Day 8, Part 2: Saturday, April 29th, 2006
Pomona College and Claremont, California
On Saturday, there is a host of alumni weekend activities to keep everyone busy, but most people spend their time just talking with friends they haven't seen in forever, or wandering around the campus, trying to remember what it used to look like. I'm a bit unusual among my classmates in that my family once lived in the town of Claremont for a few months in 1984, while my Dad studied at the School of Theology on the north end of town. That experience, in fact, was what inspired me to apply to Pomona at the end of my High School years. Early on Saturday afternoon, I take a break from the reunion and walk through the Village in search of the places I can still remember from 22 years ago.
Sycamore Elementary is where I used to go to school. I seem to recall there being a much bigger tree in the middle of the courtyard, but otherwise, everything's exactly the same.
Schools in southern California don't have proper hallways, so the doors behind each classroom just lead straight outside.
The playground behind the school is where I once made quite a name for myself, playing the game of dodgeball. I'm disappointed to find out, though, that there is no longer any sign of the courts we used to use to play the bizarre, baseball-like game of "Danish."
Across the street from the school is Memorial Park.
When my family first came to California on vacation in 1979, my brother and sister and I became fascinated by these crosswalk buttons.
People in Calfornia like to grow flowers in their backyard, I've noticed.
This is where my family and I used to live--the former home of theologian John Hick, for whatever that's worth. When we first got here in 1984, I played a game that involved rolling oranges down the driveway to see how far they could get before they rolled over any fallen leaves.
