PLEASE ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF – PART XII

As the summer of 1974 was coming to a close, the reality of leaving home and beginning a new era of personal responsibility was dawning for me.  I would soon be on my own for the very first time in my life.  Unlike many other young men my age, I had never gone to sleep away camp nor had I ever lived away from home, before.  I really didn’t know how I would handle it. Would I be homesick or would I feel as though I had been liberated from years of boredom and loneliness having grown up on isolated Taylors Mills Road?

There was also an important secondary consideration for me.  I would be away from Mona until Thanksgiving.  How much would I miss her?  How much might she miss me? Would she abandon me and fall into the arms of another lover?  I already had seen some evidence of her flirtatious nature.  At least, being able to see her every day allowed me to keep some tabs on her. Living five hours away from her for months at a time, would surely challenge our relationship.  As excited as I was about attending Syracuse University, I was equally conflicted over leaving Mona behind.  Fortunately, I was mature enough to realize that a good college education had to trump any worries I had about my relationship with Mona.  I never considered not going off to school, I just worried about losing the girl I really loved.

Compared to most of the other freshmen soon to arrive on the Syracuse University campus, I had a unique edge; my best friend Bruce Canell would also be attending the school with me.  Furthermore, despite Bruce’s dad’s warning to us about the pitfalls of rooming together, we decided to do it anyway.  Mr. Canell apparently knew of some bad experiences other close friends had when they went away to college, together.  According to him, good friendships were ruined.  It’s one thing being good friends apart and it’s another thing trying to remain good friends living on top of one another.  Soon, we would find out if he was right or wrong.

Throughout the summer, my parents and I were preparing for my fall semester.  All incoming frosh seem to get hold of the same infamous recommendation list, which advises them of what to “schlep” along to college for the first year.  Personally, I believe that this list is nothing more than a nasty ruse designed to coerce incoming students and their families to spend a ton of money on a whole lotta stuff they don’t need on campus.  A “slicker?”  Really?  My whole life I went to school and played in the rain, without ever owning one.  All of a sudden, I needed this for college?  Better if the list included a “hot plate,” the ultimate college no-no item.  Now, THAT, was something I really could have used in my dorm room to fight off the cold and dampness of a Central New York winter.

In any case, mom and dad went down the college preparation list adhering to it as if it was the Ten Commandments.  I was only fortunate that they didn’t
purchase any Tampax or Midol for me.  In the end, there was a ton of stuff to pack and I saved that deed for the night before we were to leave for school.  I
was far too busy enjoying my last few days romancing Mona and just couldn’t be
bothered with packing.  Boy, were mom and dad mad when I got home from Mona’s house at 11 pm on Saturday night.  We were scheduled to head up to school the next day at around 9 am.  You can guess that I was up until dawn packing and checking that I didn’t leave anything important behind.

At about 7 am on Sunday morning, dad and I packed the car with everything I owned and – along with mom and grandma Pearl – started on the long trip north.  It was pretty exciting.  I couldn’t imagine how I would feel after mom and dad dropped me and my things off at Flint Hall on Mount Olympus. What would it be like when they pulled away and headed home later that day?  After all, I wouldn’t see them again until parent’s weekend, at least.  How would that be?  I supposed I would soon find out.

We arrived at Flint Hall by mid-afternoon on Sunday.  Upon our arrival at the dorm, our car was attacked by members of the “Goon Squad.”  These were college upperclassman, who volunteered their time to help students move into their dorm rooms.  There must have been about a dozen “Goonies”grabbing
my stuff from the car and carrying it all into the dorm.  From the looks on their faces, I could tell that they were mocking another stupid freshman, whose parents ascribed to that silly college preparation recommendation list. They must have immediately realized that I didn’t really need half the stuff packed tight in our car.  That lesson would only come the next year with experience.

When we got to my room on Flint 1-A, Bruce and his parents were already in our room setting up his side of the place.  Again, Bruce’s dad was openly skeptical about us rooming together, though he was already resigned to seeing how things would work out and hoping for the best.  Mrs. Canell seemed to be much more happy, optimistic and much relieved that “the boys” would be able to prevent homesickness by rooming together.

