OLD SCHOOL

Thanks to some old  photos circulating on Facebook depicting “old school”, I’ve been thinking a lot today about life as a student .

In honor of my schoolboy days, here are 12 random memories from my 12 years in the public school system.

Kindergarten through 12th grade was spent in Torrington at Vogel Wetmore, while 4th through 12th grade was spent in Litchfield at the Center, Middle and High School

KINDERGARTEN:On the first day of school our teacher, Mrs Minetti, told us we’d be storing stuff in our “cubicles”. I thought she said “bugles” as in trumpets. I remember getting nervous and almost crying because I didn’t have a “trumpet”.

1st GRADE: I used to sit next to a “slow” kid named Andrew. He never talked. When I was bored I used to pinch his side till he said “Ow”, just to hear him speak.

2nd GRADE:Mrs Campbell was my teacher. A fat 30 year old woman, who, for some reason, hated me. She caught me chewing gum once and made me stick it on my nose. She also made me sit out of the Easter Egg hunt because I “misbehaved” at lunch. A fellow student, Clayton Demming, shared his Easter candy with me after the hunt because he felt sorry for me. If I ever hit the lottery I hope to find Clayton and share some of my riches with him.

3rd GRADE:I remember watching a talent show. Some little kid, a first grader, with the nickname “Chicky” performed a magic trick. I remember all the older girls in the school thought “Chicky” was adorable. Some of you reading this may know Chicky today by his real name, Charles Anderson aka Keely Weik’s husband.

4th GRADE:I was the new kid in a new school. On my first day, some raggedy looking dude sat next to me at lunch, attempting to make friends. His name was Jermiah Manning. He asked me if I wanted to know a secret. “Sure,” I said. With a strait face and a serious tone, Jermiah told me his father had died a year earlier when The Challenger space shuttle exploded.

5th GRADE:Aimee Pelletier sat next to me in Mrs Goldsmith’s class and in the process became my first real crush. In the years that followed a lot of boys had crushes on Aimee, but I still think I noticed her first.

6th GRADE: Sitting on the bus on the way home from school I threw up all over some little kid named Joey. The bus driver asked me why I didn’t let her know so she could have let me off the bus. “Because I didn’t know it was coming”, I said.

7th GRADE:I had two “serious” girlfriends by junior high school standards: Mina Gavell and Danielle O’dell. They both dumped me. Mina had her friend Christine do the honors, while Danielle had her friend Becky dispatch of me.

8th GRADE:Ed Federovich was calling me names all day. As we were getting out of school I cornered him and gave him a charlie horse by driving my knee into his thigh. His eyes rolled back into his head and he lost consciousness, I assume from the pain. I called him later that day and apologized. We became friends.

9th GRADE:Mike LaMere called me a “blimp” in the middle of drafting class and cracked the whole class up. I went home and told my father I was going on a diet. He knew I was serious so he bought me an exercise machine. I worked out every day after school for the entire year. When I returned to school in 10th grade I had lost about 30 pounds and stayed that way until college ruined everything.

10th GRADE:I called  Becca Clock one Saturday night while she was eating soup and watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. I told her I had a crush on her and asked her if she was interested in me. I was met with awkward, deafening silence. While it was embarrassing at the time, that phone call led to a great friendship and she became one of my best friends through out the rest of my high school life and beyond.

11th GRADE:Myself and Ethan Antanucci fought over Ari Wilson. Turned out she loved Jeff McKeever.

12th GRADE:My mother went away for a weekend over the New Years Eve holiday. I basically invited the whole school to a party at her house. We had all been to parties before but this was the first one any of us had truly hosted. Someone went to the hospital, someone put a hole in the wall, people hooked up, people puked all over both bathrooms and people from WAMOGO crashed the party. KC and the girls saved me an ass whoopin by organizing a cleaning party the next morning while I slept. The bash was dubbed “Walt’s Part 1” as I had a similar party 7 months later over the summer. Though it was 14 years ago, I remember it like it was yesterday. Thinking about that night always puts a smile on my face and I  think those in attendance will always remember it. Except for Christine. She left early to ring in the new year with Jeremy.

