bullying their way with punches on the arm. Jason had a nasty habit of spitting on people as well. I was the brunt of many a punch and spit in my time.
Later on that year, I found myself suspended from school. I only lived a block or so away. And for awhile, a bunch of us (Jason, Kevin, Tom Grassman, Doug Wall, Jim Colby and myself) would walk to my house for lunch. It was just a rowdy getaway. Well, lo and behold, they all showed up on one of the days I was suspended. I wasn't going to let them in. But Jason found his way through an old coal chute, got in, and unlocked the doors.
Things got particularly wild that day. In essence, the house was trashed. Jim had a huge bag of Reese's Pieces. Kevin decided that he wanted it. A tug of war ensued. The bag burst. Candy was everywhere. No joke, as late as three years after, I found some behind the couch or behind the piano. Someone peed on the bathroom floor. Kevin forced Doug to drink soap. I ripped Kevin's shirt. The place was in shambles.
It was more than I could handle. The house was a mess. I had no alternative but to call my mom - who in turn called the school. I refused to drop a dime on anyone but Kevin. I was really pissed at him. I told my mom that it was Kevin and "some big kid." Kevin ended up getting suspended - perhaps for another reason. I'm not sure if anything happened to Jason. But the school liaison officer Mr. Duvall eventually got to the bottom of it, and all the parties were called in. I guess Kevin named names.
A day or two later, Jason came back to our house and knocked on the door - while his parents stayed in the car. My mom answered. And Jason apologized for his role in what happened. Obviously Jason had some sort of repercussions. I never told anyone about it. Jason never spoke of it either.
After that year, Jason and I had little or no contact. We took vastly different paths. He ditched Kevin Dehne, and started to hang out with the popular crowd. He seemed brash and cocky to me. I didn't care for him.
In our sophomore year, I had Jason in Mr. Scriver's history class. Midway during one class, we heard a loud thump, followed by a cry of "Jason!" It was Erin Hynek. She was sprawled out on her butt, legs stretched out in front of her. The shoelaces on her left shoe had been tied to her desk. Jason was sitting at the desk in front of her, and had slyly reached back and had tied her shoe to her desk. Jason pleaded to Mr. Scriver, "I thought she knew!" Erin was laughing her ass of, as were most of the rest of the class. So all was well. That was very funny.
Jason disappeared in our junior year. He was a foreign exchange student. If memory serves, he went to France.
As a senior, he had the name "Rebel" put onto his senior sweatshirt. (I was one of the very few who never got one). On the senior video, Jason acknowledges the nickname and says that he had done some things over the years that earned him that nickname.
I had a problem with that. As my friend Dave scoffed, "Yeah... what have YOU done Jason?"
Rebels aren't popular. Jason was.
Rebels don't call themselves rebels. Jason did.
Rebels are loners. Jason wasn't.
Rebels don't participate. Jason did.
Rebels are troublemakers. Jason wasn't.
See the Jeremy Karman story from yesterday for a post-high school encounter with Jason. It was a very friendly encounter at that. As a matter of fact, the day after that encounter I saw Jason again. He was returning a movie to the video store.
That was the last I heard of Jason in the 20th century. However, a year or so ago, Meff mentioned that he sometimes has to buy computer software from people who work under Jason. Meff has kept this little secret to himself.
But there's more. A few weeks ago, I made contact with Jason. I happened to be on the website CLASSMATES.COM. Sure enough, Jason was listed. He even uploaded a few pictures. He's married and has two kids. He doesn't have as much hair as he used to. But other than that, he pretty much looked the same. I was bored, and dropped him a brief "hello." He responded back with surprise. He even commented that he thought I'd probably be dead! That made me laugh. Anyway, we had a few brief E-mail exchanges. And he encouraged me to drop him a line every once in awhile. So I will. I owe him one right now.
Times change. I hold no animosity towards him. I appreciated him writing back.
UPDATE - 2/9/06 - Jason (Sonnykidd) has commented all over the place - which is cool. And he's also sent a family photo from Christmas, 2005. You can see it below. The other three are from Classmates.com.
UPDATE - 4/10/06 - Cindy Rohrer provided me this photo of Jason on the Magee playground. I'm guessing that this was maybe 3rd grade.
UPDATE - 4/11/06 - Again, thanks to Cindy for providing a couple of love notes from Jason. See them below.
UPDATE - 11/11/06 - Here's Jason from our senior video.
UPDATE - 11/11/06 - As mentioned above, here's a clip of Jason and Jeremy Karman from March, 1990, outside of Coppes, in Manitowoc. Meff and I just happened to run into them. And I happened to have my camcorder rolling at the time.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:51 AM 31 comments
TRUTH DEFEATS LIBEL
That's what my newspaper writing professor told me when I was a senior in college, and writing for the campus newspaper.
I've already had two people suggest to me that things I've said could potentially get me sued. But I beg to differ.
Libel is a term that describes falsehoods in publication which may damage a person's reputation.
I would never do that. Everything I've written, and will continue to write will be completely truthful. If I'm not sure about something, I'll say so right away. Some of what I write will be second hand information. But it will be my first hand account of hearing that information from another party.
For instance, I have no idea if Lisa King had an eating disorder, nor do I really care. But there's no question at all that there were rumors that she had one.
The First Amendment to the Constitution grants me the right to do this. So I will. This blog is for me and my memories and opinions. I have no malice or ill will towards anyone I went to school with. I mean them no harm whatsoever.
This blog is for me. Why on Earth would I lie to myself? That makes no sense. What purpose would it serve?
Truth defeats libel. You will find no libel here.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 8:43 AM 4 comments
ROB SISEL
Wanna buy a duck?
What does that sentence mean? Apparently it's a drinking game. I think it also is some sort of old vaudevillian joke. The sentence was used on an old Leave It To Beaver episode where June was talking about an ugly shirt she once had, which had several stupid sayings on it.
So what does this have to do with Rob Sisel? Read on.
I first met Rob at L.B. Clarke Middle School. I have one memory of him there. He had an overdue library book. It was called "The Cave Of Time." It was one of those Which-Way books, in which you can choose your own adventure. I remember this because I know why it was overdue. I had stolen it. In fact, I stole nearly every Which-Way and Choose Your Own Adventure book from the library.
Rob was a very, very nice guy. But I'm not sure he was the smartest of individuals. Then again, I base that solely on the fact that I thought he was gullible - which really isn't a good gauge on one's intelligence. He tended to hang around with the nerdy crowd. Although he didn't seem to quite fit in with them. Rob had a little bit of a backbone, and would at least stand up for himself.
In our sophomore year, I had Rob in Mr. Scriver's history class. For a time, he sat right behind me. One day, for whatever reason, I hit him in the hand with my pencil. That sounds terrible, I know. But it's not as bad as it sounds. There was no malice involved. There was no intent for injury. Rob and I were involved in some sort of disagreement. I don't recall the details. But I think he'd grabbed my book or something, and was being an ass by not returning it. So I kind of swung at him.
A few days later, Rob was looking over some sort of document. I asked him what it was. He said "insurance." I asked him what it was for. He said, "You know."
I didn't know. I had no clue what he was talking about. And I really had to pry it out of him. Apparently when I hit him with my pencil, the lead broke off and stuck in his hand. It was a fluke thing - a freak accident. Rob had never said anything about it. Nor did he show any signs of pain or discomfort. But he had to go to the hospital. And since his parents had paid for that bogus insurance that the school offers at the beginning of the year, the school had paid for it.
Obviously I was floored. I apologized over and over. I felt like shit about it. But he didn't seem to care. It didn't phase him at all. Of course I was then worried that Mr. Wood (the asshole vice principal) would find out about the incident. But Rob assured me that he hadn't told on me. Good man Rob.
