Saturday, November 30, 2002
Home! I never thought home could be so sweet. I've been chillin' like crazy, hearing everyone sound SO excited telling their stories of school and acting like they were never away. Like we all still prefer each other over anything else.
Yesterday was busy. So, in a few short quotes, here was my day:
Roger: "I'm kind of an alcoholic..."
Cammy: "What's 45 minutes late...crap my mom's going to yell at me!"
Kate: "Didn't I ask for a small slice? Do they make boxes for pie?"
Nora: "So, where's the cripple?"
Gabe's dad: "lying on his back in bed."
Al: "haha, he's a cripple..."
Danny G: "How can you wage war on a kind of war?"
Seth: "You know what makes you sexier than Mona? When you're driving me home."
Dan: "I've never had Chipotle before."
Gabe: "I can't find my crip sock!"
Nora: "Look at Hobble McCrip go!"
Michael Moore: "Don't you think it's a bit unsafe to hand out guns at a bank?"
Erik: "What is that?"
Al: "Gopher tomb."
2:31 PM
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Tuesday, November 26, 2002
Playing in the snow snow snow!!! You know I love the snow, but if it delays my flight tomorrow I'm going to be so pissed.....
Drew got mad at me in class this afternoon 'cause I didn't bake him cookies. I bought the cookie dough last night but there was really no way in hell I was going to stay up all night when I had a math test this morning to bake them. Oh Drew.... Class was fun, though. Sarahtolf and Josh stopped in for about 5 minutes to hand in papers so I got my hugs. Things with Sarahtolf kind of exploded recently, and I've been worried, but she says she's better now. I'm happy. And Josh gave me good hugs. <3 I really can't handle it on so many levels....
Oh boy. And then it started snowing!!!! Suhail told us that his hall was going to have some crazy sledding at 10, so we were outside at 10 with our 'sleds' and they weren't there, so I attacked Sam and Nancy and Mona and Anna for about an hour. Dear lord I've never been so happy acting like a 4 year old. Sam beat me up on so many occasions it's kind of sad. And when I tried giving him a hug, Mona would sneak up and throw shit at us. And we yelled at her for breaking the Evanston-bond. And it was perfect.
11:26 PM
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Monday, November 25, 2002
I'm the O:-)
Which smiley are you?
12:09 AM
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I'm a Martini, discover your ALcoHoLiC personality!
12:00 AM
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Saturday, November 23, 2002
Alec's away message: It is my carefully considered and weighed opinion, that you can all go fuck yourselves. Really, I mean that. All of you. ALL OF YOU.
It really doesn't get less funny.
9:04 PM
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Why are the days so short? It feels like I've been doing EVERYTHING and like it's been forever since I've been here, but there's still so much left. It's kind of nuts.
I had a talk with Josh the other night. Sam wasn't home and I didn't feel like spending time on the 6th floor anymore so I went to Josh's room. We were chillin', not talking about anything specific, and then he asked me, "Why do you think I look like a leprochaun?" I must have turned BRIGHT red. I think my answer was, "it's the hair..." and he said, "but I'm not Irish!". So. The moral of the story is: Josh knows he's "the leprochaun" and I need a new code name for him. Damn.
6:41 PM
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Thursday, November 21, 2002
Who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea for Eleanor to bring a child into the world? Whoever it was got their wish, and sometime in the past week we have Sophia. I just really hope things are going to be okay. For both of them, and Jay, and Jackson, and .... just everyone.
12:01 AM
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Monday, November 18, 2002
We've decided: Anna and old Professor Muenter are meant for each other. About a week ago, Anna had a dream that a bunch of the Gates 6 girls were in a haunted house, and they were running around looking for a way out. Anna looked under a table, and there was Muenter staring her in the eye in his "I'm old and therefore mighty evil" way. She promptly woke up.
Around the same time, slightly later, I believe, Summer also had a dream. In hers, she was hanging out with Anna, and Muenter came up to Summer, put his hand on her shoulder, and looked her in the eye. While looking at her so forcefully, he said, "It's for her own good." and chased Anna for the rest of the dream.
