Monday, June 2, 2025
Living in Paris,France from 1070-72 and there for the summer months and working at the American Embassy and also there for some holidays when not in school at Lawrenceville 1969-72. How Paris, France touched my soul and spirit and rubbed off at my whole at The Lawrenceville School myvRembrandt and Drawing in the Paris Metro the musician years and more
Sunday, June 1, 2025
Lawrenceville Prep School : My Bumble/Humble/Jumble Story Of Stories 1969-1972
No one has responded to this pist that I just cleaned up some and made easier to read tgst i wrote in 2010. Hard wirds and comments. Now in 2025 i reflect more and am more appreciative of my time there where I just tecently reconnected with Willy William Phipps and sm drlighted for that!
I have more to add and will do so soon.
Cheets, Anthony TONY Quinn Happy Sunday June 1st, 2025 at 9:07ammas i rise to walk our dog and have breakfast and watch " Meet the Press " with Kristen Welker in these most trying times when i do much politicsl word- writing in either acrylic black paint or markers! Tony
This was perhaps one of the biggest upsets ever in my life and though I
survive-thrived on my own wits and the assistance, care and help proffered from
a very few teachers and housemasters I feel that with time I have become more
bitter and cryptic and critical and judgemental than ever before as the years
have passed and I have been able to finally digest much of the gristle and the
grind and the rind of many things that could have been and should probably have
been - different, somehow - and with the aid and assistance of many others. But
alas, Lawrenceville was about the Alpha A and the over-achievers and about the
glitter and the surface and the prestige and the history and the glory of days
passed and of new and old money and clout from them both and perhaps more about
the " outer-wrappings " and the " look at how grand we are ?!? Don't you
agree?!? " mentality. It was less about each and every individual than it should
have been. It was much less about developing each individual as he could and
would probably liked help in discovering about himself with the aid of others
older and more experienced? Harsh word , I know. I have even harsher words back
then for the one guidance counselor that I believe to this day did nothing at
all to encourage me to do better and to assist me in making some of the better
choices to have done better with the help of an established and supposedly
glorious old prep school steeped in tradition and power and position and clout
and prestige and all the other outer-wrappings that help to elevate and to
promote and to help with the sticky issues and considerations of " all that
promise out there " that may or may not be any or all of ours?!? What was his
name : the blasted name of my guidance counselor back then?!? Best that I have
forgotten it. I did babysit for his children back then. He did know me : he did
avail himself of my humble services back then. Was it an even exchange : his for
mine? Who ultimately did better in the end? I did : that's simple and true : I
did better. But I did it on my own without any real help from him. At least this
is my firm conviction to this day. I may be wrong : I would like to be wrong. I
would like to think it was me being head strung and not wanting to listen - not
wanting any help? There, in the middle of the New Jersey countryside in the
little village of Lawrenceville down the road from Princeton and not far from
Trenton? My family away overseas and me there on my own with a couple of good
friends in Dave and Roy and with the kind regard of Mr Robbins and Jack Garver
and perhaps my Spanish teacher, too as well as Dr. Deihl in Science that when
one said " well " in a sentence he smiled immediately and paused, reflected and
immediately responded : Well, are you inquiring about my health? I don't believe
so? Well? Meaning water or oil? Is that it? " and he would be off on an
exploration of the many meanings of the word " well " such as one would never
again use it in his classroom! I loved that. Truth be told, I liked many things
about Lawrenceville and have written as story about it that I will add here
really soon. And before I close I want to say thanks to Jack Garver - ode to and
homage to art and all things artistic, thank you for being there to help me
along in my wonder/my wander/ my lust - my always trust in art and artistic
expression. To Mr. Robbins ( classics as well as an extensive wall of classical
lps - remember those? I am listening to one now : the Youngblood's " Elephant
Mountain " and the song " Darkness Darkness " : " darkness darkness, be my
pillow, take my head and let me sleep, in the coolness of your shadow ...cover
me with the endless night ... be my blanket, take away my ... emptiness of right
now, now, now , now emptiness of dark, emptiness, emptiness oh yeah, OH YEAH ,
oh yeah ..." To which I might add : the emptiness-loneliness of Lawrenceville in
so many great, youthful, promise of bloom and flowering of youthful enrichment
and expression and directed/focused direction ... I do love that song. And to
think that it was my grandmother that first made me aware of the Youngbloods? Go
figure? Not everything is learned within the confines ( poor choice of word here
? ) of a classroom that may and often is confining?!? But I am running away here
from those that I want to thank. Mr Robbins, you always had a lovely glint and
spark-sparkle in your eyes. I liked that : it was like a kindness, like a haven,
a harbor, an oasis and I thank you for that. I thank you for the opening of your
living room and your music and the listening as we both spoke of ourselves. I
don't think I felt any more welcome anywhere at Lawrenceville as I did there on
the third floor of the Upper House. For you and Mr. Garver I hold the biggest
gratitude and I just want to say that even after all these years I have not
forgotten any of it. Thanks again. For my fellow students I say " hello " and "
thanks " to Roy foremost ( where are you now Roy?!? Gosh, how we did smile and
laugh and go on like crazy hyenas there on the third floor of the Upper House
together! ); Dave, Paul ( my last roommate that made me realize that it was
important/essential to compartmentalize things and move along - be
less-sensitive - grow a thick skin, not care as much ... )... and there are
others, too .. I will start to include the story I wrote soon. Cheers and Happy
New Year 2010! In parting I also want to say that I am glad that Lawrenceville
is finally coed as I think it must certainly foster a better situation than the
one that I lived in for three years where girls were not an integral part of our
daily lives and thus their images distorted and our situation a lot / a bit more
primal-animal and brute. Is there anything more attractive in young men than
animal-brute-immaturity that thus became mostly directed at one another when we
perhaps could have benefited from a bit more nurturing and less wicked/savage
ugliness and so many childish unkindness?!? But then who was I then / who am I
now to have all these comments and opinions? So many contrary to showing
Lawrenceville back then in a glowing/attractive light? In response I may only
say that it is simply my own humble opinion and one that I feel no hesitation
now after all these years releasing into cyberspace to be attacked, ignored,
reviled, saluted, cheered - whichever - bring it on ... TONY
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