West High School - Shaheen Yearbook (Davenport, IA)

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street always has everything on his car worked on at the shop, Randy explains. The biggest thrill for me was be- ing able to say to him, 'You have somebody else do it for you, but look what I did. I did it all myself.' As Paula says, You've got to like trying to create things. You've got to like what you do, period. My car is a real expensive hobby, says Randy. Still, I know a lot of people who just blow their money, wasting it on booze and stuff. I saved mine and found something I really wanted to do with it. The distinctiveness, the utter weirdness of obsession may be the most appealing thing about it. No matter what, it's uniquely yours. Sure, people laugh when I tell them about it, john says. But on the other hand, how many people do you know who spend half their summer dressed up like an Indian, wearing war paint? That's what I like about it. 1 'Last year when I started track, says Trudy Arp, I knew there were no seniors in shot-put, and I wanted to do really good. She ended up at the state competitions. Her coaches says. Her endurance increased, last year. then encouraged her to start train- though, and she considers her ing at Nautilus. At first, I was really weight training a definite plus. I tired after I got done lifting, she feel confident I'llthrow farther than Feature 29

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All mine the piano. Dan, meanwhile is totally dedicated to magic. I con- sider it a part of my school- ing, equally important to my classes. In fact, I sometimes do it in class, which my teachers don't always appre- ciate. Besides practicing 3 to 4 hours daily, he also performs at Omni every Saturday and does numerous one-shots because playing for an au- dience is the best training you can get. To succeed in such com- petitive carrers, both Dan and Dave realize they must prepare themselves as much as possible in high school. And they must be perfec- tionists. Dan remembers that once he was unsatisifed with a slight of hand. By the time he was satisfied, he had prac- ticed it twelve hours. All this, Dan admits, gets in your way and makes you a little bit weird. lt can also make a guy lonely. You get occasional doubts, Dan says. You have these little bouts where you say, 'Why am I doing this? No one else is.' The solitary practice, though, is preparation for public performance - and it pays off. As Dave says, It real- ly satisfies me when I can entertain people, when I can make them happy. Even off-stage, peo- ple thrive on applause. Paula decorates cakes not for money but be- cause she enjoys doing something for close friends and family. I just like to see people when they get that big smile on their faces and they have something that they can say, 'Wow, look, someone cared enough to do something for me.' It's worth it to me to spend 3 or 4 hours baking a cake, just to see them hap- PY , The satisfactions can be even more personal. Trudy, Sheri, Randy, Paula all men- tion how confident they feel. If somebody can write a book on cake decorating, says Paula, but I can prove them better, then that just proves to me that anything I really want to try, I can do it I decided I wanted to try it is often the reason given for starting a hobby. Randy, for example, knew little about auto mechanics, but he was dissatisfied with his car's speed and decided to jump in and rework the en- gine. He improved it 'I00 !o, he feels. His satisfaction goes be- yond knowing he met a chal- lenge. This guy across the FX.:-...,., 'N'-5 0 A ' 0 9 .qi Surprising people delights aspiring something dumb, like a sleight of None of my friends are too sur- Things fIf YWaYf 50 fhel' ll-'Sf kind- Of magician Dan Gilpatrick. Every hand. I love watching their reac- prised when they find out I deco- think, Wfll, YIWCFES afmfhef thins once in a while, l'll walk upto some- tions. T219 Cake'-V' SGYS Paula wells. H5991 l She does! body I don't know and just do lay sod, and I do a lot of other odd 28 Feature

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Before Wade Steckel and escort Dawna Mericle Qand all other king candidates and escortsl could cross the bridge at the Aud, the whole processional had to be timed and rehearsed. Plastering posters in hallways, by drinking fountains, and over stair- ways is one way to get Gala on ev- eryone's mind. Senior Peggy Burge helps with the campaign. Gala 'l4fab-':- After being crowned king at the dance, senior Merle Delinger ex- presses his feelings about the honor and pays tribute to his fellow candi- dates. J,-'Lrl l I ' ,V, -2.2 W Q A we-V, rt, it mfh- nt I ,gil ' it li m 150 T jf 3 0 x' V, ' GAA 1 T W ..',w:'w'f'qi,f!5 !,f. ,Z 3721 i T t t , ,'r' 51 , ' t ag, 5 ,.k:, Q ' mf' 1' QQ V Mir! ,,,, ,. 7 'Q f 1 I ff' ii' , I. Ma ,. ,3:Q5Qfj 1ii.1'. ' .t wi if f is T ' . gf yvyy It r V fwluglu 1 ' EM H' M 'I f 4 Of, ml,,K,,,,.,A. 41.25 'if AUM ir Eg, ',,e ' il.. 'QS 1' mth ,f .,,,. A , i' ' ..,, ,t,, f i-' I' f fft- mymwfzf wp- fgfi' if .gh ' '.1-'f::sufmfff,,' -' at f'f,,1f1ffs,.m..1,, - ...well-e,,,, Before, After . And How much can you say about a school dance that lasts three hours one Satur- day night? That the decorations were nice? That a lot of people were there? And a good time was had by all? Come on! Actually, with GAA's an- nual Grand Gala event, the formal dance isn't the sole item on the Things to Do list. For GAA members, the fun already starts a month- and-a-half before, at the general meeting. At the top of the list: decide on the dance's theme, then have each member nominate two seniors for Gala king. From there, thirteen chairpersons from GAA as- sume most of the responsi- ll bility for putting the even together. It takes more tha three hours. Working even throughout Christmas vaca- tion, they have to prepare decorations, the biggest job, and attend to a hundre small details that don't see so small when they're all added together. Or when complications crop up When the mural for th dance is too long. When th stars that are supposed t hang from the ceiling ge hopelessly entangled in thei thread. When no one ca find the emcee's micro phone five minutes befor the Gala aud. Or simpl when all the chairperson must show up at 8:00 th morning of the dance t decorate the cafeteria.