Back to the duck. In that same history class, for whatever reason, at some point one day, I turned around to him and asked, "Wanna buy a duck?"
Rob laughed, and then responded, "You have a duck?"
I was stunned. Today I'm reminded of that scene in Christmas Vacation, when Chevy Chase tells all the kids that Santa's sleigh was just spotted in the area. And ignorant cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) says, "You serious Clark?"
I didn't know what to say. Did Rob actually believe that I had a duck? But I thought fast.
"Yeah... I have a duck... Do you wanna buy it?"
Rob said he'd have to ask his parents, and would tell me the following day. It's all I could do to keep myself from bursting out in hysterics. I then made up a story of how I went to the garage that morning and found a duck. I told him I wanted $25.00 for it. He eventually bargained me down to maybe $2.00. I think Rob lived on a farm. And they had some ducks.
The next day Rob told me that his parents didn't want it. Ah, well. So ends the duck story. Or does it?
Two years later, as seniors, Rob and I found ourselves in the guidance office at the same time. As we were sitting at the table, I leaned over and asked again, "Wanna buy a duck?"
Rob laughed in disbelief, "You still got that duck?"
Yeah Rob, I still got that duck. I still have it today. Who would think that a duck would live this long? This duck will live forever. Wanna buy it?
I ran into Rob several times at the video store. He remained a nice guy. Last I'd heard, he was working in a factory in Manitowoc as a machinist or something. I don't think he was married. I believe he was heavily involved with his church as well.
UPDATE - 6/12/07 - Thanks to Carrie Franz for this little update on Rob. Apparently Rob works for Jagemann Plating, In Manitowoc. He also works a couple of nights per week at Kurtz's in Two Rivers. Lastly, he is a bartender in Two Creeks - either at Fat Boyz or Crazy 8's.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:07 AM 11 comments
BRANDON PODHOLA
By request, here is what I know about Brandon.
Here is what I know about Brandon...
Umm... wow... Brandon...
I don't know jack shit about Brandon!
Brandon wasn't popular. But he wasn't part of the dork crowd either. He was a step above them. If memory serves, he hung out with people like Mike "don't call me Bruce/call me Bruce" Schroeder and Scott Stephens. He also had a dislike for Paul Streubel - as most of us did - more on him later.
My one main memory of Brandon is this. Knowing that I was a Beatles' fan, he asked me if I could make a copy of the song "Revolution" for him. His intent? He wanted to play it to fire himself up before basketball games. Brandon wasn't on the team. But apparently he and his friends wanted to jam to the tune to get rowdy beforehand.
Richard and I came up with this plan to provide him a copy of the Beatles' song "Revolution 1" - which is a much slower version of the song. Brandon obviously wanted the kick-ass, fast version that the masses are familiar with. It would have been a good joke. But no tape was ever made anyway.
That's all I got! Wait, no. There's more. Today, Brandon is apparently married to a woman named Marea. And he was allegedly working at some place in Green Bay.
UPDATE - 8/1/06 - Brandon has sent me a recent photo of himself. Look down to see it. He's promised to send a family photo at some point in the near future as well.
UPDATE - 10/9/06 - On Saturday October 7th, 2006, Brandon went to The Sands in Green Bay to see Greg Pagel perform. Fellow classmate Lisa Pauze was also there. You can see the picture below.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:38 AM 14 comments
JEREMY KARMAN
Jeremy Karman was the male equivalent of Jenny Malley. Seeing as I have a penis, I'm not one to gauge his looks. But I do know that he was probably the nicest guy I went to school with. Richard and I referred to him as "nature boy" due to his all-American looks, tall height and blonde hair. He had no problem with our nickname.
Jeremy was one of the stars of the basketball team. Being as I had no interest in such activities, I have little details. But I do know that in my junior and senior year, the basketball team was very good. For whatever reason, I switched on the cable channel 22 one evening while talking to Meff on the phone. They were showing the championship game or something. And our team lost on a last-second shot. All of the members dropped to the floor and covered their heads - with the exception of Jeremy. He stood tall. I'm not sure what that all means. I just happen to remember it.
I remember Jeremy in speech class during our freshman year. He told the story of how he and his family went on vacation (Florida?) and the airline lost their luggage. It was apparently winter time. And they all had sweaters on - in the hot Florida sun. The luggage was soon found.
I believe in our freshman year, Jeremy brought some slides to Mr. Hough's history class. Jeremy had been overseas, I believe in Germany. And since we were studying WWII at the time, he earned some brownie points. Of course with Mr. Hough, brownie points didn't last more than a day or two.
Jeremy dated a girl from the class of 1990 named Jennifer Lane. If memory serves, she didn't like to be called Jenny - probably due to the Beatles' song "Penny Lane." Although I don't know why she would take offense to it. It's a catchy tune. Knowing that I was a Beatles' fan, he once asked me to write down the lyrics for him. "Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes..." I don't know if she liked whatever it is that he gave to her.
Jeremy Karman is another rare person that I never ran into at the video store. Although I used to rent to his younger brother Nate quite often. However, I did in fact run into Jeremy on one occasion. It was in March, 1990. He was probably home on spring break. I had just purchased a camcorder - one of those bulky VHS jobs. (It was a big deal back then). Meff had come up for the weekend. And he and I were having fun with it, filming stuff all over town. We pulled into Coppes Supermarket. And with the camera still rolling, we stepped out of the car and walked to the store. All of a sudden we hear "It's Jeff... and Burt." And we found ourselves face to face with Jeremy Karman and fellow graduate Jason Anderson. I believe they both had a girlfriend with them as well. I filmed the whole thing. Our conversation lasted a minute or two, and we parted ways. I wasn't surprised by Jeremy's niceness. But Jason's surprised me. I couldn't stand the guy. And the feeling was no doubt mutual. But I guess being away froma clique can change a guy. Yes, I still have the tape.
I believe Jeremy moved to the Milwaukee area. If you search for his name, you'll see that he was involved in some sort of workers compensation lawsuit. He sued and won. Good for him!
UPDATE - 1/30/06 Jeremy is in the Milwaukee area, and is a physical therapist. He's married and has at least two kids. I'm not sure how recent the photo below is. But it's probably from the last few years.
UPDATE - 11/11/06 - Having figured out how to put video clips on this blog, I can now show the chance encounter from March, 1990. Here is Jeremy, along with Jason Anderson.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:05 AM 20 comments
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
JENNY MALLEY
Ah, Jenny, what can you say? In my opinion (no doubt shared by others) Jenny was far and away the most beautiful girl I went to school with. The cool thing about her is that she had the personality to match.
I first got to know Jenny when we were in 7th grade. She and I shared every single class together. We also had our lockers next to each other. Lucky me! I was put in between her and B.J. Lutterman. It was supposed to be alphabetical. But my mom had spoken to the vice principal, Mr. Slattery at our middle school. She didn't want me next to Doug Wall. So they obliged and moved me.
Jenny was the nicest girl. And she had the cutest giggle. Aside from the obvious physical attraction, what I respected about her most of all was the way she treated people. Jenny was without a doubt part of the the "in crowd." But unlike many of her peers, she did not put down or look down upon those who were socially beneath her. She had to look way down to see me. But she was always kind and friendly to me.
In Mr. Stodola's 7th grade science class, we were watching a film strip one day. We all turned our desks to face the screen. I ended up desk-to-desk with Jenny. Oh, lucky me! For reasons unbeknownst to me, Kevin Dehne and I began to crumple up paper, and whip it at the chalkboard. After several minutes, we'd made quite a mess. Apparently Jenny noticed that Mr. Stodola was coming. So she warned me of his potential presence. Unlucky for her, Stodola heard her. So he stopped the film strip, turned on the lights, and ripped into Kevin and I. Then he turned his attention towards Jenny, scolding her even harder for trying to protect me from harm. If memory serves, he made the three of us clean up the mess.