Earlier today, Anna and Summer were in their room and Anna was looking on AOL search for some junior at the school. She searched under the e-mail address "ab003j@mail.rochester.edu" (I'm not sure she knows who that is), and the screen name she came up with was "Muenter01". Summer put him on her buddy list. We want Nancy to make a screen name "Muenter02" and IM him saying "I love Muenter too! Yay for chemistry!" It'd be funny.
So. Long story short: Anna and Muenter are drawn together by the stars. There's no way around it.
11:27 PM
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Is it mean that when Nancy and I went to go get Nancy some dinner, we bought him a box of Lucky Charms?
11:20 PM
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Sunday, November 17, 2002
"And we've almost figured out how we'll get along
And given time we'll find it strange to be alone and
You just forgot your one pet name for me
And all those promises you said you'd keep
And it's a lucky thing
Because that sentimental stuff
Doesn't suit you at all."
-They Might Be Giants, Pet Name.
I love it.
10:13 PM
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Michael: okay, byebye
Nora's away message: I'm masturbating! Go away!
Michael: whoa...that's intense
Actually I was in Summer's room 'cause I hadn't seen her all weekend. But it was funny anyway. Mona left me messages to keep it quiet.
2:48 PM
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quote of the weekend:
Mona: "How do you steal mashed potatos?"
2:46 PM
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Thursday, November 14, 2002
Saturday Will never Be the Same
The long-running rain-or-shine weekend game will go on, but there's a big gap in the lineup.
Author: Ben Joravsky Date: November 8, 2002
In the summer of 1974 or '75--no one's quite sure of the exact year--Jon Seidman organized a softball game at Bent Park, in the northwest corner of Evanston. He'd come home from college for the summer and was looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon. He called friends and friends of friends, and soon had enough guys to play.
They came back the next Saturday and the next. They played the following summer too, though they moved the game across town to Boltwood Park (now known as Crown Park), at the corner of Main and Dodge. One summer followed another, and almost 30 years later Seidman's friends are still playing softball, or football, on Saturday. "Yes, that's right--every Saturday, rain or shine," Seidman said in early October. "Even if there's a friggin' ice storm, I guarantee you someone will show up."
Many organized recreational leagues in and around Chicago have been going strong for years. But none of Seidman's friends know of another unofficial game--without rosters, uniforms, or referees--that's survived three decades. "They ought to give us a trophy for longevity," said Seidman. "A lot of the players are the same ones who started way back when."
Seidman wasn't sure why the games had lasted so long, though he figured it had something to do with the nature of the players. None of them was a star--few, if any, were fast or strong or coordinated enough to make their high school teams. Saturday afternoon was their shot at glory. "We're not great softball players, but we're good enough," says Bob Ruschman, a regular since sometime in the early 80s. "We play slow-pitch but without a high arc--just lob it in and take your swings."
Paul Thompson, another mainstay, says, "I came to Chicago from Oklahoma in about 1970 or 1971, and not long after that I met Jon. I was working at the warehouse at the old Northwestern University Press. Jon's mom was an editor there, and she got him a job for the summer. He told me about the game. We just started playing, and we never stopped."
Among the longtime regulars are John Jurney, Jerry Lange, Carl Olson, Wally Polinski, John Roegge, Bob Seifert, and Gabor Ujvary, as well as the brothers Joe and John Van Duzer and Mike, Rob, and Steve Cichowicz. "My wife and I had opened an interior design business, and we were doing a lot of work with Rob Cichowicz, who was working at a paint supply store in Wilmette," says Ruschman. "Rob and I started talking, and I mentioned that I really wanted to play. He said, 'Why don't you come out to our Saturday game?'"
Ruschman figures that over the years many dozens of players have been part of the game. "It's the kind of thing where a guy brings a friend, and then the friend stays after the guy who brought him has left," he says. "Then ten years pass, and the original guy shows up again, out of nowhere. The game's an institution. People know it's there." The games have never gone coed, and the guys don't bring their kids.