…………………….

The last class I ever had in school was English with Doc Selli. The bell rang and as we were leaving class for the last time someone shouted “We’re finally free”.

Doc said, “Guys, you’ve never been more free.”

Those that heard him laughed.  I think I rolled my eyes.

My God, how right he was.

…………………………..

 

8th Grade: How many can you name?

Who is that guy in the sexy sweatshirt?

My god

And Here….We….Go!

I’m pretty much done moving things over from the old site.

The stories I’ve wanted to save are now archived in the Stories section to the right.

From here on out you will most likely see new stuff. Occasionally I may remember something from the old site that I want to bring over but for the most part, I think I’m set.

Anyway…..

I encourage all you Losties out there to tune in to ABC tonight. They are broadcasting last years amazing 2 hour season finale. It’s a perfect way to catch up before next weeks 2 hours season five premiere!

I also encourage all you movie lovers to try and find the multiplexes this weekend. There are a lot of great films out there. Especially Slumdog Millionaire and Gran Torino.

Last but not least, I haven’t really done much, other than work, since New Years Eve, so if anyone is up for a beer or two this weekend, shoot me an e-mail or gimme a buzz.

And dats dat.

Sound FX: Sheriff Colin

MY Top 10 Films of 2008

10. MILK– Sean Penn at the top of his game. Followed step by step by James Franco and Josh Brolin. Three Oscar worthy performances in the same movie get this film on my list.

9. ROLE MODELS – The funniest movie I saw this year. And that’s saying a lot in a year that brought great comedies like Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder and the underrated Step Brothers.

8. VALKYRIE – The scientologist pulled it off. Give him a compelling story with a great script and an excellent director, Brian Singer of X-Men fame, and Tom Cruise can still pull in a good performance. Though I couldn’t help giggle when Cruise emphatically screamed “Heil Hitler!”

7. WALL-E– Better than Finding Nemo. Nuff said.

6. APPALOOSA– I’m a sucker for a Western. Ed Harris is one of my favorite actors but Viggo Mortensen, aka, Aragorn from LOTR , steals the movie as Harris’ fast as lightening gun slinging partner.

5. THE DARK KNIGHT– You will never forget The Joker’s disappearing pencil trick. All I remember from this film is the mesmerizing scenes with Heath Ledger’s Joker. A stylish crime thriller where the good guy happens to be the Batman and the villain happens to be a demented clown. Sounds cheesy on paper but up on the big screen it was nearly perfect in its execution.

4. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON– Forrest Gump is one of my favorite films of all time. Think of Benjamin Button as Forrest’s older, wiser brother. Better looking, a little more depressing, but just as much fun to spend two and a half hours with.

3. THE WRESTLER– As a life long wrestling fan I’ve been waiting my whole life for a film to come along that actually “gets it” when it comes to the “sport”. Up to this point movies made about wrestling have been crap because the directors don’t get it. They play it as if the sport is real. As if the outcome is not pre-determined. The Wrestler (ahem) pulls no punches. You’re in the locker room as the wrestlers rehearse their matches. You see them popping the steroids. You see them having heart attacks because of all the damage they do to their body. If you are a wrestling fan you know that’s about as real as it gets when it comes to the world of professional wrestling. The movie is perfect because it’s not about the sport. It’s about a man who does the sport for a living: Randy “The Ram” Robinson, brilliantly played by Mickey Rourke in a career capping performance. When he tells his daughter he’s just a “used up piece of meat”, your heart breaks because Rourke’s performance up to that point leads you to believe that very thing.

2. GRAN TORINO– Clint Eastwood’s 4th Masterpiece of the last decade behind Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and Letters From Iwo-Jima. Eastwood plays a grizzled Korean War Veteran. He drinks, he’s a mean son of a bitch, he’s a racist and you love him! The movie is all things: Funny, moving and tragic.

1. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Watching this feel good story was the most fun I had at the theater this year. The simple story about a man from the slums who goes on India’s version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Not for riches, but to find his childhood sweetheart. The movie is told in flashbacks and while some scenes are so heartbreaking you can barely watch, you’ll be richly rewarded at the films conclusion. And by all means, don’t get up and leave as the closing credits role. Stay for the dancing.

Years of New Years Parties

New Years Eve, my favorite night of the year, is 2 days away!  It’s not just the partying I love.  It’s the energy, excitement, atmosphere, and closeness of friends that make this holiday so fun for me. Here’s a quick rundown of New Years past.  Chances are if you’re reading this you’ve been a part of at least one or all of them:

95: I remember sitting in Adam’s tiny bedroom about a week before New Years Eve.  There were probably 8 of us in the room.  I told them all that my mother was leaving for the weekend and I’d be home alone.  The big discussion was not whether or not to have a party, but what adult was gonna buy us the keg!  Besides the complete destruction of my mother’s house, what I recall most about ’95 was the Midnight countdown.  I was in the upstairs bathroom, throwing up.  I could hear everyone downstairs counting down from 10.  As everyone cheered at the stroke of midnight, I had but one thought…I was graduating in 5 months.

96: My mother was once again going away.  If 25 people were at my mom’s house the year before, then 60 were planning on coming this year.  The keg was ordered, excitement filled the air.  Except for one problem, my mother canceled her trip on New Years Eve day.  We spent the whole day trying to decide what to do.  Around 8o’clock Christine called us at Tai’s. Her parents were gone.  She was worried about the damage that could be done to her house after what happened to mine the year before…but under the pressure of 50 animals waiting to party, she caved.  The night started with Bub declaring “Everyone starts with 5 shots!!”  I recall an incident in the middle of the party, Christine’s older brother Anthony stopped by.  What a site he walked into.  Roughly 50 underage kids, drinking, dancing, smoking, playing cards, making out in bedrooms.  “Are you mad?” Christine asked.  Anthony’s New Years Eve Response: “It’s not my house.”

97:This year we decided to do a little traveling.  Our friend Larry Sullivan was housesitting down by the ocean in Clinton CT.  If you attended Litchfield High School between 93-96, chances are you attended one of Larry’s parties. They were legendary.  We were more than happy to travel the hour to party with Larry.  My most vivid memory from this party, My stupid friends jumping into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after midnight.  Talk about a sobering experience.

98: More traveling! This year we went to Bub’s apartment in Boston.  4 carloads of us made the pilgrimage.  Except for cooter who had to work until 10 back in Litchfield.  It was in this moment that the first ever New Years Eve Miracle occurred.  Cooter, along with his travel companion Krista, walked into Bub’s place just as the clock struck midnight.  Up until that second we didn’t think he was coming at all.  Rumor has it that he arrived to bub’s at 11 and waited outside till midnight to make a GRAND entrance, but that’s just a rumor.

99:This year kicked off the first in what would be a UCONN triple header.  We were celebrating at Jewett’s apartment.  My most vivid memory from this party: Adam, with his size 11 sneaker stepping on poor Keely’s head in the middle of the night as he tried to make it to the bathroom in the dark.  How startling was this for poor Keely?  Her response to being stepped on, “He’s killing me!”

2000( The Millennium): New Years 2K will always be my favorite New Years of them all.  And I really don’t know why.  I’d say about 30 of us crammed into Jewetts apartment again.  But something was different, maybe the energy level was higher because of Y2K.  It just seemed as everyone appreciated the company of friends so much.  I remember midnight like it was yesterday, we were rocking out to Prince’s 1999. ( duh ) As the countdown started I remember standing up on the couch and looking out into the sea of people in the living room.  Everyone was smiling, and hugging, and drinking, and counting.  As I glanced around the room I made eye contact with Jewett.  He smiled at me.  This was his party, and I didn’t remember the last time I had so much fun…eh, who am I kidding, we just drank alot more booze than usual that year….i wonder if Jewett ever found his keys?