Flint Hall was quite active that afternoon.  There were incoming students, family members and "Goonies” carrying clothes and other personal items to and from every room on the floor.  Flint was one of the older dorms that most freshmen were assigned to.  The rooms were decorated in functional 1950’s décor and gave one the impression that last year’s occupant must have attended football games wearing a raccoon coat and fedora hat, waving a felt SU pennant. You see, besides being an older dorm, Flint and its twin mate, Day Hall,  both sat atop Mt. Olympus, the highest point on campus.  The way to and from “the
Mount” was by an enclosed and winding staircase (outdoors) with a couple of
hundred steps. There were so many steps that most savvy students planned to stay on the lower campus as long as they could to avoid having to make the climb more than once a day.  Of course, we often had insult added to injury when strong winds accompanied heavy rain and snow.  It wasn’t very pleasant and most upper classmen avoided that area of campus like the plague.  It was worse for art students carrying their huge portfolios, which acted like a sail as they climbed the Mount.

At about 4:30 pm, mom, dad and grandma headed for home.  The Canell’s had also just left.  Bruce and I looked at one another and didn’t have to say a word.  Here we were.  This was college.  This was the big time.  This was our time and it had arrived as soon as our families headed for home.  I guess a couple of tears found their way to the corners of my eyes and a lump formed in my throat.  A few butterflies also fluttered around in my stomach, too.  But, I managed to maintain my composure and hold back any outward emotions that may have been interpreted as fear.  Bruce, also seemed fine with us being on our own.  At least, he too pulled it off seeming OK with it demonstrating a calm demeanor.

And so, Bruce and I immediately did what any other young men in a strange land have been known to do right off the bat.  We went off in search of food, of course.  It was already five O’clock on a Sunday night and the dining halls were already open for half an hour.  We had our meal cards and everything was alright in the world as far as we two were concerned.  Fortunately, the Mount had its own dining hall and we didn’t need to use those punishing stairs.  Graham Dining Hall was attached to both Flint and Day Halls.  It was very convenient.  In fact, everything we needed was in or under our dorm.  We had a snack bar (“The
Junction”), a night club/coffee house (“S.U.C.H”) and a bookstore, which was
always happy to overcharge us for anything we needed. Yes, it was all so convenient.

I don’t remember what we had for dinner on that first night on campus, but it was probably good.  There were too many parents still around for food service to start serving us the garbage they would surely pile on our plates, soon enough.  All I know is that Bruce and I ate the dinner and returned to our room to finish unpacking and to meet some of our new floor mates.

There is something very special about the first week or two in a college dorm. Everyone has the same story; being away from home and not knowing anyone on campus yet.  Guys, with whom you would normally never be friends with, were just as friendly as those you might still call your friends many years after graduation.  It seems as though we all needed to bond together and explore Syracuse University as a collective unit.  And, so we met just about everyone on our floor the first night. 

Most floor mates seemed to gravitate to Bruce and me. This was probably because they saw two guys, who already knew each another from home and we didn’t seem to be as homesick as some of them were.

That night we also met our Resident Advisors (RA’s), Rich J. and A. Tran.  We had a brief floor meeting with them and they laid out the rules of dorm life.  Both were graduates students and seemed so old to us at the time.  In reality, they were only in their mid twenties.  Rich was a stocky red haired guy, who used to “Meep Meep” like the “Roadrunner” when he came down the hallways.  A. Tran came off as a bit effeminate and also seemed to take life much more seriously than Rich J.  Because he was so serious, “Tran” as we called him, was very often the butt of our pranks and practical jokes.  He didn’t like to play along with us and inspired us to keep coming up with better ones to make him angry.  Rich was more like one of the guys.  “Meep Meep.”

Those first few nights on campus some of the “coolest guys”, took turns crying from being homesickness in Rich J's and A. Tran’s rooms. Their doors seemed to revolve night after night with counseling situations.  The adjustment to college life was tougher for some than for others.

On our floor we also had many colorful characters.  Each introduced themselves to Bruce and me in memorable ways.  Among some unforgettable personalities were Chuck from Cranston, Rhode Island and Art from New York City.  Chuck came across like a World War II throwback-type.  He sounded like a comical “GI” from an old war movie.  Chuck often paraded into our room – unannounced - to share his sophomore wisdoms about college life.  “16 ounces of F-in Toothpaste?  What are you going to do, brush the teeth of the entire Green Bay Packers? Jeez”.  And, then Chuck would just walk out.

Art  was similar in style.  Another funny guy.  He got so upset when baseball’s Frank Robinson was placed on waivers by the California Angels (The Indians eventually picked him up). Art made no bones about being greatly upset. He stormed into our room and shouted “Frank Robinson on F-in waivers.  What is this F-in world coming to?”  Yes, we had many characters on Flint 1-A.

Bruce and I continued to explore college life, together, during the first couple of weeks on campus.  Mona wrote regularly the first few weeks and I wrote to her.  I met a - later to be - very special person in my life and a long friendship was soon to be challenged, as earlier predicted.  To be continued….