By the early 80s most of the players wanted to play something after the cold weather pushed them off the diamond, so they started a two-hand-touch football game. "We play one thing or the other year-round, no matter how cold it gets," says Rob Cichowicz. "The thing is that not all of the guys who play softball play football, and not all of the guys who play football play softball. There's always this debate at that ambiguous part of the year where we aren't quite sure if it's cold enough to officially switch sports. So we have a vote. I'm not making this up. The guys who lose are disappointed. But democracy rules."
There were always routines. Guys started showing up around 1 PM to stretch. Then two captains, usually Seidman and Thompson, picked teams. "In football there's not really much downtime to talk," says Cichowicz. "But in softball there's a lot of time to sit on the bench between at bats and just shoot the breeze. We'd talk about movies or sports, or you'd make fun of the guy who just batted. Guys don't talk about their jobs too much. I mean, it's a real mix of humanity. You've got blue-collar and white-collar. No one cares. I don't even know what most people do for a living."
If the group had a leader, it was Seidman. He was scrappy, quick, and coordinated. He played second or short, scooping up most grounders that came his way. At the plate he crouched low, slashing shots along the foul lines. "Jon always kept us loose," says Ruschman. "He was such a wise guy with his dry, sarcastic sense of humor. If you missed really bad he'd say something like, 'Nice swing--you must have practiced it.' He policed the games. He settled the disputes. A couple of the guys have been known to have tempers. All right, Thompson and I have had our share of arguments. But Jon was always the one who stepped in and said, 'Hey, take it easy,' or, 'Let it go.'"
Seidman--who married his college sweetheart, Amy, had two daughters, and bought a house in northwest Evanston--worked as a business consultant. His assignments frequently took him on the road, but he rarely missed a game.
"Our attitude is, come Saturday we're at the game," says Ruschman. "I can't really explain it. It's just something we can't miss. I remember after one game Jon had this sheepish look on his face, and he was talking really low, saying, 'I'm sorry, but I can't make
it next week. I have to be involved with Indian Princess with Nora.' That's this thing where dads and their daughters camp out. We got a big laugh out of that. I said, 'Jon, I'd take a bullet for my kids. But I don't think I'd miss Saturday softball for them.'"
By now most of the players are either pushing or past 50. Their hair has thinned, turned gray, or fallen out. Some limp about with banged-up knees or aching ankles. Yet few thought about the games ending, until one day almost two years ago, when Seidman learned he had pancreatic cancer. "By the time they had diagnosed it the cancer had spread to the liver," says Thompson. "They did some minor treatment, trying to retard the growth."
Seidman lived with the cancer as it slowly spread to other parts of his body. "He hardly missed any games," says Cichowicz. "At first it was a little uncomfortable--guys didn't know what to say. But Jon put us at ease. He never complained. He was just so humble, so selfless. He never talked about his problems. At the end his skin was yellow from the jaundice, but he never gave up. He went five for five in the last game he played. And I'm talking clean singles too--we weren't giving him anything."
Seidman played into August of this year, then had to stop. He made one last appearance in early September. "He was pretty sick then, very thin, and he only came to watch," says Ruschman. "He brought his dog, and he sat on the sidelines in this big foldout chair, and he threw out those classic-Jon derogatory comments about how we were playing. Saying something like, 'It's amazing that I'd be associated with people with so little talent.' Everybody was laughing, but it was hard not to cry."
Ruschman last saw Seidman about three weeks ago. "I went to his house for a visit, but it was kind of a monumental effort on his part to recognize who I was. I said, 'I'm already missing you, Jon. I don't know what we're going to do without you on Saturdays. I don't know who's gonna keep me and Thompson from killing each other.' When I said that, his face sort of lit up, and he gave me a great smile of recognition. Then he just faded away. He was there, but he wasn't there."
