Its a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.

Tuesday, October 03, 2000

Its a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. – Albert Einstein.

A good example of this surfaces in class reunions. Of course there are exceptions.

Recently walking through the Austin High School hallway that displays championship teams and all-staters I realized our class isn’t represented. Perhaps it was reflected our senior year when the pep fests were canceled for lack of pep.

Sitting in the front row of the auditorium for a basketball game some students lit their Zippos when the Star-Spangled Banner came to an end thinking that was pretty clever.

If you notice today this practice has become commonplace at many concerts.

And speaking of forbearers, "RB," a friend who graduated from Pacelli this same year, later pioneered streaking at Mankato State College when he ran from Searing Center to the girls’ dorm and back in a driving rain.

Our Central High class is coming up on a reunion set for next July.

The planning committee is trying to figure a way to plug in those listening devices they use in churches to amplify the sound.

Following dinner some of us will then be able to hear what the master of ceremony is having to say.

And instead of having a dance band there’s talk of showing rebroadcasts of old "American Bandstand" shows with Frannie Gordianno and those great dancers from Philly plus pictures of classmates, mostly women, dancing at the Tower to pass around.

Recently an out-of-town classmate visited Austin, and I joined her and her extended family in a walk-through of the downtown bars.

She invited me out on the dance floor of Trader Vic’s and low and behold the ingrained "old Tower steps," our teen-age haunt, vanished like names of new people I meet.

I felt as awkward as when my sister first worked with me to learn the Lindy before going to a dance at the Shaw Gym.

Casey, our sixth-grader, attends dances regularly at the YMCA where dancing seems now less difficult – it sounds to me that they just jump straight up and down as fast as they can to Limp Bizkit.

Now, not all members of the class of MCMLXI favor the "American Bandstand" tapes. John Murphy and Lon Krueger, for example, want a mosh pit and are trying to hire Korn to play. If this happens we will certainly be breaking new ground at the country club dinner/dance.

The thinking about the dancing videos vs. the live music stems from two sources. First, the risk dancing to live music at our age; and second, at the last reunion five years ago many of the dancers were dozing off by 10 p.m. Some stayed up past 10 by guessing who recorded what songs from those golden years of the late ’50s and early ’60s.

One hit was "Rock and Roll Ruby" by the Saints – Austin’s own musical group. Their hit making its way to WDGY. "Sun Tan Legs" on the flip side didn’t fare so well.

Anyway, whether its watching dance videos or riding the mosh pit be sure to come and see if you can recognize anybody.

Next week, Richard Eberhart, one of Central High School’s – now known as Austin High School – own graduates, will be honored by having the media center named after him. Eberhart graduated from Austin in 1921 and in 1966 received the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. He recalls beginning his writing in Austin when he was 15. Eberhart is now 96

James Dickey, another poet, and Pulitzer prize-winning poet, describes Eberhart "as perhaps the greatest poet of our time." Quite a distinction to bestow on one of Austin’s own.

Eberhart’s daughter, Gretchen, and son, Dikkon, will be in Austin on his behalf and bringing a video of their father reading some of his poetry.

In Gretchen’s communication with the Austin Alumni Committee, she has expressed her desire to go for a canoe ride on the Cedar River while in Austin "because the Cedar River meant so much to my father." I hope we can oblige her.

Eberhart had the distinction not only of being a famous poet but of knowing many famous poets as well as being one of the first traditional poets to recognize the Beat Poets, who he also held in high regard.

There will be assembly at the high school to honor the renaming of the media center Thursday and a program Saturday morning at the library where the mayor will issue a proclamation.

Incidentally, he was also captain of the football team.