The Day Of My Life in Lawrence: Part 2
The Day Of My Life In Lawrence
Part 2
When I was a kid, I got the time and met new friends here in Lawrence.
Back in the day, I met a friend named Elizabeth Tally at the Children’s Center at 1000 Sunnyside Avenue in the University of Kansas.
I got the time to learn new things, play around with the video software, dance to the music of Greg and Steve, played outside on the playground, ate a sack lunch together, did some story time, and a got to watch a little Sesame Street.
Okay like one time when I was inside the children’s center and when we were about to watch a video presentation, the TV started the play Sesame Street’s 25th Birthday Celebration. It was way back here in 1993.
It was a musical event that happened long time ago. It was shelved in ‘93 until it was aired on public television in 1994. I wish that I could watch that special again and watch Big Bird and all their friends from Sesame Street sing along.
En Vogue was in it.
Queen Latifah was there.
Little Richard.
Maya Angelou.
Everyone else! Including the a cappella version of the Do Wop Hop.
The finale featured Ladysmith Black Mambazo. They’re famous for being featured on Paul Simon’s songs from the album Graceland.
Now let me see you FREEZE!
Now unfreeze!
My favorite part of coming here to the Haworth Hall and Stewart Children’s Center is laughing and learning, and playing outside on the playground. The “Big” Tooter sounded and it was time to go back inside. It was a great time for a preschool year. I’ll never forget the time I met Elizabeth Tally and Kurt Henning.
I even remember the time they took me to their house after I played around at the playground at the schoolyard. They guided me to the place in the basement, and Kurt and I played around with VideoToaster. I messed around with the digital video effects and overlays. It’s like when a different picture pops up, it begins to wipe to one another. It was interesting. And that one time, Kurt made a video for me to show to my family. In the beginning of the video, there’s were images popping up really faster, then it cuts to the scene where I was singing a Christmas song. Then the footage began with me and Liz playing around the schoolyard where no one is around. I played on the dome, pretended that I drove the fire truck, climbed on top of the tires, and went down the slide. My other part was the time I put gravel on the slide so I can make it sound like it was raining. Then, we got into Kurt and Liz’s house, went to the basement and I played around with VideoToaster with the radio on, I really enjoyed that keyboard with a built-in microphone. When I used it, it sounded like I’m an alien or a mouse talking quietly and calmly. Then the scene cuts to a montage of clips and a slideshow of photos featuring my family and me. The music had Hoodoo Gurus, The Pretenders, an instrumental by R.E.M., and a classical guitar rendition of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ originally from ‘The Wizard Of Oz’. Ah, the memories. I just wish that VideoToaster will come back so that I can use those effects again, test them out, and put them into video files so that I can use them for my video projects on my Mac. Let’s hope that it’ll come back eventually.
I can’t forget about the time I first went to school at Cordley. I’ve met Lois Orth-Lopes for the very first time and I officially started kindergarten. My favorite part of it was the time I saw a show called “The Letter People”. It was all “A, B, C, D, follow me!” and the puppets were alive on the telly. The letters were jamming, and telling stories, and they let us learn the letters of the alphabet. It was also that time when I got to see another slideshow made on videotape that had the effects from VideoToaster and music was beautiful sounding in pop. In the computer lab, I got to play around with some computer programs where I got to be creative. There was that time I got to play with Thinkin’ Things on the Mac and got myself mesmerized by the flying spheres and floating shapes.
Way back in Y2K, my family and I threw a dance party at my house. I invited all my friends from school and the teachers I knew. We played a lot of good music I love, danced to the Backstreet Boys, The Beach Boys, Britney Spears, Eiffel 65, and others. It was a blast to be. I even invited my friend Katie Altenbern. I remember when the power was out, my dad and the kids from school sang the song “All The Small Things” in the living room.
Back at Cordley in music class, we watched The Composers’ Specials on video. It was really inspiring and so vividly beautiful for schools. That was the time I learned about classical music, like that time at home, I listened to a little Mozart on cassette tape. I even got to watch The Sound of Music starring Julie Andrews. I really love the sound of her voice though. I also got the watch The Music Man too. The cast and the songs will incredible. Somehow, I wish I were in a musical. I can imagine that.
There’s also that time I learned about South America. In fact, the video presentation I did with me, Lois, and my buddy Kurt from Avalon Video titled “Countries Around The World”. This was when I talked Bolivia and Peru. I learned about the Andes mountains, the Aymara Quechua people, the crops and plants, and the culture living in there. I really love the music playing in that video. That kind of music was Inca Son. We had fun making that video and adding transitions after the credits.
One time, Sebastian taught me how to make music with the keyboard. He and I recorded music with the cassette tape recorder and a microphone. We also got the chance to make music for a homemade video project I came up with. It was “The Case of The Missing Clipboard” and we enjoyed making this video. Matthew Rogers was a hit in that scene. He was really funny though.