Seidman died on Sunday, October 27. His funeral was held at Beth Emet Synagogue in Evanston. More than 200 people attended, including about 20 of his Saturday friends. Among the five eulogists was Thompson. "I met Jonny 30 years ago, when he was 17," he said. "We were a strange match. He was a high school kid from Evanston, and I was a hippie from Oklahoma. When he played softball everyone wanted to be on Jon's team--he made you want to be his teammate. He'd get a big kick out of seeing all of his teammates sitting here in their ties and nice suits."
After the burial Seidman's teammates joined the other mourners at Amy Seidman's house, where they reminisced about countless games on countless Saturdays. They recalled Jon's batting stance--"butt way out"--and how he wiggled the bat before he swung. How he ran with a quick little step. How he flipped the football when he threw. How his endless wisecracks broke up their fights.
And they vowed to continue the Saturday games. "The games were Jon's creation--he's the one who started them. He's the one who brought us together," says Ruschman. "We're going to continue to play because, well, what else would we do?"
On November 2, three days after Seidman's funeral, they returned to the park to play football. It was a crisp autumn day, and they met on the soccer field in their ratty sweats and tattered T-shirts.
Before the game started Rob Cichowicz gathered them for a moment of silence. For a few seconds they stood in a circle, their heads down. The only sounds were the shrieks of children scampering along a nearby hill. Then they looked up, clapped their
hands, and ran onto the field.
8:49 PM
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Sometimes I just wish people would know when to pay attention to others. I need the quiet. If I don't want the harsh light on my face, I can turn that off. But it's also comforting to be in silence sometimes, and it makes me miss home. I want to be able to wrap myself in a cacoon of myself and empty space and not have to deal with anything. I don't want to be reminded where I am; I don't want to have to think about anything. The constant shreaks from the halls don't let me do that. People in and out of my room don't let me, either. The only time I get silence is in sleep, and they're loud then too. "I don't want to be lonely, I just want to be alone."
8:33 PM
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"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians and all those who make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine man in the bonds of Hell. "
--- St. Augustine
12:55 AM
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Wednesday, November 13, 2002
I haven't been here in a few days. I feel kind of bad. But, alas, this is what I've been up to lately. *stares blankly* yep. Writing a paper, hahaha.
11:19 PM
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Sunday, November 10, 2002
There we are: Nancy, Mary, Pilar, Summer and I sitting in Danforth eating some histarical dinner. Josh walks in, and I, of course, notice. Looking over, I say, "hey, look, there's Josh." Summer's taking a sip of her iced tea at the time, so she doesn't put down the glass, but she looks over and while she does a drop of it falls and lands on her pants. Since she was holding the glass upright the whole time she looked really confused. I saw the look on her face and started laughing. She got pissed 'cause I was laughing so hard, and Pilar asked what happened. Summer said "I don't know...I was just looking at Josh and my pants got wet."
I thought I was going to fall out of my chair from laughing so hard. It was the greatest thing she's ever said. By far.
6:21 PM
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I've become recently VERY addicted to this game. It's very upsetting and VERY addictive. Damn that killer combination....
12:18 AM
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Saturday, November 09, 2002
Mona's out of town for the weekend. I miss her. :-(
Last night was goofy. GOOFY! I think I was at home yesterday for about half an hour tops. After class I went to the Mel for lunch with the Gates 6 girls (Nancy, Summer, Sara, Pia, Laura, Anna), which means completely forgetting and NOT going to see my advisor to do my schedule...damn. I suck. Anyway, I went back up to Summer and Anna's room to watch movies with them and Nancy. Breakfast Club followed immediately by Saving Silverman. Quality, let me tell ya... Anyway. Summer left to take Pilar to the mall to get mittens, and Anna and Nancy went to the gym to work out, so I went back to my room and slept. So I guess I was there for a while....anyway.
