16 Comments

I did not make it into the advanced track of math in 8th grade, or ever, despite my deep interest in those years in calculating baseball statistics and beginning to dabble in advanced metrics. My 8th grade math class is most memorable for the teacher-a man with a reputation for being mean teacher, but was really just a good educator with a tough edge. It didn't help that he had the unlikely name of Cornelius Church. Mr. Church had one endearing quirk. He had served in the Navy during WWII and loved boats. Our math classroom had a spectacular view of the bay and every now and then when a particularly beautiful ship or boat went by-we were about 2 miles from the bay itself, but on a hill with a good angle, Mr. Church would stop class and discuss the make, history, seaworthiness of the boat. Those boats could not sail by frequently enough.

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Wow! I’d never seen that HT mag. issue before. I wonder if Debbie and Genya fired one up outside CBGB as a little “toast” to that cover.

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Excellent column and relatable, as always. It cries out for a sequel, though—do you know what ever became of Mark and Eric?

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Alas, no idea on either. Eric had a pretty unusual last name, though - I might be able to find him on social media…

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Came here to ask the same thing.

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I moved to Chicago less than two months after this “incident,” and I didn’t keep in touch with either of them after I left. I did later hear from a friend who knew Eric in passing that he’d seen him getting pummeled by several guys on the handball court, presumably for finally going too far with his mouth, but that was about it.

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"Can you see the real me, teacher?"

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You've resurrected some memories with this one, Dan! I too despised eighth-grade geometry and did miserably in the course. My teacher randomly called us up to work proofs on the blackboard; I never understood the value of that work and wanted the floor to swallow me up.

Re the *High Times* cover, specifically the question atop it: as a former massage therapist, the answer is a qualified "yes!" It can be, if you find the person with the right touch for you.

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What’s wrong with me? I loved geometry. Obviously, it’s not for stoners and their acolytes.

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That interest/ talent clearly skipped a generation!

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A profound disappointment to a professional geometrician. But you have to live your own lives and allow me to live mine.

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Oh my God, now that's a way to end a post. Love it.

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I always regret, as a born and raised Detroiter, that somehow PFunk slipped by me. I blame the racial bifurcation when AOR formats came out on FM, right about my junior high years. So instead of getting a good taste of PFunk and Slave and others, I listened to good rock, then awful arena rock, then punk rock. But it sure was fun driving around at night, listening to the Electrifying Mojo, who told us of the coming of the Starship. "Run to the door, Detroit and neighboring cities, and flash your porchlights. If you are in the bathtub, stand at attention! Don't say Damn, say Whoa."

Any guesses who is on Mount Rushmore besides Debbie Harry?

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Looks to me like (L-R) Debbie, Genya, Chaka and Nancy...

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not familiar with Genya.

Man, a crazy time. High Times was pretty entertaining then. they used to have centerfolds. I put one on my wall that was a filthy old tenement sink, decorated with packages of old medicines that were full of cocaine and opium. A very nice photo.

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Far cooler than their "Bud of the Month" centerfolds in the 1980s, which I used to see everywhere in my college dorm...

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