Jenny must have been on Clarke's basketball team. One day she came to school with a broken finger. She had apparently broken it in a game the night before. She mentioned that the girl who broke it (accidentally) didn't even get called for a foul. Our math teacher, Mr. Longhini joked, "She hit you in the nose, and broke your finger."
One day Doug Wall came by my locker. Jenny and I had been talking about how cool we thought Slade's song "Run, Runaway" was. Doug misunderstood us and thought we were talking about Bon Jovi's song "Runaway." We both laughed at Doug.
Jenny sat next to me in Mr. Monka's history class in 8th grade. I seem to recall her mentioning to me one day that during the previous weekend, she had gone rollerskating. I think it was in Manitowoc at the Rollaire Skate Center. Anyway, whenever they used to play Taco's song, "Puttin' On The Ritz" the guys would change the lyrics and say "Grabbing girls' tits." And then they would go around grabbing the boobs of the females in attendance. I asked Jenny is she herself was groped. And she said yes. She also said that place decided that they would no longer play that song anymore.
Near the very end of 8th grade, Jenny had a major hairstyle change. She went from straight and spikey to short and curly. Wow! I didn't like it. It really altered her appearance. Apparently she didn't like it either. Needless to say, a few months later, at the beginning of our freshman year, she had changed it back.
During our junior year, I wanted to find a copy of the song "Pop Muzik." My friend Jason Krings said he'd find it for me. He did. He borrowed the '45 from Jenny. During our senior year, I told Jenny that I still had her record. She told me to keep it. I still have it. If you want to see the actual record, just look down. Back in 1979, someone in the Malley household purchased this.
In high school, she dated a guy named Kevin Keip and Jack Jansky (who I don't think ever smiled). Lucky guys. In our senior year, the school was abuzz with a rumor that Jenny was secretly dating one of the new teachers, Mr. Kakuk. I thought the rumors were ridiculous. Still do.
I ran into Jenny a few times at the video store. The last time I saw her was around 1993 or so. She rented "For The Boys." I haven't heard from her since. Although a few years later, Dave and I went skydiving together with her older brother Steve.
I believe that Jenny got married and became Jennifer Quigle. Unfortunately, she divorced. I think she moved to southern California.
Jenny was the full package. She had beauty, brains, personality and a great body. Wherever she is today, I'm sure nothing has changed.
Update - 1/31/06 - Jenny has dropped in. I've E-mailed her a couple of times. She did in fact move to San Diego, but has since moved north to Santa Cruz. She's also remarried, and now is known as Jennifer Bertram. Bertram... that name has a nice ring to it. She is now into buddhism, and is studying Chinese medicine. Both she and her husband are graduating in June. Then they plan to move back to Madison and open up their own business. Power to them! She has no children as of yet. But there may be some in the future. Jen sent me two pictures from her 2004 wedding. They're posted below. The hair is darker. There are eight more tattoos than the last time I saw her. And she's still as cute as ever. Thanks for stopping by Jen!
UPDATE - 4/10/06 - As mentioned by Joe Antonie in Jenny's comments, she was into breakdancing. Thanks to Cindy Rohrer for providing a glimpse of Jenny from those days. Does this scream 80's or what? I love it!
UPDATE - 5/18/06 - I think this photo came from Cindy Rohrer as well. She must have hundreds of them. This is apparently from 4th grade.
UPDATE - 8/15/06 - I've got perhaps the newest picture of Jenny. It was taken just a few days ago, while on a date with her husband. You can see it below.
UPDATE - 8/28/06 - UPDATE - 8/28/06 - Jenny and her husband were visited yesterday by fellow graduate Greg Pagel and his wife. The four of them hung out all day, and listened to some live blues music in a park. The two pictures are below.
UPDATE - 11/10/06 - Adding to her record number of updates, here's Jen, along with Lisa King, on our senior video.
UPDATE - 3/2/07 - Yesterday Jen and I actually got together for lunch. We work about seven minutes apart from each other. So I drove down to see her. We ate at a restaurant located in the same building she works in.
What a delight. I was a bit nervous to see her. After all, here was the girl that I had a huge crush on for most of my childhood. But the nervousness was unfounded. It was so cool to sit and gab with her for an hour, friend to friend. My fish sandwich was tasty too. When we were done, she gave me a tour of her work place.
Jen is as sweet as ever. We've tentatively planned to have lunch together every other week or so. I'm looking forward to it. Life is so cool sometimes.
As a side note, four hours after I left Jen, my wife stopped by to get an acupuncture treatment from her. I might just do that myself sometime.
UPDATE - 3/23/07 - I had lunch again today with the former Miss Malley. Her husband joined us as well - nice guy. Jen had a couple of interesting stories about a few of our former classmates. But... I will refrain from writing about them, despite the fact that they were funny as hell. I basically have one rule when it comes to this blog. When someone tells me something a bit "risque" about a classmate, I don't write about it. It'd kind of be like a betrayal of trust. Now if those people choose to make the comments themselves, that's great. I could make a whole other blog about some of the stuff I've been told in the past 14 months. But I won't. But I could! But alas, I won't. I'm just saying I could though. But I won't.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:55 PM 26 comments
CRAIG RYSTICKEN
One word - bully.
I moved to Two Rivers in 4th grade. I became fast friends with Chris Lohr (a.k.a. Chris Sauer, a.k.a. Chris Storlie, a.k.a. Ringo Storlie, a.k.a. Mortimer Ichabod Marker...) Chris and I had a knack for annoying people. And one of the things we did was to call everyone "weasels." That was our insult of choice. Well, one day, I say a kid walking down the hall, and I called this kid a weasel. Chris looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. The insultee grabbed me and shoved me against the locker, and threatened to beat me up or something, if I did it again. Burt... meet Craig Rysticken.
I had a lot of contact with Craig over those years. Craig was a bully in every sense of the word. And he had an ego that was out of control. The funny thing is, he wasn't worthy of that ego. Try as he did, Craig simply wasn't the all-popular God he thought he was. He did not have a lot of respect from his peers. He was just accepted because no one ever challeneged him. By the time we got into high school, Craig was "in." Although a lot of his peers didn't think too highly of him.
Craig and I almost came to blows in 7th grade. We shared Mrs. Westburg's chorus class. (A LOT more to come about that class later on...) Craig and I had a general dislike for one another. And insults were common between us. Of course Craig liked to respond to insults with a punch on the arm. One particular day I'd had enough of his shit and I told him to go fuck himself. As was his usual response, he tried to punch me in the arm, then challenge me to a fight. I always ignored his threats. And inevitably, a few more punches came my way. Finally I took him up on his challenge. And a "fight" was planned for that day, after school - near the buses. Now, I had no intention of fighting him or anyone. ButI knew that it would get Craig off my back. After school, I calmly went home. The next day, Craig came up to me and said "Where were you?" I shouted back, "I was there. Where were you?" He walked away mumbling something about me being a liar. And from that day on, he never touched me again. I won.
This next event happened in 6th grade. This is the ultimate Craig story. It was the most disgusting display of unsportsmanlike conduct I have ever witnessed. It revolved around a track meet that the entire 6th grade participated in. It was mandatory. My last image of the event was that of Craig, prancing by Mrs. Casey's room, showing off the two blue ribbons he'd won. He was making faces and rubbing it into the noses of anyone who cared to glance in his direction. But let me tell you how he "earned" those ribbons.