Nancy came and woke me up around 7 asking if I wanted to watch The Majestic in Pilar's room and I said okay, so I brought some dinner over there. We left early to catch the 9:00 show of Dirty Dancing, and I think Summer and I were getting a bit too giddy...it was pretty fun. Then Pia, Anna, Pilar, and Sara decided they needed to go find a party and Summer and I didn't feel like joining them so we went to see if our buddy Ryan was home. He lives in Towers, which is down the road a bit, and Summer and I are retarded so we couldn't find his or Gery Guy's room and it was sad. Haha. So we went back to IM Ryan and ask where he lives, but ran into the girls and they somehow got the idea that we were going to Towers to party (most of the sorority/frat kids live there) and so they insisted on coming along. We found Ryan's room, but he was sleeping, and Anna woke him up by walking into his room yelling "RYAN?" and Summer and I felt really bad 'cause he doesn't know these chicks. So. We talked to him for a few minutes and then went back to sleep. Poor Ryan. The girls went off to the frat quad, Summer went to work (dork), and I went back to my room. Jamie came in and suggested we play Risk, and I was all up for it, so I got Josh and Summer to play. I got my ass kicked. It was sad. But incredibly worth it to spend time with Josh. He's just such a cool guy and I wish he saw it.
2:54 PM
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Friday, November 08, 2002
The best reason for going to class is getting silly quotes from the teachers. Here's the top ones for today:
Chemistry: *Muenter writes some numbers on the board, and some kid asks if he made a mistake* "That thing that looks like a seven is a three, and that thing that looks like a two is....also a three."
Math: "Math is like relationships: once you know the rules you can start messing around."
3:09 PM
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Wednesday, November 06, 2002
(iMike): i was just thinking of hiring a man to service my septic system
(maff): is that the classy way to say you want to get fucked in the ass?
12:51 AM
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Tuesday, November 05, 2002
Time for lists! Monie and I figure this'll extend over the next year (or two) we'll be living together, but right now it's only at two. That's right, it's: *drumroll please*
The List of Stupid Things Nora and Mona Have Done!!!
1. Okay. Let me set the scene. It's raining, a little after 9:00, and Mona and I are walking down to the pit for dinner. As usual, we're making fun of each other.
Nora: *mimicing Mona* "nerd nerd nerd, nerd nerd nerd nerd."
Mona: *mimicing Nora* "stupid stupid stupid, idiot idiot dumb stupid stupid."
This exhcange happens somewhere between 2 or 3 times. At some point, Josh walked by and we said hello. I think that broke the spell.
Nora: "I think that was the stupidest couple of minutes of our lives."
Mona: "Yeah...."
2. Mona and I put each other on our buddy lists on AIM 'cause we wanted to send each other links. This somehow backfired, and we, one day, spent about ten minutes in our room in complete silence talking to each other on AIM. It was....how do I put this lightly....retarded.
9:21 PM
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Alec: so, I think you should contribute to the "buy Alec an Enfield" fund
Nora: I think you should contribute to the "suck my dick" fund
Alec: if you had one, and the fund existed, I would.
Nora: aka the "buy nora a male prostitute" fund
Alec: ok...
Good to know that if I were a man, I'd be gettin' some.
5:15 PM
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Back at school. Things are good; everyone's been nice. I came back Saturday, and, of course, Saturday night Pat and Joshie and most of our hall got smashed. Mona and I had a drunk Pat and a drunk Josh in our room giving me beautiful drunk-hugs telling me how sorry they are that everything happened and that if I ever need them they're here for me. Somehow the repetition of the phrase "I'd say this sober" kind of took away from the effect, but I love them for it anyway.
It's just been nuts. As a reminder: if you're going to steal a couch from a lounge to discreetly take to Nancy's room, don't do it at 9:00 at night when everyone's awake and laugh hard enough to give yourself a headache for everyone to hear. Needless to say, we didn't make it. Makes me feel at home, though...I miss being so randomly rediculous. I haven't even had a swedish fish war yet! not one! Do you have any idea how crazy that is??
Anyway. I have loads upon loads of work to do, so maybe that should be done first. Or maybe I can take a nap and forget about it......raaah stupid stuff. All the time.
11:44 AM
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