Zach,

No need to apologize, I was laughing my "old" ... off when I read your post, I just had to come back with the "milk and cookies" bit.

LOL,
Cat

I have to say I was a junior or senior (so like 87 or 88 maybe) I think on the sad day that TPS forbade smoking on campus and hence the end of the smoke hole. I remember walking out that door right before the stairs up to the english wing on the way to the prefabs, and Mr Arrington's class and being so nervous to walk through all the cool smokers! How funny is that? After the smoke hole got closed down all the activity moved out to the back parking lot... where the new school is now. The first cig I ever tried was in front of the building with Katie Pearl on our lunch. Too timid to light up in the actual smoke hole!

Thanks Stephanie for clearing up the mystery/question for me as to when the smoke hole closed down.

There were many wonderful conversations going on in the smoke hole even if you weren't a smoker.

I would deem the smoke hole, the early Starbucks without the coffee, just the cigees!

Do you hear snapping fingers for applause??

We WERE groovy baby!

HI! How ya been?
What are you doing in England?

This is too funny. And probably two years too late!

I don't smoke. Never have. Well, week like twice prior to BTW. But never liked it at all.

My older brother Bryan, (class of 79) took me to introduce me to his buddies. I had no clue that the smoke hole was counter culture. I was as white bread as they come! I mean button-down shirts, and levi's.....I believe the phrase was "preppie"

Anyway, I was bound and determined to marry Gene Beckwith (which I eventually did) and that is where he was, so I was never too far away. I loved those guys!

Rhett gave me the best haircuts ever. Greg Rahal had the funniest dry jokes. Stege....So many fun, brilliant people.

Far and away, I just have to say, (bit off subject) that Erica Ripley was the most beautiful woman ever and I saw her a few years after high school and she still was...yet I was never jealous of her. She was just real.

Scary huh? And I am such a weiner. Now I feel all brave.

Dan,
I have to add a bit of dimension to your Rhett and Leon Harvey story. I believe that I am corect that that morning, as the dapper MR. Matthews was showing his groovy style (I knew him from Cascia Hall and wanted to have his children immediately, but I digress) anyway, I think that my brother, Bryan had taken Leon to shcool that morning and somehow tried to get out of our luxury family Pacer and yanked off the door handle inside. We had to jump through the window on the passenger side for a while to get in and although funny now, my mom wasn't so amused. My memory is coming back and I miss being a kid now. When did I hit the 40's? Wow!