The gym teachers had devised a system in which all the kids could compete with one another. And in theory, it's a great system. Instead of pitting everyone against everyone, they had people compete against people who were in equal in ability. In other words, they wouldn't set up the track star to run against the fat kid. What they did was have various time trials in gym class, in the weeks leading up to the track meet. They logged everyone's times, in various events. When it was all said and done, the teachers got together the times from all the kids from all the sixth grade classes. And they set it up so that the fastest person would go against the second-fastest person. Then #3 would run against #4 - and son on down the line, for the 150 or so students we had in 6th grade. Blue ribbons would be handed out to those students who beat their opponents by the widest margin. What a great idea! It was all fair and balanced. The only problem is that they told us about it ahead of time.
On the day of the track meet, the athletic Craig Rysticken ran in what was probably a 100-meter dash. His opponent... Mark Schreiber. Everyone was laughing their ass off. And a crowd circled around to watch. As expected, Craig shot away from Mark, completely blowing him out of the water. Mark was a rather small kid, and not the athletic type. There was no way in hell he had any chance against Craig. Craig beat Mark by a mile. And he easily won one of the blue ribbons.
So what happened here? There's no way on God's green Earth that Craig should have been pitted against Mark. Obviously I could be wrong. But the way I viewed it is one of two things occurred. 1 - during our time trials in gym class, Mark Schreiber equipped himself with some high-tech, James Bond sonic boots, which enabled him to have an unbelievable time. Or 2 - during those same time trials, Craig tanked it on purpose, knowing he would be placed against someone he could easily whip, and thus "earn" a blue ribbon.
So congratulations Craig! You got yourself some hard-earned blue ribbons. I'm sure you're proud. But realize that although you did earn them, you earned them through deception, and NOT athletic prowess. Disgusting. (In my opinion)
I had Craig in gym class, freshman year. Two singing memories stand out. I recall him singing the "Super Bowl Shuffle" quite often, but not bleeping the word "ass" like they did in the video. I also recall him singing Def Leppard's "Rock Of Ages." If you remember the song, at the very beginning, there's some unintelligible lyrics which sound something like, "Oonda, gleeben, glownton, globen." In honor of me, Craig morphed it into "Burton, Beerton, Barton, Borten." Strange, very strange. But in retrospect, very funny.
As a freshman and (possibly) sophomore, Craig was the quarterback on the football team - not the main team, but the team for the younger kids. Apparently Mr. Bonino was an absolute screamer when it came to Craig. And Craig got sick of being yelled at, deciding not to go out for football as a junior and senior. From what Richard told me, Craig's father was furious with Mr. Bonino, as the equally aggressive elder wanted his son to be the "star" of the varsity team. It wasn't to be.
In our junior year, during gym class, we were playing tennis. Craig tried to show off by jumping over the net. His feet became tangled and he fell flat on his face. It was funny as hell. He stayed down for several seconds, while a crowd gathered around him. He was no doubt trying to come up with something witty to say. When he did pop up, all he could say was "Oh shit."
One day I took my micro cassette recorder to school. Craig was known for belting out the occasional tune in the lockeroom after gym class. True to form he started belting out some vile rap which featured the lyrics "You and Pinocchio are probably related. You be illin'...... yeeeeaaaah." Hilarious. I still have the tape.
In our senior year, in Mr. Schwantes' class, he bragged about eating hash brownies at a recent party he had attended.
Craig dated a class of 1988 girl, Nancee LeClair. They eventually married. I ran into Craig a few times at the video store. He was generally nice and seemed happy to see me. I believe he has two kids.
Craig once referred to Richard and I as "satan dickheads." We ran with that nickname quite a bit, and mocked him for dubbing us with that title. In time, he found humor in it.
In our junior year, Richard and I shared a Pathology class with Craig. The class was actually taught by Richard's father. Richard and I kept a running tally on every question Mr. Wheeler asked, and which students answered them. We gave everyone a nickname. Craig's nickname was "pussy." Craig eventually found out about it. And surprisingly, he accepted it. Maybe being dubbed "pussy" is ok when it comes from a couple of "satan dickheads."
In gym class, during volleyball, a fellow graduate named Mark Henrickson actually bounced the ball off his head (on purpose) and had it sail perfectly over the net to the other side. I was never one for showing off. But that was impressive for a spur of the moment decision. Well, Craig was also in that class. And he saw the cool thing that Mark had done. You don't have to guess what he tried to do next.
The always aggressive Craig tried in vain to repeat Mark's deed. But he failed and failed. Everytime he tried, the ball would sail off in the other direction, hit the floor, and cost his team a point. He tried this five or six times before the teacher noticed and told him to knock it off. Ah Craig... always good for a laugh.
In our junior year, in swimming class (gym) Craig sliced his foot open in the pool. Somehow he managed to cut his foot on the smooth tile of the pool, as he pushed off. How in the hell did that happen?
In our junior year pathology class Craig said he'd eat a worm if someone gave him a dollar. Richard and I agreed to give him 50 cents each. I know worms are edible and full of protein. But still... Anyway, he ate it. I paid him the 50 cents. Richard never did. I can recall in our senior year in Mr. Hensel's class, Craig still asking Richard for the money. He probably never got it. Apparently in grade school, Craig ate a lot of vile things - bugs, fish heads, you name it. I for one appreciate the shock value associated with that sort of activity.
Today, Craig has followed in his father's footsteps. He is now a teacher at our old school. It somewhat disturbs me to know that this guy is now in a position to shape young minds.
UPDATE - 6/30/06 - I found this picture of Craig. One of the girls is wearing an "06" jacket. So this picture is probably pretty recent. Craig is on the far right.
UPDATE - 7/20/06 - It's been pointed out to me that Craig isn't exactly pleased about my entry on him. What can I do? I merely wrote about things that happened. I'm sorry he's taken it so personally. One specific is that he's now denying ever eating any hash brownies. For all I know, he didn't. I wasn't present at the party. I don't know. But there is no denying that in Mr. Schwantes' class that day, he DID say that he had. He even got animated about it, pretending to eat one as he spoke, and saying how good they were. So the bottom line is that Craig never ate any, and lied about it then. Or he did eat some, and is lying about it now. Only Craig knows which lie is the truth.
UPDATE - 9/19/06 - Since the beginning of this blog, I have been told a lot of second and thirdhand information about Craig - in reference to his reaction to my entry on him. What I heard mostly is that Craig was really pissed off about it. However, in time I also heard that Craig had gotten over it. And although he may not have been thrilled with what I wrote, he didn't let it bother him. In fact, one person told me that Craig was not so much angry about what I wrote. He was just angry that I aired it out publically. After recently rereading his entry, I can see why. I was pretty harsh.
Sometime last February or March, I was given Craig's E-mail address, and was encouraged to write to him. So I did. I never heard from him. I tried again several weeks later. Again, I never got a response. At that point I simply assumed that Craig was indeed incredibly angry, and wanted nothing at all to do with me.
Then on August 3rd, out of the blue, I got an E-mail from Craig. As it turned out, he never received my prior E-mails. So Craig and I exchanged a few pleasentries.
Despite what I wrote about him, I honestly had nothing against him. There was no lingering hatred or anything. It was just the way I remembered Craig from long ago. Based on what Craig said, I think it's clear that he thought I was still holding a grudge after all these years. That simply wasn't the case. I believe I was able to convey that to him. As I surmised, Craig was more concerned about how his students might react if they were to stumble upon this blog.
With Craig's permission, I'm going to post our E-mail exchanges. You can see them below. You'll notice that neither one of us got into specifics about what I wrote in this blog. Craig also didn't deny or ask me to remove anything either.
The reason I never mentioned this before is because I was planning on going to Craig's house when Kevin and I hit the town again. We tried. But Craig wasn't home that day. Craig's house was going to be somewhat of a surprise.
Anyway, the E-mails are below, starting with Craig's letter to me. The last two are from yesterday. In the first letter, Craig is referencing the first trip that Kevin and I took to Two Rivers. We had stopped by Nick Novachek's house - which is a few houses away from Craig's.
