Posted by Michael N. Marcus on April 3, 2008, 6:33 pm
The Hillhouse assistant principal was George Kennedy, a sadistic SOB with a Marine’s crew cut who rode a bicycle to school each day. He seemed to break balls just for the sheer joy of it. Students dreamed of flattening his tires, or shoving a stick between his spokes and knocking him off the bike.
During my junior year, one day I was at Howie Shrobe’s house after school, and I left a little rubber alligator there. The next day, Howie brought it to school, and when he saw me in the hallway near my locker, he tossed it to me so I could put it away.
Some busybody teacher reported the episode to Kennedy and I was called down to his office to be cross-examined and prosecuted.
Kennedy informed me that I had violated Rule 7,934,726,422,079 subsection B revision 7.02 paragraph 9, that banned rubber alligators from school property without a permit; and he confiscated it.
The SOB kept the gator until the last day of school. He probably performed unnatural acts with it.
———
In 1963, in the fall of our senior year, I was out of school with mononucleosis for about six weeks. I didn't have much to do, so I grew a beard. It was a little beard, but it was pretty good for a 17-year-old. Some other kids in our class didn’t even shave yet.
On my first day back to school, another busybody teacher spotted my new growth and sent me to Kennedy for a chin and cheek inspection.
He insisted that it was against the rules for students to have beards.
I asked him to show me the rule and he frowned.
He flipped through the pages of several notebooks. He couldn't find the rule, but he came up with another solution. He said that if I didn't shave off the beard, he'd shave it off for me, but without shaving cream.
I gave in. I went home and shaved.
I've had a beard since around 1966, except for a few months when I had to shave for a “straight” job.
Around 1970 I happened to be in New Haven at the time of an important football game between Hillhouse and Cross; so I stopped by the stadium to see who else might show up.
I couldn’t find any of my old classmates, but I did see George Kennedy, and I couldn’t resist showing off my third beard. He said it looked good.
I think he was jealous.
156
Message Thread:
« Back to thread