Savage, Tom, and Mathdude in LaRocca's homeroom, Fall 1980.Hey, welcome fellow skateboarders! If you're not a skateboarder, get the hell out of here! Who invited you? Just kidding. My hope in starting this is to bring together my former "brothers in arms", the long hairs, and some not-so-long hairs, to reflect on times past, present, and future. This should be fun. I hope it's fun. First up: a little explanation.
Clem: Clement Aidone was the Assistant Vice Principal of our high school, James I. O'Neill HS. He was the decidedly "Bad Cop" in the Good Cop/Bad Cop thing he and Mr. Hughes, the principal, had going on. He had the most nasal voice you've ever heard, due to his huge schnoz, and he always called you "Mr. _____". You know the first Matrix movie, the fight scene at the end in the subway station when Smith spots Neo, takes off his glasses and says, "Mister Anderson!" - THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT CLEM WAS LIKE! If they had kept records for school administrators in those days, the dude would be in the Guinness Book of Records for most students suspended. Hell, he suspended me, yes even me, for 5 days! Every desk, every bathroom wall, and every bathroom stall had "CLEM SUX" etched into it. Once, someone even spray painted it on the front of the school in huge 6 foot letters. I don't think anyone really hated him though. It's not like he framed you for stuff or had a vendetta against anyone. He was just the MAN, man.
Ah, those were the days.
6 comments:
You nailed it with the Mr. Smith analogy. Clem suspended me at least twice... I didn't mind.
Thanks Chris!
mark wheeler (still rolling)
I got chills when I first saw that scene. I thought,"Holy crap - that was Clem!"
duuuuude, that's clem's voice. quick, put that shit out. got any gum?
Clem steered decidedly clear of me. A few years before I got there he tried to get Fred kicked out of the Honor Society for cutting class. My father ripped off one of his famous letters to Clem. Guess Clem didn't like what my old man had to say.
Once, in my last year, he called me in to his office for an offense that he just couldn't let go. He told me to shape up or whatever, but we both knew he was just going through the motions. I recieved no punishment.
Oddly enough, Clem was actually pretty cool with me. When Mr. Macurio flunked Allen Lee and I the 1st semester of typing even though we did all our assignments. The guy was a raging dickweed. Since we knew we weren't going to pass the class, we'd come in baked and sleep on our typewrites. Macurio wasn't going to stand for that, so he started sending us to the office. After the fourth day of that, Clem came into the office and asked why we were there again. I showed him my 1st semester's folder, and explained how meatball had flunked us and there was no hope to ever pass the guys class. Clem marched us back down to his classroom, and in front of the whole class, told Macurio esentially to knock this shit off. He even told him, "You might actaully want to teach these two guys some typing".
He suspended me a couple of times, but, whatever it was I'm sure I deserved it.
I am so happy you wrote me about this site Chris!! Pat, The only reason Clem left you alone was because he was scared that you were the devil! Ha Ha! Thanks to Clem I was suspended and still owed about 150 days of detention when I graduated. Unlike other people who feel they might have deserved it. I'm still pleading innocent!!Ha!Ha!
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