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Hey Burt,
I heard you and Kevin were in my neighbor last week and didn't even stop by to say hi. I am not the guy I believe you portray me as. I am an educator that feels for the weak and works to stop bullying at all costs. I am not upset with your blog of me and no I'm not looking at sueing you (what a waste of time and money that would be). My sister and her husband just made the comment that I should go after you for defamation of character. She was much more pissed than I was after reading the blog because she said that she knew me better than anyone and alot of things written were false or inaccurrate.
Jeff Gordon also told me that you think I am a blog hater. I can't say I truley enjoy what you have written, but I haven't had the time this summer to sit behind my computer and read or type anything. The only reason I didn't care for your blog is because of all my students. Here I am trying to positively influence students and their in the computer lab reading what a bully I am. Remember you and Rich said and did alot of things to try and piss me off, and you didn't explain that real well in my blog.
No hard feelings hear and I don't want to pound you. I would have looked forward to talking to you and Kevin. Believe it or not, I am well liked and respected by my students and peers, and would never intentionally hurt anyone. Students that don't fit in or don't care for high school come to my room for guidance on my one free period.
I hope this can break a little bit of the ice or hostility you may feel toward me.
Take care,
Craig
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Hey Craig,
Let me say first of all that I in no way have any hostility towards you - none. Whatever negative feelings I may have had towards you have been long gone for 20 years. Please understand that I never set out to smear your name or embarrass you or anthing like that. I simply wrote about what I remembered. I didn't treat you any differently than I did anyone else.
When Blog_hater first came around, I simply assumed it was Clint Mattrisch' sister. But then a bunch of people told me it was you. How they knew that, I don't know. But I didn't question it. Perhaps I should have. Jeff knows you better than any of them anyway. And he said it wasn't you. So I chose to believe him.
Jeff gave me your E-mail address several months ago. I wrote you back in April or May. Did you ever get them?
For the record, I was never worried about a lawsuit. Nick had mentioned that your brother-in-law floated the idea by you of a potential lawsuit. But I should also point out that Nick made it perfectly clear that you never had any intention of doing so.
I've heard nothing but positive things about you and your life today. I have no doubt that you are well-respected by your students and peers. It's clear that the Craig I remember from Clarke is much different than the Craig of today. If any of your students were to happen to stumble upon what I wrote, I would hope that they'd understand that I wasn't writing about Craig Rysticken their high school teacher. I was writing about Craig Rysticken the youth - someone who doesn't exist anymore - someone they never knew. You wrote, "I am not the guy I believe you portray me as." I wasn't portraying the Craig of 2006. I was portraying the Craig (that I remember) from the 1980's.
If you feel I've said something inaccurate, then by all means, log in and say so. You're more than welcome to do so.
As for Richard, I don't think we ever did anything to try and piss you off. Although I'm sure we did things that annoyed you. But that was just us being ourselves. We no doubt annoyed lots of people. I can assure you, we weren't singling you out.
The reason we didn't stop over by you is simple. Everyone (with the exception of Jeff) said you were extremely pissed off. I wasn't about to ambush you and create a potentially ugly situation. I was never worried about a pounding. We're both adults. That wouldn't happen.
No hard feelings Craig - and never has been. Jeff told me that you would have welcomed us had we stopped by. Based on that, Kevin and I added you to the list for
trip #2. We decided this last week. Unless you say otherwise, you can expect a visit from us in the near future.
Thanks for writing. Please write me back.
Take care,
BURT
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I know you were just writing what you remember and I know that I was an asshole to some of you guys. I have been using that example for years with my students on how you shouldn't say hurtful things that you will regret later, and you showed me why. I tell them that you might not remember the mean or cruel things that you've said or done, but the people you say them to will never forget them. Thanks for proving me right!!!
In regards to the e-mails, I never received any. Did you use this e-mail address? The reason I didn't blog in is because I didn't want to come across as a whiner about some of the things you had written, and I honestly haven't had much time to be on my computer. I'm trying to use my boat as much as I can before school starts.
I welcome your visit in the future, but if it's on the weekend I can't guarantee I'll be around. Sunday afternoon is usually the best time if any on the weekend. Thanks for your response and for trusting in Jeff that I wasn't the one responding to your blogs in hatred.
Craig
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Hey Craig,
I plan to update my blog with details regarding our communications from last month. Do you have any problem with me copying our E-mails? If you do, I still plan to give all the details of our "coming to peace" with one another. But it'd, save me some time if I could just simply copy and paste what's already here.
Anyway, if you could let me know, that'd be cool.
Later,
BW
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Of course I have no problem with you pasting my e-mails. I just never realized that we were so far from peace in the first place. I know you didn't really care for me in high school, but I never realized how much you despised me. I'm sure it's with good reason because with the amount of material you have written, your memory must be far better than mine (And I have a great memory). I apologize for all of those memories, but I can assure that I was not a bully!! I was an asshole!!! There is a big difference. A bully beats people up and takes their lunch money. An asshole just gives crap to people that don't care for him or that he doesn't care for. See the difference?
I want you to know that my whole outlook of people has changed since I have become an educator. Not that I ever intended to have you hate me before I was an educator, but I truly do protect and help those that have difficulty fitting into the so-called norm of everyday life. I wish I didn't leave such a sour taste of me in your mind because I feel like a hypocrite when I talk to kids about picking on others. How can I tell kids that nobody is better than anyone else when I apparently acted as thou I was?
Take care,
Craig
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UPDATE - 11/13/06 - On Saturday, AUgust 12th, 2006, Kevin Dehne and I took our second trip to Two Rivers. We stopped by the home of Craig Rysticken. His boat was there. But there was no answer at the door. Kevin took a picture of me writing a note. I stuck it on his mailbox.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:24 PM 14 comments
LISA KING
Lisa and I were neighbors. She lived directly across the street from me for almost nine years. We moved to Two Rivers in November, 1980 - 4th grade. I basically met the neighborhood kids in the spring and summer of 1981. And thus, I met Lisa.
Lisa was a nice girl. I always felt somewhat intimidated by her. For the life of me, I don't know why. Perhaps it was because her older sister Karen used to babysit me for a year or two. I actually spent a lot of time with her younger brother Dan.
The Kings were good people. All their kids were nice. They seemed to be "raised right" so to speak. Lisa and I had Ms. Krause in 5th grade. But after that, despite seven more school years, our paths didn't cross together again until our senior year, in Mr. Hensl's College Prep English class. That's a long gap! Needless to say, the paths that each of us took were vastly different.
In highschool Lisa was a cheerleader. She seemed to be in the "in crowd" - but perhaps one tier lower than the upper levels of that crowd. As a senior, she dated another 1989 graduate, a guy named Ross Hofmann. I ran into her a few times at the video store. By that time, Ross was history.
Lisa attended my 10th birthday party. I still have pictures. It took place at McDonald's. During the summer of 1981, I found a tiny black kitten. We named him Lucky. I used to carry him around in my shirt, in front of my neck. He loved it. Lucky made me the star of the neighborhood that summer. That's basically when Lisa and I first met. See the photo below? Click it to enlarge it. But there's a girl in the middle with her back turned. She's wearing green pants. You'll have to take my word for it. But that's Lisa. By the way. See the guy on the left, in the red shirt? That's fellow graduate Mark Gordon. This picture is from late September, 1981.
