Ten years ago-June 24,1998-PVHS Graduation

Today marks the tenth anniversary of my high school graduation......and the "unofficial end" of the Journal. I had always thought the 1998 Pascack Valley High School graduation ceremony would be the last entry but t he different big events happened, and I had to write about them. Then I started this blog which is a bit more of a relaxed format. Now I could go into the different friendshipsI had and still have o-r write about the events that made my high school year memorable, but that's in the Journal and in my autobiography. Instead I wanted t o highlight my thoughts of THAT DAY, kind of a reflection piece so here is the one journal you'll ever see on Mattes's Madness. If there any 1998 PV alumni reading this entry, PLEASE COMMENT



June 26,1998




For the first time in along time I feel the urge to write! This has been a crazy couple of days that I won't soon forget. First of all, I finally got out of high school for good,that's a big accomplishment. One of the biggest moments of my life and it was flawless! Roaming around the ym just before the ceremony I must have sweated a gallon of water! It was so hot all of us were trying anything to keep cool, from stepping out of our gowns, to going to the water fountain for last gulps of water. Seeing the camera flash and people smiling as I walked down the aisle gave me some kind of power I thought I could never have until now. Maybe it was just the fact everything worked out ok with a lot of effort from two peoplpe that helped me every step of the way.
There was something a bit more special that helped, climbing those stairs by myself! It was exactly what I needed to do at the end of five long years. When the people clapped and cheered when I walked up on stage, it gave me a power that I never thought I could possess agin! Man it felt good getting up on that stage without help. The main thing is I can finally say I made my mark on Pascack Valley High School! A mark so strong that it was emphasized by each clap and cheer walking up the steps. I feel it was the greatest accomplishment since learning how to walk and opening my mouth up for the first time to talk!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hey Justin,

You probably don't remember me but I graduated with you ten years ago. Actually, I sat next to you on graduation day and helped you move your tassel on your cap. I followed after you as you received your diploma. I remember your cheers took the heat off of me being on stage. : ) Glad to read that you're doing well. That day sticks out in my memory very vividly.

Take care,
Elaina
12:50 AM
Anonymous said…
What I remember about that night was how calm and picturesque the weather was. It was a beautiful night filled with people all celebrating a major achievement. I'll always remember fondly the roars from the crowd when your name was called.
6:53 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One Contact - Five Lighthouses--W9C

Back in the summer I wrote an entry in here about my Lighthouse phone contact with Bill,N8ET , so now I had to top that with a five lighthouse PSK contact in Wisconsin! I was orginally going to wait until I got the card like my other contacts but I think at this stage of the game you can take my word for it. This contact was with a husband and wife team also known as "Team Cheese"--WI9TC (I love the callsign). Like the contact with Bill, they were in the line of sight of five lighthouses located on the Wisconsin shores of Lake Michigan. As soon as I saw them on the BeaconBot (the e-mail reflector used to notify people of lighthouse activations-) I knew I had to take my best shot. There were tons of stations dying to get a contact. Well after some monitoring of the waterfall and waiting for a break in the QSO's, I dropped my call. Unfortunately I was getting overpowered a lot so I actually wound up waiting for quite awhile. Although I have to admit it was also fun just ...
More Posts to Mattes's Madness

Bob Dylan blows into town

Image
       For a few months there has buzz around Cape May NJ that Bob Dylan was coming to America's Oldest Seaside Resort. No he wasn't playing a concert at Convention Hall. For most of this weeks parts of 2024 Cape May,NJ was transformed into 1965 Newport, RI. A Complete Unknown is a new film about Dylan's conversion from acoustic  to electric guitar starring Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan is in production and the location scouting team decided that  Cape May today looked like Newport back in '65. Bob Dylan debuted  his hit song Like a Rolling Stone   at t he Newport Folk Festival. They even transformed Perry Street  into Belevedere Avenue. Shops along the Washington Mall were temporarily renamed to match shops up in Newport.  The Victorian Motel was baptized then Viking Motel for the film  Days prior I started seeing filming equipment  being transported into town.       Like most o f the town I was hopi...
More Posts to Mattes's Madness

Remembering Grandma in Florida

My dad and I are in Florida for the month of March because the wnters in Cape May are horrible. I also can't stand dad complaining about the wind up there 24/7. So a few years ago my mom started looking at places to rent or even eventuall buy. We were down here during the very beginning of COVID so while we flew down, we drove back. Later it was  determined we would drive down, something my father always wanted to do. So this year my father was determined so with a lot of planning (not really) he mapped out a three  day road  trip fro, Cape May down to West Palm Beach. We took the ferry .over to Delaware and proceeded down to an overnight in North Carolina and another somewhere in Georgia. I managed to pick up seven new counties in Georgia and North Carolina. No bad if you ask me By now you're wondering what this has to do with my Grandma. Well when my grandparent got older they bought a house in Naples, Florida.   They beccame snow birds, just like most people ...
More Posts to Mattes's Madness