Pinson Valley High School - Chieftain Yearbook (Pinson, AL)

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Trains Almost everyone has experienced it. You ' re sitting down about to begin that all important test in Mrs. Hill ' s, Mr. Lilly ' s or Mr. Ward ' s room; when sud- denly, out of the misty darkness come the sounds of the big, grey, creature that lurks directly behind Pinson Valley; the Freight Train. Everyone syn- chronically looks up and realizes their fate. Five minutes with a roaring, shak- ing, and mind-shattering train. All teachers have realized by now that it ' s useless to try to compete with 110 cars of L N ' s loudest, empty box cars, so momentarily class is delayed. To the teachers delight and students agony, the caboose finally comes clat- tering by and everyone returns to tak- ing, though not passing, the ever-loved exam that sits before you. Though most students would prefer one train every three minutes (for the sake of delaying class), one every test-day is well appreciated as five more minutes are gained to cram one more morsel of information into your brain. The Halls The hallways of Pinson Valley High School are more than just corridors through which students get from one class to another. They are areas where conversations take place that can ' t be had during most classes. There are places where locker doors can con- stantly be heard opening and closing. They are also places where the caustrophobics can now have their worst fears realized. In between periods, the halls are completely jammed with people who feel lucky just to be able to move their feet and who constantly worry for their health should they fall down and get trampled. Still, there is a magic about the halls that is hard to realize for most people. After all, so much has happened in them over the years, events still remembered with fondness or com- pletely forgotten with time. There is an old phrase which states, If the walls could talk, there is so much they would say. At Pinson Valley, that saying is definitely true; our walls could prob- ably talk for the rest of eternity; and most likely, longer than that. 42 EVERYDAY

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Sleeping in Class It strikes first period just as your teacher begins to explain subject and verb agreement. It attacks and an un- suspecting person immediately falls prey. It is on teachers ten most hated list: it is sleep. No matter how hard one tries, (and how many cups of coffee one drinks), sleep will always catch up and win. Unfortunately, for students, this attack of the snoozies usually comes when the teacher is reviewing for the 200 point six weeks test that will be taken the following day. Once someone yields to the Nytol Syn- drome, he can never return and must stay in a state of semi-consciousness for at least 20 minutes. At the end of the all enjoyed period of rest, one finds himself hopelessly lost somewhere in the English zone. After realizing where he is, the student soon finds that the teacher is somewhat less compas- sionate than he thought she would be. But regardless of how mad the teacher is, the student knows that he now can think more clearly, but not unfor- tunately any better. Term Papers The word termpaper is one which means three weeks of frustration, anger, panic, and an entire array of other emotions. Most of these feelings though, are experienced on the night before the paper is due, because that IS when all the work is begun and fin- ished. All kidding aside, everyone does work hard during that time, searching for a topic, searching for books, and searching for the endurance to put some kind of effort into the paper. But as every student learns, there is . more to doing a term paper than just writing it up and turning it in to the teacher. An outline and note cards are also required before any work on the paper itself is ever begun. Most j students think these are assigned only so the teacher can make it harder on them to finish, and that term papers themselves are only required because the instructor dislikes the students. On the contrary, the outline and cards are I necessary to help the student write a better paper and the essay itself is needed to help the student prepare for college English classes. So no matter how much they are despised, term papers do exist for the future success of the student. 41

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The Great Wall In 1974, a group of art students decided to make their statement about the world, and the result was the lunchroom mural, a masterpiece and a symbol for the times. But the age of Aquarius, Vietnam, and Nixon are gone. Now, ten years later, it is the age of Computers and Reagonomics, and this year ' s art class decided to create their own mural, one that would repre- sent them. After the first semester ended, the lunchroom wall was whitewashed and work on the new masterpiece was begun. The Great Wallof Pinson, 1985. Coach Adams There is a commanding figure who stalks the lunchroom, keeping order and striking terror in the hearts of mor- tal men. By his speech, his style and the way he expresses his opinion, it could obviously be only one man: Coach Adams. Coach Adams does his best to make the lunchroom safe and orderly each day. He is normally a very pleasant man who is always willing to joke with the students, but should someone step out of line. Coach Adams shows his second personality; a crazed, cold- blooded killer. Once a troublemaker is disposed of, however, the man returns to his original state, and all is once again normal. Mr. Adams is truly one of the distinct personalities at Pinson Valley and no one should miss the opportunity of be- ing chewed out by him. His great sense of humor eventually shines through and makes him truly a valuable asset to PVHS. EVERYDAY 43