One day in 5th or 6th grade, I somehow found myself on Lisa's front porch, along with my friend Doug Wall. I don't recall what circumstances brought us there. But there we were. For whatever reason, Doug (who I'll have much more on later) decided to drop his pants and show off his goods to Lisa and her friend Tricia Wetzel (another 1989 graduate). Based on their age, it was probably the first non-family weiner they'd ever seen. They stayed safely beind the door, but enjoyed peeking and giggling. Doug was in our grade as well, but had been held back two different years. So he was a bit older than the rest of us - and a tad more developed. He already had some hair growing down there. Maybe he was showing off. I don't know. Doug was a pig as well. At one point, one of the girls said that if he did it again, that they would do it too. Doug eagerly obliged. Of course neither of them did. A few minutes later Lisa's dad pulled up in the driveway. Luckily for Doug, he didn't see anything. Later on, Lisa told me that they had told her dad. But I didn't believe her. I'm sure her dad would have done something had he known.
My friend Dave Svatek told me that as a senior, during the night of the senior lock-in at school, Lisa and Ross were caught having sex. Again, this is complete heresay. I didn't attend. But this is what I was told.
Dave once told me that he had a conversation about me with Lisa. They found themselves walking down the hall together after school. Dave somehow mentioned me. And Lisa said something like "You don't hang around with Burt, do you? I heard he put shit in the microwave."
To Dave's credit, he stuck up for me and told Lisa "You just don't know him." I'm sure Lisa wasn't swayed.
Obviously I don't know if this is true. But there were some who thought that Lisa may have had an eating disorder. She certainly looked the part. She was very thin - probably too thin. One day in that same english class, several students were looking at recent photos from a dance - either homecoming or prom, most likely. Lisa was talking to Dave. And she had her photo. Lisa said that the photo made her look fat. Dave looked right at her, scoffed and rolled his eyes. No photo could make her look fat.
Lisa probably doesn't know it. But she actually made me vomit once. Back in 5th or 6th grade, she happened to come outside with a friend of hers. They had a plate full of some sort of red goo. They alleged that it was puke. And then they started to eat it. Now, none of us who saw this actually believed that it was puke. It was some sort of cherry filling or something. But some sort of gag reflex triggered in me. And I had to run back across the street to my own house, where I promptly went inside and puked in the sink. I told no one.
As a kid, I used to carry a tape recorder around quite a bit. And to this day, I still have a recording of Lisa. The King's had a piano in their garage. And I have a tape of her playing it, discovering that her brother and I were taping her, yelling at us, then asking me to come back so she could here it.
Lisa went on to marry class of 1984's Gregg Brull. Last I knew, they were living in Oshkosh. And she was teaching people with learning disabilities. I believe they had two kids. But that information may be out of date.
UPDATE - 11/10/06 - Here is Lisa, along with Jenny Malley, on our senior video.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:29 PM 1 comments
LISA KOCH
Why not? I mentioned her in my first post. So let's talk about her. Hmm... not much to say. We went to school together for four years. And if I'm not mistaken, we had a total of one class together. That would be College Prep English with Mr. Hensel, in our senior year.
To my knowledge, we have never spoken with one another. As I recall, she was a cheerleader of some sort. I remember this because in that class, she sat behind Lisa King (Mr. Hensel had us seated alphabetically). And Lisa was also a cheerleader. So the two of them stood out in their cheerleader outfits whenever it was deemed that they needed to be.
As I recall, she was dating a guy named Jim Messman. Jim also graduated with us. He was a nice guy. I have one little tidbit about her. I have no firsthand knowledge of this. But I overheard a couple of classmates talking about how much fun Jim was having at one of our dances - perhaps prom... I don't know. The other classmate suggested that the reason he was having such a good time was because he knew what he and Lisa were going to do after the dance. In other words, he was insinuating that something did happen after that dance - perhaps for the first time? Of course this is all heresay. I have no idea about the sex lives (if any) that these two shared. It's just something I overheard.
Again, I never knew her. But I do know this. She was absolutely beautiful. She was a "real" woman, not fat, not a waif, but just perfect. Where she is today is anybody's guess. However, there is a teacher at our old school with the same name. Could that be her? No. I believe Lisa Koch, the teacher, is actually the former Lisa Bennin - older sister of fellow graduate Chad Bennin.
UPDATE - 2/4/06 - Lisa has been alerted to the blog, and has added some updates of herself within her comments section. She's married, and is now known as Lisa Tushaus. She has two kids. A recent photo of her with her daughter is below. Click it to see the full-sized, clearer version.
UPDATE - 10/17/06 - Lisa ran in a 26-mile marathon on 10/1/06. It started in Grafton and ended in Milwaukee. Joining her in this race were fellow graduates Josie Scott, Julie Scott, Paula Jonas and Tina Short. Brenda Gordon and Erin Hynek drove and acted as cheerleaders along the way. I was invited to come down and see them off, as it would have been a great photo opportunity. But my birthday was the night before. And I simply was in no condition to be awake, let alone drive. So I missed out. Anyway, it should be noted that Lisa's finishing time was good enough to be eligible for the Boston Marathon. Yes, that's a big deal. Just finishing the marathon is impressive in itself. But qualifying for Boston is even more impressive. So congratulations to Lisa! Incidentally, Julie was participating in her fourth marathon of this year. Damn!
UPDATE - 11/10/06 - Here is Lisa from our senior video.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:43 AM 15 comments
RICHARD WHEELER
Where else could I start but with him? He was probably the best friend I had in high school. Yet he and I were only friends for about 21 months. But man, those were some interesting months.
I'll have much more on him later on. But he'll no doubt get mentioned quite often. So an introduction is in order.
Richard and I became best friends at the beginning of our sophomore year. Prior to that we each had had a mutal best friend In Jeff Messerman. But Jeff (who I will from this point refer to as "Meff") had moved in the summer of 1986. So he was no longer around. So naturally, we drifted to each other. Little did I know that during our freshman year (according to Meff) Richard despised me, seemingly out of jealousy that I was taking Meff's time away from him, as Meff and I became a lot closer. But with Meff gone, and with the two of us sharing many common (some would say warped) interests, we became fast friends. And Meff (who had moved to a Milwaukee suburb) came up to visit all the time, as his grandparents still lived in Two Rivers. He also had regular orthodontist appointments in Manitowoc. When Meff was in town, we were all a happy threesome (in a non-sexual way!)
For our sophomore and junior years, Richard and I were somewhat tied to the hip. But we had a falling out at the end of our junior year (which I'll get to at some point) and sort of drifted apart once summer started. During our senior year, we were never enemies. But we weren't friends either. We just coexisted.
I haven't spoken to Richard since June, 1988. But Meff was actually contacted by Richard around 1994. They stayed in touch for about a month or so. And that was it. Not a peep has been heard from him since.
After high school, I had a job working at T&R Video in Two Rivers. I ran into nearly everyone I'd gone to school with. But Richard never popped in. From time to time his mom did though. The last I knew about him, he was living in Los Angeles. For a time, he actually had a job writing reviews for porno movies. Apparently he even had the opportunity to interview the actors and actresses. Cool gig! His mom then mentioned that he had found a new job selling wine. I think she mentioned that he was living with his girlfriend as well.
I recently put a bio on CLASSMATES.COM. I noticed that Richard had signed on, and still had an active E-mail address with them. So I sent him a very brief message. As of today, he has not read it. Which means he probably rarely checks the E-mail address he has with them. But if he responds, I'll let you know.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:57 AM 4 comments
WELCOME!
My name is Burt. And I am a graduate of Washington High School, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, class of 1989.
Why should you care? Well, you probably shouldn't. This blog is being created for me. It is my intention to post any and all stories that I can think of regarding my school days in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Names will not be changed. I intend to be blunt and honest. My stories will involve not only my days in highschool, but my days in middle school and grade school as well.
So if you want to know stories about people like Kevin Dehne, Richard Wheeler, Scott Jaklin, David Svatek and Doug Wall, read on.
I have an excellent memory. But in time, even my memory can fade. So this blog is for my benefit only. If anyone else takes interest, let me know!
I believe my class graduated about 150 people. And I intend to write about all of them. Granted, there are many people I never really know. For example, what could I write about Lisa Koch? She was a pretty girl. That's about it. But I will write about her - and everyone else.
