Do you ever miss school?

Yeah.... Chuck Jones was distinctive for his animation style, H&B/Quimby was for Scott Bradley's music and the sound effects...
Deitch's were distinctive for sucking...

 

I didn't like college that much, dropped out after getting a full-time sports writing job my sophomore year. High school, I enjoyed. Small school, about 400 kids in four grades, everyone knew everyone. Every graduating class varies, but mine tends to show up even now for things like the annual reunions, homecomings, special events. We had three-quarters of our class show up for our 25th reunion; the class behind mine had six people a year later. It's not like Springsteen's "Glory Days," just a bunch of fairly cool people who enjoy seeing each other semi-regularly. I live about 90 minutes away now and make it regularly; there are people who travel much farther than that. When I lived thousands of miles away I showed up sporadically, even fell out of touch for five or six years. The school's biggest dope dealer is a lawyer (but he was a really nice kid, basically performed a service by selling pot). The guy I thought was an enormous asshole turned out pretty cool. I enjoy being part of in small doses. For the 25th reunion my task was to find all the people the school couldn't find, and over the course of about six months I found all of them, although a few didn't want to be found, it turned out. At the reunion a guy was praising my diligence and I told him I'd make a great stalker.

There are schools like that. My father-in-law's high school class meets every year in a different city so a different alum can host.

 

Chuck Jones' cartoons are distinctive no matter who he drew. It's amazing how many beloved cartoon characters he produced.

I felt bad for him in his old age when he went on Conan and said some things that were kind of racist, I think Conan was pushing him on Speedy Gonzales, and he blurted out something like Speedy depicts the true Mexico or something. If it was a joke, it came off awkward and the whole rest of the interview had an edge to it.

 

Been out for 23 years now and still miss it more than anything. I own and live in a house on a lake with a jet ski and a pontoon boat and I still have dreams every now and then about moving back into the dorms. I'd trade it all to be 20 again and living in that college town.

So many of my best friends now are the friends I made in college -- people I'd do anything for. A few weeks back I left vacation two days early and drove 2 1/2 hours home just to attend the funreral of the mother of my best friend from college (and simply my best friend) just because I knew it was that important to him that I be there. He was a roomate in college and my roomate in an apartment for six years after college. The college life and my friends from college have enriched my life so much.

My nephew is a junior in college right now and I'd love to tell him to not worry about getting done with school and getting a job. You have all of your life to work, but you should have fun while you're young. I did, but I wish I did for a much longer period. If I had to say I had a fault when I was 20-25 it was that I was too responsible and not spontaneous enough.

 

I miss learning. I miss being part of a group where no one was burned out yet. I miss the camaraderie and the competition in the J-school. I miss feeling like what I was doing every day was building toward something better, rather than just getting in a rut of trying to get the paper out every day.

But the main reason I'd go back for more is because if I do not, the ability to own a house on a lake with a jet ski and a pontoon boat will likely elude me.

 

Not if you've already gotten that degree and gotten a job it won't. It ain't that much, my friend.

 

same here ... .same here.

Actually, there are a few things I do miss about college. The three primary things I don't miss are: classes, tests and papers.
If it had not been for classes, tests and papers, college would have been a near-perfect experience.

 

See, I always saw them as a challenge. And you'd always get a score to let you know how well you met the challenge. You don't get that now, except perhaps in contests that roll around once a year in January. I miss seeing that red "96" on top of something I turned in and got back and the excitement of when a big test has been graded and is being passed back out.

Probably a psychological flaw of mine - job well done isn't good enough unless I have outside verification that it was good enough.

 

Let's see would I trade days where I have to wake up hungover at 6am for days where I could wake up hungover at 10:30 for an 11am class? Uh, yeah...

And this thread calls to mind two of my favorite college slacker stories:

1) With a penchant for spending more of senior year exploring the virtues of "No Quarter" in a bong filled haze rather than spending time in class, I strolled into class one day, and the professor announces aloud, "I thought you dropped this class". Survived, barely, with a "D". 

Which brings to mind the grading system at the University of Illinois--it was on a 5 point scale, which means you actually scored a point for getting an F. What the F? And I ended me collegiate career with about a B average, which I proudly can tell everyone, I got a 4.0 in college....

2. Had a buddy who purchased his textbook the day before the final. Turned out to be wasted money. at least for that semester.

And if I went back to high school, I'd definitely score more trim now than I did then. But, only if I go back in time to the late 70s, pre-AIDS era as well, where the worst you face for bareback riding is a stinging case of the clap. Slow ride.....take it easy.....