2001:My favorite New Years, Y2K, was followed by my least favorite, 2001.  There was only a small group of us that ventured to Uconn.  Not at Jewett’s this year.  Instead we were at Carriage House.  Most people at the party I didn’t know, the music was too loud and too thugged out.  Maybe I was just expecting too much after 2000.  Who knows, I just know for the first time ever I was psyched to pass out early.

2002: This year was somewhat a return to form. For the first time since 96 we didn’t have to travel more than an hour to get to the party.  This year New Years was held at Cooter’s house on Highland lake in Winsted.  The group was once again big, and I believe the New Years Spirit that was lost the year before had been rediscovered.  At the stoke of midnight I put on U2’s Beautiful Day, which was very popular at the time.  Everyone sung and danced along.  New Years was back and I couldn’t of been more happy.

2003-2004( The Dark Years): For 2003, and 2004 New Years was held in Harwington at Cooter and Gruzzy’s place.  I’m lumping these 2 together because as far as I’m concerned it’s basically the same party repeated twice.  I honesty have memories from these parties but I can’t distinguish between the 2.  I remember being really sick for one of them. I remember gruzzy flipping out cuz someone had fallen asleep in his bed, I remember Adam passed out under a desk, but I don’t know where or when these instances occurred.  I have very vivid memories of every New Years except these 2.  I know I had fun, I know everyone came, but these parties just seemed more ordinary than a typical New Years bash. Eh, maybe it’s because I was strung out on Vicodin.

2005: The 10 year anniversary was held at the Jewett’s in Danbury.  Simply put, it was a good time.  I was disappointed that Bub was sick and couldn’t go, and that Tai couldn’t go cuz his scary girlfriend wouldn’t let him, but other than that I have no complaints.  Played a little beerpong, played some poker and some setback until the wee hours of the morning.  As much as I love cards I just feel I should’ve partied more this year.  I feel like I was a bit unsocial at this New Years.  Who knows, maybe it’s because I had nothing to say to Jewett’s boring teacher friends.

2006: Goddammit it’s time for a change!! I’ve always said I fear change, but like Keely always said to me, “Walt, you need to grow up!” This year for the first time in the history of New Years, we are going out.  No more house parties for us.  A group of 10 are venturing to Boston to explore the unknown, a New Years Eve on the town.  Thanks to Erin Peck.  Her college friends are renting out a bar, Mr Dooley’s right in the heart of Boston.  For $80 I can eat and drink all the Red Bull and Vodkas I want.  I’m a bit disappointed that all my friends can’t be there, but I’ve grown to accept that fact over the years.  Part of me is hoping that by doing something different on New Years Eve, maybe I can recapture a bit of that magic that disappeared after 2000.  Or maybe not, maybe it’ll never come back.  But I suppose that’s okey.  I suppose it’s the memories that are important.  Good times or Bad times, I can’t wait to make some new memories Saturday Night.  Happy New Year Everyone!!!

My Grandfather John

 My Grandfather John died 10 years ago today.  He died on a Friday, 3 days before what would of been his 72ND birthday.  In the years following his death, especially the holidays, it was very odd not having him around.  His empty seat at the dinner table was eerie.  But now, 10 years later, it seems more normal not having him with us.  Almost like it’s always been this way, and the man I knew for 18 years as “grampy” is just a surreal memory.

I know this is how it’s supposed to be.  Grandparents die.  I once had a college professor say, “If I had a nickel for every time someone told me a grandparent died, I could retire” I think I’ve actually used the excuse myself.  Not only to miss classes, but especially to miss work. I guess to most people grandparents are the ones who spoil you while you’re young and then become a burden to visit as you get older.  Trust me I know.  I kinda got that exact thing going on with my grandmother right now. But that’s another story.

I believe my childhood with grampy was a bit different than most. My grandfather voluntarily retired early so he could take care of my sister and I while our parents worked.  Instead of going to daycare or to a babysitter, everyday after school we’d go to grampys.  I didn’t know how special it was that he was doing it for us back then, I just figured all grandparents watched the kids.  Little did I know how unique our situation was.