So sit back and enjoy. Find out who sold pot to a friend of mine. Find out who wore the sweatshirt that had been peed on. Find out about the vandalism to the basement gym and stage curtain. Find out about the vice principal who threw a throwing star at me. Find out about Satanic rituals, drug use and fainting students.
I will pull no punches. I will name names. And I will not lie.
posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 8:57 AM 4 comments
4 Comments - Show Original Post
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the_meff said...
I'd hate to ruin your already champion work by throwing my imput your way.
But I can certainly comment...
An added dimention...
Consider this space the commentary track for your memiors...
For I AM THE MEFF.
Wed Jan 11, 06:19:00 PM PST
TWORIVERSWALRUS said...
Comment away. And be honest.
Thu Jan 12, 07:23:00 AM PST
Brad Strouf said...
I have not earned the right to comment, but I can't seem to help myself...I hope you don't mind.
Although calling us friends would not be entirely truthful probably, since you pooped on my porch...(that was classic) I certainly learned to appreciate the depth of your intellect and humor in that fateful "Creative Writing" class...maybe I should call Ms Sapa and thank her for shaping my future...nah...
Thu Jan 26, 01:52:00 PM PST
TWORIVERSWALRUS said...
On the contrary Brad. Think about it. There are roughly 290,000,000 people in this country. And out of them, I'll be writing about 185 or so of them. You are one of those very select few. And that gives you the right to comment more than anyone else. You were there. You lived it. You know the names. You can fill in some gaps and provide other perspectives that I can't.
No, I don't mind your comments. I welcome them. I want them! For as much as you may enjoy reading my posts, I enjoy the feedback just as much. I wish your buddy Jason would pop in with a few anecdotes here and there as well. I love the traffic!
Comment away. Be honest. And don't be shy.
Thu Jan 26, 07:07:00 PM PST
About Me
Name: TWORIVERSWALRUS
Location: MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, US
These are the stories of my life in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. The names have not been changed. My focus will be on all the classmates and teachers I encountered over the years. To the best of my knowledge, everything I write here is true. However I admit that some things may not be. If I have another source, I will do my best to name that source. However, secondhand information is not always accurate. If I've made a mistake, please tell me. I never considered myself to be a true member of Washington High School's class of 1989. But I was, in name only. I mean no malice or carry no grudges to anyone I write about. This blog is for me and me alone. These are my opinions. They may not be facts. However, I will never knowingly post something that is false. This is my point of view of my former classmates. On the off chance that anyone I write about happens to see any of this, and are offended, dont be! These are simply my opinions based on experiences from many years ago. My opinions are not a reflection on who you are now or who you were then. Besides, people can change. The pricks of yesteryear may be the saints of today - and vice versa. Welcome to my mind.
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WHO'S WHO
JEN ANDERSEN ----------- MOPTOPJEN JASON ANDERSON ------- SONNYKIDD JOE ANTONIE ----------- JOE ANTONIE PHUONG BAUM ---------------- PHUONG BRIAN BELONGIA --------- FRB or FRBB PAULA BROTSKI ---- PAULA BROTSKI ANDREA BURNS --------- BURNSY1990 TREESA CARRON --------------- TREESA MARK CIHA ------------------------ MARKC KEVIN DEHNE ------------------ APEMAN STACEY ERICKSON ------------ STACEY LAURA FOWLER --------------- NAAMAH CARRIE FRANZ ----------- CAWELNICKE T. FRANZEN ----- TAMMY SCHROEDER BRENDA GORDON -------------- BRENDA JEFF GORDON --------------------- JEFF G MARK G. -- GORDY or MARK GORDON TOM GRASSMAN ---------------- TOMMY SALLY GRAC. --- SHOOT_THE_MOON GUS HOLMES -------------------------- GUS ERIN HYNEK ------------ MIMIKATEMOM SCOTT JAKLIN -------- SCOTT I-DA-HO PAULA JONAS --------------------------- PJ JEREMY KARMAN ---------------- JEREMY BRIAN KLEIN --------------------------- B.K. MONICA KNUTSON -- CREATIVEMUSE LISA KOCH ----------------------------- LISA DREW KONOP ----------- DREW KONOP JASON KRINGS ------------------- JASONK KELLI KUPSCH ----------------------- KELLI DEAN (WIFE) - MRSDEANLICHTERMAN JENNY MALLEY --------------------- JENNY ME ----------------- TWORIVERSWALRUS JEFF MESSERMAN - THE_MEFF or JEFF MY WIFE -------------------- HAPPYMAMA KIM NOKES --------------------- KIMMARIE GREGG NOVACHEK ---------------- -GGG- NICK NOVACHEK ----------- SAINT NICK JEN OWENS ----------------------- JENO90 GREG PAGEL ---------------- GREG PAGEL LISA PAUZE ------------------------- LISA P LAURIE PEARSON ----------------- LAURIE TIM PETRI ---------- PEACH AND PAULA BRANDON PODHOLA ------ BRANDON P ANN RANK -------- ANN (RANK) POLICH CINDY ROHRER ---------------- CINDYSUE JAY ROZMARYNOSKI --------------- ROZY AMY SCHMIDT ---------------------- AMY C MIKE SCHROEDER -------- BRUCE (MIKE) TOBY SCHWARTZ ------- SQUARENUTS REBECCA SHEDLOSKY --------- SPROUT CHRIS SOPPE -------------- CHRIS SOPPE CHRIS STAUDINGER --------------- CHRIS JOHN STELTZ ------------- JOHN STELTZ PAUL STREUBEL--------------- GETACLUE BRAD STROUF ------------ BRAD STROUF CARROLL STURM (WIFE) ------ CSTURM TAMMY SWOBODA --------------- TAMMY NATE WALKNER ------------------- NWALK KEITH WELNICKE ------------ 2TIME ACE ANNE WETENKAMP ----------------- ANNE
