Wesleyan University - Olla Podrida Yearbook (Middletown, CT)

Page 9 text:

The hrst time I ever went up to the roof of Judd Hall was late in the afternoon of the day Hurricane Gloria came through. That was the fall of 1985. It was frosh year. Later on, when the weather was cold, I went back up. I went at night, with some of my hallmates. It was exhilarating to look down to the river, and across it, all lit up. The Arrigoni bridge is lit. Parts of Route 9 are lit. And there are different lights all over the city of Middle- town. We had fun picking out the different buildings. A habit grew on us, and when the weather was clear, and not too cold, a group of us would climb to the top of Judd late at night, when we had finished studying for the eve- ning, or as a study break. We even took a few stray chairs up there with us, so we would have a place to sit as we surveyed the view. Some nights the building was all locked up. That was a letdown. One night we went up to the top of the Science Tower. We were higher up, but somehow the sights were not as won- derful. We only did that once. But we returned to Judd time after time. I remember one of my hallmates, who was from New York City, was surprised at how dark it was at night. He was excited about the fact that he could really see the stars. l am from the country, and the brightness of nighttime in Middletown still never fails to amaze me. My friends and I would have long talks on top of Judd Hall, bundled against the chill. There was something about the air up there, cold and clear that helped us think, made us feel. It was especially beautiful in the snow. It was up there that I realized that when it is cold enough, and clear enough, you can see be- yond the stars. by Alexandra McClennen

Page 11 text:

l was a little surprised that we really did play hide- and-seek. It was one of those things you talk about with your frosh hall, saying that it would be a great idea to try it. But there we were during Finals week, sitting on one of those purposeless wooden benches in the Science Center, setting the ground rules. It was a little before midnight e a perfect time for a hide- and-seek game. I teamed with my friend Tom, and at first we didn't have a clue where to hide. We tried the roam technique. We didn't hide anywhere. We just snuck around and ran like crazy when we heard footsteps. This approach was nerve-racking, although it made for great exercise. We both got paranoid after awhile, so we re- sorted to hiding in different places. We hid in unlit rooms and back hallways mostJy. Our favorite spot was a nicely furnished room on the fourth floor that had a conference table and a kitchen. Of course, we couldn't see much of the room tor use the kitchent because it was so dark. 80 we killed most of the time talking about our plans for the summer and reminiscing about the year. We also spent a lot of time peeking out the window of the door, which conveniently let us see the hallway but did not allow any outsiders to see into the office. Once, we saw a couple of our friends peer through the window when we were standing on the other side. Tom and I thought we were dead meat. But for some reason, mey didn't try to enter the room. Eventually a group that was it found us in our executive suite. There were some excellent hide- and-seekers in our midst. One group told us later that they hid in the telephone booths on the first floor. Another group hid in the lobby near the comer of Church and Pine. When we played our second game four months later, we were experienced hide-and-seekers. We knew to press all the buttons in the elevators so that the seekers couldn't figure out where we got off. We also learned to take roundabout ways to the hideouts, using the freight elevator and littIe-known stairwells. My partner for this game was Liz, my girlfriend. We mostly hid in the labyrinth of the basement, sticking with a hideaway until caught. We rarely got caught, which was fortunate because we weren't great seekers. The best place we hid was behind some big boxes near the loading dock. Once, we heard foot- steps far down the hall that slowly approached. We couldn't believe that someone was going to find us. We kept whispering that lit would turn around be- fore reaching us. But the footsteps kept getting louder . . . After what seemed like an hour, the person saw us e it was a janitor. He was shocked to see us there, and we have often wondered what he must have thought about seeing a male and female huddled together there on a weekend night looking sheepish. What a great date! It was a great spot, but we didn't hide there again. e by Neil Blicher