My grandfather couldn’t cook so he’d take us to burger king for supper.  He wasn’t a big fan of cartoons so we’d spend the day watching Green Acres and All in the Family reruns.  Although I think he liked Scooby Doo.  He was old and couldn’t really “rough-house” with us, but I do recall him taking us to an indoor mini golf course on occasion and most often the local park.

I remember my grandfather always made jokes. Thinking back now, they were actually pretty lame, but I know he was just doing it to make his grand kids laugh. He loved to play games with us, whether it be hide and seek, bingo, or a number of card games like war, old maid, or go fish. 

Yes, I can honestly say in the years before my sister and I made friends with other kids, and got involved in school activities, grampy was our best friend.  I don’t think we took anything for granted. We simply assumed that this was the way all kids had it. I know my grandfather was happy just having us around.  Whether or not we truly appreciated it did not matter to him.

I remember when I left home at age 18 for college my grandfather had tears in his eyes.  His mind was going, and he no longer drove or left the house, but he was still able to realize that I was leaving and it meant he’d be seeing me less and less.

When I came home for my Christmas break, the man I once knew in childhood as my best friend was no longer there.  He was still alive, but he was so sick he couldn’t interact with the family.  He spent his days in bed and quite honestly I didn’t mind.  I felt bad for his condition and seeing him in that state was heartbreaking.

It was February 16th 1996.  It was the middle of the night.  I was sleeping soundly on the bottom bunk in my dorm room.  I remember feeling an odd sensation in my chest.  It wasn’t pain or discomfort.  I almost felt like there was a small balloon inside me, and it popped, and out came this odd little ball of energy that sorta numbed and warmed me.  The feeling lasted for about half a second.  Although it was brief it was noticeably unfamiliar.  As soon as this sensation was gone I heard a voice in my head that said “someones gone”  To this day I don’t know if I was dreaming or not.

I was awoken later that morning at 7:30 by the phone ringing.  I didn’t move.  The voicemail picked up.  Tai, my roommate at the time, got out of bed to go listen to the message.  I lay still in bed not letting him know whether I was awake or not. 2 minutes later I heard Tai walk up to my bed.  He stood there, I suppose not knowing what to say.  I turned over. “I should probably call home huh”  Tai looked a little bewildered by my comment, but he quietly said, “Yes”

It was no surprise what my mother told me, “Grampy died”  I felt numb, but I wasn’t in shock, and I didn’t cry.  I was sad grampy was gone, but I had a deeper sadness for my father.  My father had always been strong but I knew this was gonna be tough for him.  An hour later, after I showered, I called my sister.  “Are you okey?” I asked.  Her voice began to crack. “I’m fine…..I just feel bad for Dad.”

It started snowing by the time I was back home.  It snowed the whole weekend.  I didn’t tell anyone about my grandfather right away.  I guess you could say I was embarrassed to see people.  I didn’t like the idea of friends and loved ones hugging me and telling me how sorry they were.  It’s not the loss that bothered me it was the emotion and support from everyone that I couldn’t deal with. That’s what made me uneasy. I was afraid that’s what would make me cry.

My grandfather’s funeral was on a Monday morning.  The snow from the weekend had stopped.  It was a sunny day.  It was strange going to my grandfathers funeral on what would of been his 72nd birthday, but I guess that’s just how it works sometimes.

The wake and funeral were hard, especially seeing all my father’s co-workers, our neighbors on the street, and all the old men and women my grandfather grew up with.  Oddly, at the same time, it was a great sense of relief.  Adam and Tai came to the funeral and it felt good having them there.  My mother, who had been divorced from my dad for 15 years, was invited to sit with the family.

After the funeral everyone came back to our house.  People ate, drank coffee, and told stories about grampy.  The uncomfortable weight that had been in the house for the past 2 days was gone.  I left for college with Adam and Tai later in the day. I slept the whole way back…

There were some hard times down the road.  Holidays especially.  Or when my Grandmother would run into one of my grandfathers old friends and they’d start to reminisce. But eventually, like it’s supposed to, everything got easier.