CLASSMATE PHOTOS
PICTURES
VIDEOS
BURT & KEVIN DO THE TOWN
BURT & KEVIN TRIP #2
CLASSMATE BLOGS
JASON ANDERSON
KEVIN DEHNE
LAURA FOWLER
TOM GRASSMAN
ERIN HYNEK
ME
MEFF
MEFF #2
GREG PAGEL
BRAD STROUF
TAMMY SWOBODA
CLASSMATE ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS
LORIE ALAPERET
TODD ALLEN
SHANNON ALMAND
JENNIFER ANDERSEN
JASON ANDERSON
JOE ANTONIE
HEATHER BAILEY
KEN BARTZ
NICOLE BAUGNIET
PHUONG BAUM
TAMMY BEHRMANN
BRIAN BELONGIA
BRAD BENEDICT
CHAD BENNIN
JON BEQUEAITH
POOKIE BERGEON
JIM BERGSTROM
JEFF BODWIN
GREG BURR
TREESA CARRON
THERESA CHASE
DON CIHA
MARK CIHA
MIKE CLARKSEN
DAVE COENEN
JIM COLBY
CARRIE COLLARD
STAN CONRAD
STEVE COOK
BECKY COOKLE
RICHARD CROWE
CHAD DAFFNER
LARRY DAFFNER
MIKE DANZY
ELLEN DAWIDOWICH
BRENDA DAX
DIANE DEBAUCHE
DAWN DEBOT
KEVIN DEHNE
DAWN DELLMAN
JENNY DENT
MATT DORAN
BRENDA DORN
DEE DEE DREXLER
MISSY DUCAT
MARILYN DUPREY
BRUCE DUVALL
DAVID DUVALL
STACEY ERICKSON
JANICE ERICSON
RANDY ERTMAN
TRACY FITZGERALD
DYAN FITZPATRICK
GREG FLEMAL
PETER FLORA
LAURA FOWLER
VALORI FRANCO
CARRIE FRANZ
TAMMY FRANZEN
BEN FRANCO
TRACY FREE
STEPHANIE GARDNER
SCOTT GAUTHIER
KIEF GIBLIN
BRENDA GORDON
JEFF GORDON
MARK GORDON
JAMIE GRAINGER
DANA GRASEE
TOM GRASSMAN
TROY GREENWOOD
JASON GRENIER
JILL GRENIER
RON GRETZ
VENICE GROCE
BRETT GRUETZMACHER
KELLY HALL
JENNIFER HANSEL
DAVID HARTWIG
TIM HAUSCHULTZ
CARRIE HAVEL
CINDY HAYES
MARK HENRICKSON
MAY HER
CHAD HOERTH
ROSS HOFMANN
GUS HOLMES
JOY HOLTZ
DEAN HORNBURG
TERRY HUG
ERIN HYNEK
AMY JACQUART
LEE JACQUART
SCOTT JAKLIN
JILL JANSKY
MARTY JOHNSON
PAULA JONAS
BILL KADERABEK
KRISTINE KAHLENBERG
CHRIS KAMINSKY
DAVID KANERA
WENDY KAPPELMAN
JAY KAQUATOSH
JEREMY KARMAN
RAY KASZUBA
CHAD KAUTZER
LISA KING
BETH KLEIN
BRIAN KLEIN
RANDY KLEIN
LISA KOCH
SHANNON KOCH
KEVIN KOEHLER
BECKY KOEPPEL
TIM KOESER
DREW KONOP
KELLY KOTAREK
COLLEEN KREJCAREK
BECKY KRIESCHER
KELLI KUPSCH
DENA KUSKE
SARA KVITEK
CINDY LAFLASH
CINDY LAFLEUR
JULIE LANDON
JODI LECLAIR
SCOTT LECOQUE
JERRY LEGREVE
LENNY LEWIS
DEAN LICHTERMAN
BRENDA LINZMEIER
TIM LOUCKS
DEBBIE LUMAYE
ROD LUMAYE
ROB LUMBAR
B.J. LUTTERMAN
JENNY MALLEY
PATTI MALLEY
CLINT MATTRISCH
LIONEL MCALLISTER
SHAWN MEHLHORN
JEFF MESSERMAN
JIM MESSMAN
TRACY MESSMAN
TROY MESSMAN
ELMER MIKEAL
KEVIN MINKEL
BECKY MONKA
LISA MOORE
MINDY MOORE
CATHERINE MUSHERO
AMY MUSIAL
MYSELF #1
MYSELF #2
MYSELF #3
MYSELF #4
MYSTERY GIRL
THOMAS NEUMAN
JACQUIE NIEDZIELSKI
KIM NOKES
NICK NOVACHEK
ANTON NYQUIST
TINA OAKLEY
SHAWN OLSON
VICKI OSMUNSON
SAID OUITA
ANGIE OWENS
GREG PAGEL
LISA PAUZE
CHIP PELNAR
SHARLA PETERS
SHANE PETERSON
TRACY PETERSON
MARKUS PETKEVICIUS
TIM PETRI
SHAWN PICKARD
ROBERT PILZAK
DANNY PIPGRAS
SARAH PLAPPERT
BRANDON PODHOLA
MIKE POLICH
BECKY PRAUSA
MARK PROCHNOW
MIKE PROCHNOW
SARA PRUST
KURT PSENICKA
JASON RADANT
ANN RANK
SHAWN RAPPLEY
JEFF RAUSCH
WAYNE REBARCHEK
JEFF REHRAUER
SHERRI REICHWALDT
ANDY REINHART
ROSS REMIKER
TROY REZACHEK
ROBIN RICHMOND
TRAVIS RIESTERER
CINDY ROHRER
JAY ROZMARYNOSKI
CRAIG RYSTICKEN
JEFF SALSTRAND
JIM SANFORD
TREY SCHENK
PAM SCHLEY
AMY SCHMIDT
BECKY SCHMIDT
BOB SCHMIDT
DAWN SCHMIDT
MARK SCHREIBER
MIKE SCHROEDER
CORY SCHULTZ
TOBY SCHWARTZ
JOSIE SCOTT
JULIE SCOTT
REBECCA SHEDLOSKY
KEVIN SHILLCOX
CHRIS SHIMULUNAS
TINA SHORT
ROB SISEL
KELLY SIUDZINSKI
CHRIS SOPPE
PETER SOUCOUP
LANCE SPRADLIN
CRAIG STANGEL
CHRIS STAUDINGER
JOHN STELTZ
LEWIS STEPHAN
SCOTT STEPHENS
SANDY STOLTENOW
CHRIS STORLIE
BRAD STROUF
DON STUMMEIER
CARROLL STURM
BETH SULLIVAN
DAVID SVATEK
TAMMY SWOBODA
STACY TADDY
TRINA TADDY
JAMIE TADYCH
JIM TADYCH
CHRIS THEE
TONY TRZECIAK
JIM TUDGE
MIKE VANEYCK
LISA VANNE
SHEILA VANNE
MISSY VERTZ
TERESA VOHWINKEL
WADE WACHHOLZ
DOUG WALL
LORI WAVRUNEK
LESLIE WEBER
AL WEGNER
KEITH WELNICKE
WES WESLEY
ANNE WETENKAMP
TRICIA WETZEL
RICKARD WHEELER #1
RICHARD WHEELER #2
TRAVIS WILSON
WYATT WOOD
AMY WOZNIAK
CHUCK YAUCH
SHELIA ZACH
MIKE ZEMAN
TODD ZINN
TEACHER ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS
MRS. ANDERSON
MRS. BERG (KIEL)
MR. BONINO
MR. BURNS
MR. BUTH
MRS. CASEY
MR. CONRAD
MR. FENCL
MRS. FISCHER
MR. FRANKE
MR. FRANKO
MR. HANF
MRS. HANSON
MR. HEIDNER
MR. HEUER
MR. HOUGH
MR. JONES
MR. KERN
MR. KJELSTRUP
MR. KLECKNER
MRS. KOEPPE
MS. KRAUSE
MRS. KULAS
MR. LEHMAN
MR. LEINSS
MRS. LEWANDOWSKI
MR. LIUM
MRS. MAKI
MR. MARTEL
MS. MEEHAN
MR. MONKA
MRS. MULL
MS. NEVEAU
MRS. OLSON
MR. OTTO
MR. PARKINSON
MRS. POHLMAN
MR. RYSTICKEN
MR. SCHMID
MRS. SCHMIDT
MR. SCHOTT
MRS. SCHROEDER
MR. SCHWANTES
MRS. SCHWANTES
MR. SCRIVER
MR. SLATTERY
MR. SPATZ
MR. STAPLETON
MR. STODOLA
MR. SUSTMAN
MR. SWOKOWSKI
MR. TREMBLEY
MS. VESPER
MR. VOGT
MR. WENNER
MRS. WESTBERG
MR. WHEELER
MS. WISNICKY (MRS. KLUCZINSKI)
MR. WITTING
MR. WOLFF
MR. WOOD
Previous Posts
WE HAVE A NEW RECORD!
UMM... WHY?
WELCOME - PAULA BROTSKI
UPDATE - MR. WOOD, MRS. KULAS & CRAIG RYSTICKEN
UPDATE - MR. SCHNELL
UPDATE - SARA PRUST
MR. SWOKOWSKI
UPDATE - MIKE "DON'T CALL ME BRUCE" SCHROEDER
UPDATE - BRUCE DUVALL & PETE SOUCOUP
UPDATE BRIAN BELONGIA
Archives
January 2006
February 2006
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April 2006
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September 2006
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November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
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May 2007
June 2007
Current Posts
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