You Can't Go Home Again??

I don't know how many times I've heard the adage "You can't go home again" and thought it was a bunch of bunk.  I still think that, especially since I'm living in the home I grew up in!

Today was an opportunity for me to walk through the hallowed halls of my high school.  When the new high school is finished (which I've heard could be another year), the school I attended will be torn down.  A lot of people are very upset with the thought that the school will be torn down, and I don't get it - they can't tear down my memories!

Welcome to the cafeteria; on the right side of the pic, you can make out the blue tile that's on the lower portion of the walls.  Even in the 70s it seemed a bit outdated!  But the cafeteria looks brighter and definitely cleaner than I remember it!  We also did not have TV screens on every wall. Boy, these kids today are so spoiled [ ;-D ].

This is a view in the cafeteria I recognize all too well, except I don't remember us having fans.  We didn't have air conditioning, and just had to suck it up and deal with it.  And we all had to walk miles to school, uphill all the way, both ways [ ;-D ].

I really liked all of the different art work painted directly on the walls.  That was a BIG no-no when I was a student.  Very glad to see THAT change.

The "infamous" breezeway.  The only time it wasn't like a huge cattle chute with kids going in both directions was during class or after school.  It was wonderful in the winter to be able to get to the buildings that weren't directly connected to each other.  We did have windows that opened, however.  These are all sealed shut.

Pop machines??  We got grief for having a candy bar vending machine!  Our vending machine was maintained by the Honor Society as a fund raiser.  I'm glad we didn't have the pop machines 'cause I probably would have been late to every class from stopping to buy a pop (although I would have wanted Pepsi or Dr. Pepper!).

The front of the drinking fountain looks like it's been updated somewhat, but the part connected to the wall looked more like the same parts from my era!

Just one of the offices.  This was in Storck Hall; we were divided into the different offices according to last name (for attendance or behavioral issues), and I worked for three of my high school years in another of the offices.  GREAT memories of those times.

No  more locker bays.  Those were nice for the students, but I'm sure not so easy to patrol for the teachers/principals.  I'm guessing that was one thing they did away with after the shootings in Columbine.  

Yet another sign of the times - the alarm pad in one of the buildings by an exterior door.  To think we relied on keys . . . 

I wonder if these are school provided locks or if the student has to provide one.  Our locks were built into the lockers (and our lockers were the full length, not 2 levels of lockers one above the other).

A different view of the breezeway.

Sad to hear that the yearbook is not still the same high quality bound book, but rather more of a paper or magazine type book.  I see the benefit of it, but they certainly don't hold up as well over time.

"My" home office as a high school student, and one that I spend MANY hours in as an "Office Assistant."  That was one of the most interesting and fun things I did in high school.  I met some wonderful people and learned a LOT about working for someone else.

The Jr. Air Force ROTC Display.  Glad to see it's still going strong.

You can't see it, but the sign on the door says "Speech Therapy"  The sign above the door says Clinic.  This was a girls bathroom when I was a student!

Yeah, I'd say things have changed a bit . . . this is something we just knew.  We didn't have to be told or reminded of it.

 

I'm sure we had our fair share of weapons in the school; I remember a couple of instances with knives, but nothing with guns.  

It was an interesting tour of the school.  There was a program in the gym to start it all off, but since Mom was with me (she taught math at the high school for 30 years), we skipped that part and went straight to the walking.  It was a good thing because I ran into one girl that I'd been in first grade with and hadn't seen since we graduated; several of Mom's former students come up to her to talk to her once the program was over (it helped that they mentioned her name during the program as being at the event); plus, it takes Mom a while longer to get from one place to another.  We also met up with several of her former co-teachers from the Math Department, which she thoroughly enjoyed.  It was a great experience, and I'm glad Mom was up to it.

But, getting back to the old adage, I still think, you CAN go home again.  Just don't expect everything to be the way you remember it was.  Life has a way of changing both our memories and our expectations.  As long as you're willing to roll with the changes, you can go home again, and stay there.  Change is not a bad thing (that's what inventions are, after all!) . . . where would we be without the computer, cell phone, or wi-fi?  Let's not assign good or bad to change, but let it be the the new and different adventure it can be.