1983 GHS Yearbook - Me (... as a private in the US Army)

This 1983 high school class yearbook sketch project got pretty grueling toward the end. But it was a great exercise. Now that I officially finished it you might be wondering... where is the artist? Well, the answer is, I never had my graduation photo taken for the yearbook.

I could pass this off by saying I didn't have a chance to get a photo because I joined the Army at age 17 (here's a sketch of my boot camp photo). While technically true, this isn't the whole truth. I could have had a graduation photo in the yearbook if I cared more. But I just didn't. I was a bit "anti-high-school-establishment" back then.. or at least against the "typical" expected high school participation in things, especially in regards to the the material stuff.

I never bought a class ring, never bought a graduation photo, I never participated on fund raisers, never joined band, choir, sports, debate, whatever... I never even went to prom or homecoming. I was in freshman football for about a month before I quit. I just didn't want to spend time (or my hard-earned cash) on any of these things.

Looking back, did I make a mistake? Well, not from the material side of things. I don't sit around wishing I had a class ring or a yearbook photo.

But I did pay a price from the social side of things. Because of my described attitude, I didn't interact too much with my fellow students. I had a couple close friends and I was really nice to everyone. In fact, I prided myself on being outside (above?) the typical "cliques" of high school. There wasn't anyone in my class I wouldn't talk to or joke around with. I wasn't exactly a severe introvert, but I also wasn't Mr. Popular. I was voted "Most Studious"by my class, probably for this reason.

Well, I guess this sketch exercise triggered a bit of soul searching, and maybe that's the point.

1983 GHS Yearbook - Z

1983 GHS Yearbook - W

1983 GHS Yearbook - T

1983 GHS Yearbook - S

John Mellencamp - Scarecrow

"Scarecrow" came out in the middle of my Army career (1985) and I'll always remember it in that context. I remember driving to Lake Belton outside of Fort Hood with a few squad mates on a (rare) free weekend. I had a generic 1980 Ford Fairmont with a cassette tape deck. This tape was a popular choice on the drive. The male/female ratio at Lake Belton was about 150 to 1, but we had fun anyway.

Favorites from this album included "Small Town" "Ain't that America (Little Pink Houses)", "Minutes to Memories", and "Lonely Ol' Night".

1983 GHS Yearbook - S