Carmelite Vocation Booklet, 1963

Rec room: ping pong was always popular, as were Devil Dogs and the new "Meet the Beatles" album that someone brought. One night, maybe before Christmas break, each class sang its class song. I was very nervous, having been "volunteered" by Fr. John Vianney Kelly, freshman prefect and the kind man who got me through many rough times, to compose the freshman song. It went as poorly as I'd expected, but it was another opportunity for Fr. John to show his kindness, so it was a good experience. (It saddened me to learn recently that Fr. John died in the 1980s. He would have been only about 48 years old -- I remember that he told me how he felt about turning 30 during my freshman year.)
Remember the nuns? When I was assigned to washing windows in the refectory, a young nun and I would talk. She taught me a few phrases in Italian. But a superior put an end to our friendship: one day she told me that she couldn't talk to me any more.
That reminds me of a similar experience: a freshman, I developed a friendship with a senior named Ray. Ray shared with me inspiring letters from Frater Dominic (who recently admitted having had a sexual relationship with a minor in the 1970s), then at Whitefriars, who wrote about the struggle for civil rights and justice. Of course, such inter-class "particular friendships" being "discouraged," Ray eventually was told to stop talking with me. But we corresponded in the summer, as I struggled with whether to return for sophomore year. (I didn't.) Later I lost contact with him, although the office at Hamilton sent me an old address. Ray, are you out there?
The pool: on my first visit to the pool, sophomores told me that they usually hazed first-timers by dunking them but that they would spare me. I don't know what that was about: maybe I looked terrified.