My adolescence was segmented into three parts coinciding with the three schools I attended.
Teitelman
For junior high school, I attended Richard M. Teitelman. My first girlfriend was nicknamed Zagnut. My second girlfriend was Kathy Buganski. We were a "longtime couple".
I continued wrestling here. In seventh grade I weighed 119 pounds. In eighth grade I grew. I began wrestling at 126 and ended up at 135. I finished fourth in the regional tournament; David Craig finished first. That tournament was held at Vineland High School. In one of the preliminary matches I was rolled on my right shoulder. I let out a shriek that stopped all matches. I was taped up and went out and pinned my opponent. Ha!
The first time I paddled the Batsto was during these years. Our class trips were spent here. I recall purposely tipping our canoes frequently.
Wildwood Catholic
My father was an administrator at the county vocational school. He noticed that students from Wildwood Catholic had far better attendance than the public schools and presented themselves better. Because of that, he and my mother decided to send my sister here. She enjoyed her four years immensely. I didn't stand a chance when my turn came around.
I had no problem with the school. My issues were all logistical. It was an hour bus ride from Cape May to North Wildwood. There were no after school buses. So, to participate in sports one had to arrange his own transportation home. I played soccer my freshman year. It was not the in sport and we were relegated to a field far from the school. The school added wrestling the year I attended. It was a start-up sport. There were no singlets, practice was a farce, etc. I recall being embarrassed when we wrestled Lower Cape May where all my friends were. I nearly pinned Eddie Sherretta in the first period; I had him on his back the whole period. I ended up losing on points. :(
At Christmastime, while my parents played bridge, I wrote a note that I left on their bed before I went to sleep. I said that all I wanted for Christmas was to return to public school. Finding a ride home was problematic and Mom shared her displeasure with picking me up. I did not play a sport in the spring.
To my parents' credit, they took the note seriously. No, I would not attend public school, but they would look into finding a solution to my problem. Dad spoke to his co-workers and was informed about Lawrencevill Prep. He sold the school well. I was certain this is where I was going to attend the following year.
I took the SSATs (I think that is what the test was called). My mother noted I could send the scores to six schools. It cost nothing to look at other schools. She had checked out a book from the library about prep schools and noted there were many to choose from. While Lawrenceville remained my focus, Exeter also was of interest. My mother said that was too far away. :( We looked at the Westtown and St. Andrew's. There were probably others too.
When I looked at Lawrenceville I was astounded at the field house. It was absolutely a beauty. An indoor football field, Olympic pools, etc. The school was beautiful. I learned that lacrosse is the national sport of Canada during the interview. But I also saw how my father was treated. He was confined to a wheelchair and there were no accommodations provided; he sat in the car the whole time. Someone told the student guide to hurry so my father didn't have to wait.
St. Andrew's School
When I looked at St. Andrew's School, everything was different. It was a splendid day and the sun glistened off the pond. The school was no more handicapped accessible than Lawrenceville, but the staff bent over backwards to make my father comfortable. The school was smaller, but had girls, and to this 14-year-old, that was something. The decision was left to me and I selected the lesser known school.
After all that it would be perfect to say how much I enjoyed it. Much like my childhood, it was much more appreciated after I left. It's not that I didn't like it when I was there, but I was a teenager struggling with my identity. Living at a school where my classmates flew in on their private Learjets, I think it's safe to say I struggled with my identity. But who didn't?
Seeing as soccer was the wrong sport at Wildwood Catholic, I opted to run cross country here. That was the wrong sport here and I was once again on the loser team. I played basketball and squash during the winters. I did not play a sport in the spring. My love of baseball was on hiatus for a few years.
I met three lifelong friends here. Bentley was a roommate for part of one year. He, Steve, and Andrew all spent summers in Cape May with me over the years. Steve and I lived together in Boston for a year and a half.