  Now 10 years later, as I stated, it’s hard to remember “exactly” what it was like having grampy around.  Sometimes I dream about him.  The dreams are weird.  In the dreams he’s back from the dead.  I never dream of old times.  It’s always present day, and Grampy’s there, and as much as he tries to interact with me in the dream, I’m always telling him, “You’re not supposed to be here….You’re supposed to be dead”

So that’s it.  My first experience with death was tough.  But it’s tough for everyone.  I don’t think for one second me losing a grandparent is any different than anyone else losing someone.  But grandfather or not, old man or young, sick or healthy, weak minded or strong, I loved him.  I appreciate the sacrifices he made for me and my sister as we grew up. I don’t have to look back and worry about whether or not he knows that.  For some reason I just know he does…

Me and The Samples

I believe it was my third or fourth time seeing The Sampes.  I was attending the concert with Keely, Ericka and their roommate April.

We arrived at Toad’s Place about an hour before showtime.  We had a few drinks, looked around, checked out the display tables, basically we did nothing. 

It wasn’t long before we realized we hadn’t eaten any dinner.  Samples shows usually lasted 2 hours plus, and to go that long without dinner meant one of 2 things: We’d either end up really drunk or just really tired and cranky….or both I guess.

For some reason, since I was the one guy in the group, it was decided that I would leave Toad’s place and see if there was someplace close we could all grab a bite to eat.  I was somewhat against the whole idea.  I thought if we left the bar, went to a restaurant, sat down, ate, we’d miss the beginning of the show.  But none the less, I’d do the honorable thing and try and go find food for the women folk.

As soon as I stepped out onto the New Haven street I saw none other than Samples lead singer Sean Kelly.  Without hesitation I blurted out, “Hey Sean, can you play Nature?‘ ”  I said this for 2 reasons.  One, it was one of my favorite Samples songs and I’ve never heard them play it live.  And 2, it’s also one of Bub’s favorite songs, and he bumped into Sean outside a show and asked the same question: “Sean, will you play Nature!” Sean’s response to Bub, “Sorry, Nature’s dead man”  I always found that rather funny and I was eager to see if he’d say it to me.  No such luck.  Instead, Mr Kelly smiled politely, and said “Sure, we can do that for you” and with that he disappeared onto his tour bus which was parked right in front of Toad’s Place.

I continued on my mission to find us food.  Lucky for me about 3 doors down from Toads was a small little pizza joint with a sign on the window that said “Slices To Go” Perfect!  I went inside and ordered 4 slices.  This would solve all our problems.  It would save time, we wouldn’t risk missing any of the show and it would fill us up nicely. Little did I know this was about to cause much more problems than it would ever solve.

I carried the slices back down the street to the bar.  There staring me in the face was a sign on the door that I’d never noticed before: “Absolutely No Outside Food Or Beverage May Be Brought Inside” Shit.  I was a little frustrated.  However I figured I’d just sit outside and eat my Pizza and eventually one of the girls would come out and we’d eat.  And that’s exactly what I did.  It took me about 3 minutes to whoof down my slice.  But nobody came outside.  These were the days when cell phones weren’t owned by every living, breathing ,human being.  Only a select few had phones, we did not!

I considered just leaving the Pizzas outside and going inside to get the girls.  But I knew better than that.  If I left the 3 slices outside while I walked inside they might get eaten.  Or worse, spit on, or have a cigarette died out on them. But seriously, who was I kidding, even if nothing at all happened, Keely and Ericka would NEVER eat a pizza slice that had been left out in the streets of New Haven unattended. I wasn’t ballsy or drunk enough to ask some stranger to hold 3 slices for me.  No, I was lost, desperate, and getting frustrated because the clock was ticking.  You know what they say, Desperate times – Desperate measures!!

