Please join me on a journey back to my college years:
Manchester College (now Manchester University)
North Manchester, Indiana
1984-1988
Once I decided to write a blog post about my college experience, it was obvious I needed to start by acknowledging the people that came into my life during that time. And I consider myself incredibly lucky to have so many of them still in my life today. Roommates, Baseball Teammates, Dorm Mates, Friends both male and female from all across campus, and Friends that came from off campus as well. You all made that time super special.
Besides the people, what else could/should I focus on? Recently, a thought from years past has been coming back to me. The thought is that 95% of what I learned in college occurred outside the classroom. I can’t remember one thing from my Programming in RPG class, but I’ll go to my grave remembering all the words to “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” by John Mellencamp. Who was my Differential Equations professor? I dunno. But… “Some are black, and some are white. They ain’t too proud to sleep on the floor tonight.”
With that 95% theory as an anchor, a 2nd thought made its way into the conversation. The thought is that If I had to do it all over again, I’d re-do my college experience the same as before. Warts and all. Certainly, a short memory has helped me come to that conclusion. Thank goodness I don’t remember many of the horrific choices I surely made during those 4 years. Partaking in a Pizza Jack’s deep dish and a bottle of Cherry Vodka after 10pm on a Sunday night is definitely one of those decisions made while wearing my 30W 30L “Bad Idea Jeans”. Hopefully I’ve lived and learned. The jury’s still out on that one.
So, let’s go visit the place that was my second home in the mid-80s. Manchester College is/was a tiny school with just under 1000 students. It is affiliated with The Church of the Brethren (my Catholic mother was not amused to hear that, after a rather spirited Convocation, I thought I inadvertently switched my religious allegiance to someone named Yahweh). It is located in a sleepy little town, and alcohol was NOT allowed on campus. With an administration that did not understand what made 18-22 year-old’s tick, we had to invent ways to entertain ourselves. Again, this was the 1980s. No Cable TV in the dorm rooms. Cell phones and the Internet were years away. If we wanted to talk to a girl, we had to walk across campus. Part of that walk was through a wind tunnel that seemed perpetually 40 degrees colder than the air temperature on either end of it. When that walk across campus was a No-Go for any number of reasons (mostly the ladies coming to their senses), it could get a little boring. But nothing a few games of 3-Handed Euchre or a few rounds of The Quit Smoking Game couldn’t cure.
We all survived and often thrived for many reasons, chief among them was the ability to seek out others to enjoy the ride with. As this venture played out, you realized you rarely met someone who already liked the same things you liked. Or knew about the things you held dear. We didn’t arrive on campus with much in common (aside from an unjustified overconfidence). We came from every corner of Indiana and many bordering states. We came from big cities and small hamlets. We came with varied backgrounds and different outlooks.
Once on campus, we slowly, almost imperceptibly, started to develop the likes, dislikes, and personalities that persist today. We all heard Henry Lee Summer’s first album and became big fans. When Tim introduced us to Bob & Tom, we started listening to those guys any chance we could. On the other hand, Chris liked Tang. Nope. No thank you. Mike liked Stevie Ray Vaughn. That one took me a while to come around to. I liked Sha Na Na. Shockingly, no one else appreciated the genius of Bowzer and Company.
It was awesome in the moment and even awesome-er now to recall this transformation. We didn’t have Fraternities or Sororities, so if someone just made an honest effort to join the festivities, that was it. You were in. And when you were in, you were in on some major league goofiness. Here is a very tiny microcosm of what we did to amuse ourselves and forge the friendships I proudly nurture to this day:
Side Note: For obvious reasons, I must leave out a lot of the stories from that time period. There are things my wife doesn’t know, and my lawyer can’t know. Stories about Peace Poles, Hairy Buffalo’s, and Log Jams will have to wait until we’re hanging out sharing a cold one.
So here’s the PG13 version of the very tiny microcosm of……..
Study Naked Night – A proud tradition held once a week…or whenever the mood hit. How do these things get started? Why did they persist? In an all-male dorm, what purpose did they serve? In unison, we all say, “Exactly”!
Winter Olympics – Around midnight on a particularly chilly night, Freshmen were encouraged to strip naked. (OK. I’m quickly realizing that a lack of clothes is developing into a theme here. But remember, no selfies back then. No big deal. If you wanted a pictorial memory of an occasion, you had to be willing to let the film developer at the pharmacy in on the Kodak Moment. With some notable exceptions, wink, wink, it was not a viable option.)
It’s worth pointing out you didn’t have to get TOTALLY naked. You could wear a hat, shoes, gloves, and sunglasses if you wanted. The Freshmen lined up outside the dorm and proceeded to run laps around the inner parking lot. Upperclassmen hovered around and tried pelting the living bejesus out of them with snowballs. The snowballs rarely found their target. Everyone was laughing so hard, aiming was next to impossible. Was it a weird tradition? Absolutely! Was it borderline criminal? Hmmm. I’ll defer to that time honored passage: “The statute of limitations ran out a long time ago on that one”.
Air Band Contests – This was a biggie. For all the right reasons, the lip-synch competitions were “Must See” events. They truly were some of the best nights of the year. Every dorm was well represented. Every demographic participated. The venues were packed. There were cash prizes!
We entered just about every air band contest there was. We picked our song. We figured out our costumes. We made our instruments out of cardboard. We practiced our dance moves. We performed like our lives depended on it. For sure, our beer budget depended on it. For just a few minutes, we were members of The Clash, Dire Straits, U2, The Beatles, The Temptations, The Knack, and Franki Valli and the 4 Seasons. But without the Groupies, darn it.
It truly brought people together. I didn’t know everyone at our small college, or care for all the people I did know. But if I saw you put it all out there on the line performing at an Air Band contest…immediate respect.
I could go on forever with more inside jokes and stories oozing with immaturity, but I felt like I was losing you about 400 words ago. I’ll quit while you’re still awake. If you’re interested in hearing more, that’s an even better reason to stop by for that beer. Open Invitation.
Post Script: In 7 ½ months, it will be 40 years since I stepped foot on the campus of Manchester College as an incoming Freshmen. I arrived with 4 cassette tapes, white tube socks pulled up to my knees, and a threadbare blanket that looked like an orange and white checkered tablecloth. Yep, I’d do it all again. Exactly the same way. In a heartbeat. It’s an easy decision made while wearing my 36W 29L Relaxed Fit Levi’s.
Now it’s time for some “Insignificant Trivia”!
Before Sha Na Na made it big with their own TV Show, their original lead singer hit the Top 10 in 1976 with a song called Shannon. What was his name?
No fair using The Google.