I can also remember that other time when my school and I did a play of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on the stage. My friends and I had a really really good time. Before that, I really enjoy P.E. with my fellow gym teacher Mr. Marshall. We got fit and active in the gym listening to Jock Jams, Pure 80s, the Macarena, Rednex, The Brady Bunch, and the Chicken Dance. My favorite part of the music playing during P.E. is the song by 2 Unlimited.
Another Cordley memory I can remember is art class with Mrs. Rose-Weston. I got to draw pictures, learned how to paint, learned about the artists and modern painters, and I even messed around with Kai’s Power Goo and made my face stretched out smiling on the screen. One of the paintings that I remember seeing hanging on the ceiling of the classroom is “I And The Village”. A couple that I remember are “Mona Lisa” by Da Vinci, and Grant Wood’s masterpiece “American Gothic”.
One simple note I forgot to mention. Right while my family and I were chatting with our art teacher, I looked at snapshots of Mona Lisa laughing. Yikes…
There’s also that time at the art room of Cordley that we got together and watched The Lion King. The best part of it was Hakuna Matata and when I can feel the love.
By the time I graduated from Cordley, we all got together for a really long show. And after that, I got together with my friends for a graduation party somewhere at my friend’s house. We all danced and had a lot of fun back in the day.
Then, I went to Central Junior High and got to meet Mrs. Davidson, Mrs. Martin, Ms. Cox, and others. I had science class, French class, Spanish class, P.E., band class, etc. Everyone was very friendly here just like the people at Cordley. The lockers were painted past the hallways and made into murals from famous artists. Picasso, Johannes Vermeer, Roy Lichtenstein, Vincent Van Gogh, others. I’ll never forget the time I watched Toy Story 2 here in the classroom. And that other time that I had too much homework to do. I couldn’t stand anymore of these crazy assignments that didn’t make sense. But it’s a good thing Stephanie helped me out with my educational problems. I think maybe homework sometimes can make e feel a little confused, but somehow maybe a little easy math problems helped me out a lot. I really remember meeting Mr. Savage at Central. He and I got together and read a few stories on book and tape, walked around the school together and talked, and do other things. But not the part when he kept tapping on my shoulder whenever I’m daydreaming during classes and interrupting me while I’m trying to talk to him about my problems. At least he did help me with my problems too, and when I got to read Dr. Seuss before class started or during break time. After school, I had wrestling practice one time also. Plus, I joined a whole lot of after school programs even at the library. I love hip hop club. I’ll never forget that school year.
After that, I went to high school here at Free State. It was that first time I got to meet Mr. Andrew and got together and learned plenty of stuff at the classroom.
I also met Ben Mugridge when I started Broadcast Media. We got together and made some good video projects, watched movies, and got to make special effects on green screen.
I also met Mrs. Norris, Val Russell, Kimberly Williams, and others too. I also got meet Julie Randtke. She and I listened to Jack Johnson once. I know one time that Mr. Andrew along with Ms. Norris and I went out to lunch together at Salty Iguana at Wakarusa. I also met Michelle Drucker once. I’ll never forget the time I made a homemade music video of Sweet Troubled Soul by Stellastarr, and guess what, everyone loved it! I also remember that one time my dad and I went to a Film festival in Lawrence once and tried to win an award for my video project ‘Don’t Just Sit There!’, but lost to ‘The Locker Room’. I know all the memories I had together at high school. We hung out at Mr. Andrew’s class, talked about some things, went to some trips downtown together, and went to many school jobs here to make money. My favorite parts of that was working inside the cafeteria, and working at the laundromat with Ms. Moore. The one thing I don’t like was when Alan Deaver kept stepping on foot for no reason, biting on my arm or whacking on it, throwing stuff in the air, mocking what I was chattering about, and of course kicking me on the leg. Ouch! Anyway, I really enjoyed going to school dances once. That was when I jammed out to the music and got down breakdancing. BOOM! After I graduated from Free State, I partied at Abe & Jake’s Landing. Then I went to C-Tran for two years and met a couple new paras. Jenny Rovel Jones, Mistie, Cody Calp, Eric Fitzmorris, Sally Morris, and Marcel “Speed Mack” Zachary. We learned about keeping track of my budget, ate lunch together, learn to cook food, did a little crafts, go to the movies, etc. I also learned a little something when I was at C-Tran. The moral of the lesson I learned after I graduated from C-Tran was to never blow all my money from my savings account and spend it on food and groceries. And not lose all my tokens or the quarters I held in my pocket.
And the rest of all this was history.
So to all of the teachers, my friends, and to all my paras from back home, thank you so much for helping me out with my problems, and for keeping track of my budget. Mr. Andrew, thank you for all the good times together. And thank you Lois for being a good role model for me and my family. Thanks Sebastian for making music with me. Let this last for a lifetime and many years to come.
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