Earl Golden, English Teacher, tall and thin, wore a trench coat which flapped in the wind as he walked. He was a beatnik at heart, and it was notable that his wife walked two steps behind him, - mouse of a woman. He was faculty sponsor of the school paper, WISP.
Mr Golden arranged for we, the WISP editors, to attend a school newspaper conference at Columbia University, NYC. I remember nothing of the workshops we attended.
I only remember two moments of that encounter with a larger reality than I had known up to that time.
Most memorable was dinner at the Punjab, an Asian Indian restaurant, loving the aromas and the strange tasting food, loving the chapatis and mung beans best.
Following that was a night at an off-Broadway theater, an impromptu comedy evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May. In one skit, which Mike and Elaine were on a park bench necking, his hand slowly creeping in to feel her breasts, she insisting he not do that with each attempt. I do believe it is the first time in my adolescence that I was able to laugh out loud while empathizing so painfully.
Mr. Golden's intent may have been for us to learn more about editing a newspaper, which we may have, but even more of a gift - he shared a new world of possibility for us to contemplate.
The old school house was never the same after that week in NYC.
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