For some reason, I had the bright idea to “sneak” the pizza slices into Toad’s Place under my shirt.  The inside was dark and crowded, so I figured the girls could just eat the pizza slices and no one would be the wiser.  I tried for roughly 5 minutes to fit all 3 slices under my shirt without making it obvious that I was concealing something and more importantly without making a mess.  The more I tried, the more obvious it looked as though I was hiding something.  Finally, after many twists, turns, tucking, and un-tucking, I thought I’d done it.  I momentarily thought, if I get caught I’m getting kicked out of this show.  But I was determined NOT to get noticed.  Just as I was about to reach the doorway I felt a very sharp pain on my stomach.  Dammit! The cheese was burning me.  I couldn’t help but say, “ahhhhh”  This odd little display got the doorman’s attention.  We made eye contact.  ABORT MISSION!!  Fuck this!

Now I was pissed.  I had 3 slices of pizza in my hands, my stomach just got burnt, the show was about to start and the fucking girls weren’t coming outside.  In my frustration, I simply sat on the stoop next to Toads…and ate all 3 slices of Pizza.  At least I’d be full.  At least I’d have a good time!

I casually walked back inside.  I found the girls.  “What’d you find?” Keely asked.  “There’s nothing around here” I said matter of factly.  Keely looked at me strangely.  “Ah, don’t worry about it, we’ll just drink” Ericka said.  Keely and April simply shrugged their shoulders.  Before there could be any more discussion on the matter, I distracted them from their hunger pains by telling my story of meeting Sean Kelly and how he said he’d play “nature” for me.

Sure enough, The Samples opened the concert with Nature.  I’m sure it was already a planned part of the setlist, but it made me feel important. As far as I was concerned Sean added the song in at the last second because I said so!   For the next 2 hours we danced and sang along to a great show.  Then during the encore, everything changed…and took a turn for the worse.

The Samples have a simple stage set up.  It’s basically just 4 guys in a band, jamming.  Except for the video screen that’s put up behind the stage.  Through out the show, the video screen plays images of the band through the years.  Pictures and movies of them on tour, on the Tonight Show, partying with friends and family, and basically just having a good time.  But!… But!… During one of the last songs of the night, “Did You Ever Look So Nice”, they show images from that evenings show.

Members of the band have cameras with them, they take footage of the crowd before the show, and then the road crew takes video of fans during the show, finally, as The Samples perform, the tech guys edit all the footage together and play it for the audience during the bands last few songs of the night.

I felt like I had eaten a brick.  If I was drunk before, I was instantly sober now.  If I was having the best time of my life before, I was suddenly having the worst.  There up on screen was my whole “Pizza adventure” There I was, as plane as day, trying to stuff pizzas under my shirt, then trying to sneak them in the bar, and finally, there I was in front of 250 people stuffing my big fat face with 3 slices of pizza.

Someone on the Samples tour bus had filmed the whole fucking episode. I first glanced to my left and right.  Some people were laughing, some didn’t notice, which I guess was good.  But Keely, Ericka, and April, who were in front of me dancing when the song started, weren’t dancing any more.  They stood perfectly still, watching the screen, probably not believing what they were looking at.

Ericka spoke first: “There’s nothing around here huh?” Then Keely looked at me, obviously embarrassed to be standing next to me: “You’re and Ass”  They both turned back toward the music and continued dancing.  It was only April’s words that were somewhat comforting, “You’re on TV, that’s pretty cool.”  And then she continued her dancing.

We walked out of the show 20 minutes later.  As we spilled onto the cold New Haven streets, I kept thinking how stupid I must of looked up there, stuffing my face.  But the girls weren’t talking about it.  Instead they were recapping how good a show it was.  Cool I thought, No big deal. That was until someone bumped into me.  Some hippie dude.  We made eye contact.  He looked at me for a second and then spoke: “Hey, how was that pizza!” His group of friends began laughing.  I think I heard one of the girls in the group say “hey, that’s mean”  I glanced at Ericka, she rolled her eyes.  I glanced at Keely.  She had only one thing to say, and she’d said it before: “You’re and Ass!”

That’s true.  I was an ass.  A big selfish ass.  But at least I wasn’t hungry.