It was almost over 20 years ago today...

I graduated from the Columbus Alternative High School (CAHS)

It was a city-wide high school drawing attendance from all corners of the Columbus Public School district which at that time had around 80,000 students.

My high school experiences were probably no different than most they we did have a few quirks at CAHS

# No regular classes on Wednesdays. Instead we had Co-Curricular day which allowed us to have internships at various government agencies, the Ohio State University or any business that would sponsor us. One of my friends got an internship at a record store on campus. My internships were usually involving computers so there was some educational aspect to them.

# No sports teams. If you wanted to play sports you had to do that at your "home" school. I knew few people who did that as our school did not attract many athletic types and transportation to and from schools would be problematic.

Cryin' Joe Ryan

I don't know why I recall this suddenly today but I thought of some old elementary school memories from Westgate School.

We had a real large school yard, most of it grass. We'd play all sorts of games out there, most of them I can't recall. We did have some games of touch football that would devolve into tackle if none of the teachers were around.

One kid I'll always remember was Joe Ryan. He was one of the shorter kids at school, had a huge mole about 1 inch west of his lip and usually wore a winter hat regardless of the weather. No matter what game we played by the end of recess Joe would be in tears complaining that someone had cheated him or hurt him on the field. Next the teachers would get involved and whatever game we had played would be banned indefinitely.

About 5 years later in high school my friend Quinton and I would toss the frisbee back in forth in my side yard after shoool. It was a favorite after school past time and all the events, tragedies and comedies of the day would be hashed out between throws. One day our "primary" frisbee got stuck in a huge pine tree and I had to head back into the garage to retrieve an older frisbee I had stuck in the box long ago. I pulled out the faded red disc tattered along the edges and pitched back out to my friend.

After a few rounds of back and forth my friend asked me "Who is Joe Ryan?". He tossed the frisbee back to me and flipped it over. On the back in indelible magic marker was printed "Joe Ryan". I hadn't thought about him in years. I have no idea how I came into posession of his frisbee, I don't think he'd ever been to my house. I hadn't seem him since elementary school and had no idea where he'd gone.

I just hoped he wouldn't be upset with me if he knew I had his frisbee.

people moving

My Mom is moving to Westminster Terrace in Columbus next week. We are heading there this weekend to pick up some furniture.

In the yard next door to us is a large construction dumpster. Apparently renovations are under way. Last night I could hear a !clunk! about every two minutes or so. According to Michael down the street the house needs a new roof and a multitude of other improvements.