(Remarks by Lewis Sussman at the Lawrence High School Class of '59 Reunion
Marriott Hotel, Uniondale, NY October 10, 1999)
Most dictionaries define the word 'nostalgia' as 'a fond recollection of
the past.' But in reality, the word comes from two Greek roots: 'nostos,'
meaning 'return' and 'algia' meaning 'pain.' So the more accurate meaning
of the modern word is actually 'pain of the return.'
And let's be frank-for many of us here tonight there are parts of our high
school years that are very 'painful' to 'return'
to.
--We were socially inept; we didn't fit in, we had a hard time dating, we
often felt rejected socially.
--We had problems at home, often with our parents.
--We didn't have enough money for stylish clothes, or a car.
--We didn't like high school and didn't do well academically.
--We had no idea of what we were going to do with our lives after school.
--We had pimples that would magically appear on our faces just before a
Saturday night date (thank God for Clearasil!)
If I asked for a show of hands of those who suffered from one or more of
the above, there would probably be a 100% response.
So why are well over a 100 of us here, about a third of our class? Are we
really masochists?
Mainly, we are here because we formed some great friendships and are
curious to see people whom we have lost track of over the years. There was
something about our experience that, after all, was pleasant-or we wouldn't
be here. Let's see what at was, paying attention to the times, the place,
and the people.
The Times
--We went to high school in the late 1950's-during the Eisenhower
Presidency-a time marked by peace and prosperity
--This was a time between wars: WWII ended in 1945, the Korean war in 1953;
Viet Nam didn't heat up for America until 1965
--We were the babies of 1941-just before and at the
beginning of WW II.
--This was the war won by the 'great generation,' as Tom Brokaw called it:
they won the war against fascism and they won the battle against the great
depression
During the 1950's our parents were striving to put their lives in order
after these events:
--they focused on making a good living
--they desired a safe, secure home in the suburbs, in safe, secure communities
--the wanted us to have better lives and opportunities than they had
--they upheld middle class values of hard work and
conventional morality
Our favorite TV shows reflected these values: 'Ozzie & Harriet,' and
especially 'Father Knows Best.'
Popular music just before we entered high school in 1955 was dull,
lifeless, and trite, and was not aimed at our concerns as teenagers: just
remember some typical examples of this nonsense: ''Come On to My House,'
'How Much is That Doggie in the Window,' 'Oh My Pa-Pa.' We rejected this
terrible music and turned to Rock 'n Roll, which was largely inspired by
black gospel, soul, and blues music.
The songs had a strong beat, and the lyrics addressed our concerns as
teenagers: dancing, love, dating, and cars: remember such classics as
"'Rock Around the Clock,' 'Earth Angel,' 'Silhouettes,' 'Heartbreak Hotel,'
and 'Teen Angel.'
This was our music; our parents hated and feared it; the loathed the
singers (Elvis, Little Richard). This undoubtedly made us like the music
more. If teenagers' music doesn't annoy their parents, then what use is
it? How many of you in the audience like rap music?
Rock 'n Roll marked a great generational change:
--a questioning of our parents' conventional value system
--a rebellion against suburban conformity
--a rejection of their preoccupation with conventional careers,
possessions, and money
--a growing concern with our own emotional needs for more than just possessions
--we wanted freer, more adventurous lives, w/o the restrictions our parents
imposed on us
This was reflected not just in music but in the icon movie of our
generation in 1955, our freshman year at Lawrence: James Dean's portrayal
of a troubled and rebellious teenager in 'Rebel Without
a Cause.'
We were the last graduating class of the 1950's, and were at the very
beginning of a vast generational change which peaked in the 1960's and
1970's
Our ''rebellion' was pretty small scale compared with what come later,
although we certainly did sample the forbidden delights of the new counter
culture:
We experimented with drugs and casual sex; some 'dropped out' for a while,
living abroad or in communes; some grew long hair and beards, wore weird
clothes; some of us were even at Woodstock.
Many of us tried to find ourselves, and rejected the traditional
educational and career patterns that our parents
wanted for us.
The Place:
Lawrence, Cedarhurst, and Inwood were typical suburban communities of the
1950's.
There were vibrant downtown areas with small independent stores and
restaurants; there were no chainstores, and no discount stores; people
working in the store knew you and you knew them-they were neighbors and
parents of your friends, not just anonymous shopkeepers.
--For pizza, we went to Cairo's, not Domino's
--For hamburgers, we went to the Town Diner, not MacDonald's
--For clothes, to Jack Marcus & the Jerri Shop, not the Gap or a big dept.
store in a plastic, antiseptic mall
--For gas, to Dave Freifeld's Sinclair Station on Central Avenue, not a
faceless, automated, credit card eating Mobil pump
--For booze, we went to Fury's, not TGI Friday's.
Most of us lived in private homes with some land-this was a strong
rejection of urban living in large apartment buildings, though many of our
parents came from New York City, and many continued
to work there.
But for most of us, New York City was a strange and relatively unfamiliar
place, although especially in our senior year, some of us began to visit
Greenwich Village and sample the 'beat' life there.
Basically we lived in small town America, in a safe suburban community
similar to the one portrayed in 'Father Knows Best.'
It was compact: we could easily walk, bicycle, or use good public transport
to get around. It was even safe to hitch hike to Atlantic Beach in the
summer.
But of course the great day was our 16th birthday when we could legally
drive, or drive our parents nuts to give us the ultimate teen age
possession, our own car to park in the LHS lot, under the able direction of
Johnny Mollo, who swung his bat menacingly when we didn't line up our cars
properly.
The People:
Our parents were mostly the children of immigrants from southern and
central Europe, except for the African-Americans who were the children and
grandchildren of another immigration wave from the American South, to
escape poverty and racism.
Our parents wanted us to enjoy the advantages they did not enjoy: most saw
education as the key. Lawrence High School was the means to learn a good
trade through its very good vocational program, or to go on to college in
its academic program.
Lawrence High School was a majestic structure of 1930's architecture-it was
used on an album cover years ago for a collection of Rock 'n Roll hits. It
looked like and was the archetype of the typical
high school.
Its faculty were heart of the school; Lawrence attracted some excellent
teachers-a few even had Ph.D.'s, almost all the others had M.A. degrees.
These degrees came from first rate universities: Harvard, Columbia,
Cornell, New York University, Boston University,
Penn state, and Syracuse.
For many of us, some of these teachers were the most important influences
on our lives. It might be worthwhile for each of us to think for a moment
who these were:
In my case I remember these:
-- Mabel Leavitt was my Latin teacher, and taught me what I teach today.
From her I also learned the basics of language and how to apply rigorous
mental discipline.
--Gabe Uhlar taught me to think critically about history and politics-both
of which became a lifelong interest
--Jack Martilotta, our football coach, taught me physical discipline, and
also that you can do anything you want to do, if you work hard enough. He
also richly improved my vocabulary (but in ways never imagined by Miss
Leavitt!).
Students:
As students we shared a great deal of our lives together--many of us went
to the same public schools and high school together. These were small
schools in comparison to what one sees now. There was a certain stability
and intimacy created from this small size which helped develop the spirit
and friendships in evidence here tonight.
--Many of came from long distances to be here tonight: for example, from
Israel, California, Florida, and Maryland.
--Many have kept up with each other over the years.
--Many, through this reunion, the web site, and the magic of e-mail, have
resumed and renewed old friendships.
So, I hope that for the rest of the evening, 'nostalgia' will indeed mean
'fond recollections of the past' as you talk once more to old friends, and
that you suffer no 'pain of the return.'
#######################
Lewis A. Sussman
PO Box 117435
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7435
Fax: 352-846-0297
Tel. 352-392-2075 ext. 268
e-mail: Sussman@classics.ufl.edu
sussman@ufl.edu
http://web.classics.ufl.edu