The Reunion
Laurie Housholder Orth
Somewhere north of Cadillac, MI, after driving all day in much rain, we approached the northern woods. It was early October, so the trees were not really changing when we were further south, but as we kept going north, the colors were a feast for the eyes. I was beginning to have flashbacks already of walking to the costume shop, where I spent my work study time sewing. I hadn't had those flashbacks EVER! Didn't realize my brain had recorded them. The trees and foliage were different in Michigan than anywhere else I've lived. My sister and I kept driving and driving. Our final approach took us in the back way. It was a road we'd never traveled before, not the one into TC, but it took us past summer cabins and the lake.
Really strange now. Hearts beating faster. We're both nervous. Then, there was this left hand turn onto campus. And there we were. My sister hasn't been there in 20 years. We were both going, "Oh my GOD, oh my God." in tight, clenched, butterflies in the stomach, voices. I was so glad we were in this together. We turned left again into a parking lot next to TJ. Got out. We'd been in the car for 9 hours and I had driven most of it. Got out of the car and the first thing that hit me was the scent of the air. It had rained and the air was wet. You could smell the soil and the loamy, sweet blackness of it. And the pine trees....oh, oh, the pine trees, that smell, and the rain smell. Talk about stepping into the land of OZ. We walked towards that back entrance of TJ, that long cinder block hallway entrance that had been our front porch for 2 years each. We reached for the doors and stepped inside.
There were students walking around, looking at us. They looked VERY young. We felt like they were intruders. But no, it was us who were the trespassers. That entrance way smelled the same, like polished concrete and layers of paint and ground-in dirt. The plastic-y, God-only-knows what-kinds-of PVC emissions were faint in the air, coming from the 50-year-old plastic stair step lining going into the basement of TJ. We turned right and headed through the cafeteria as we had made plans to meet our friends. The smelli-vision got more intense.
Remember that dank, wet, bleachy smell that came from the dish washer area in the cafeteria....right as you left TJ and entered into the cafeteria? It was STILL THERE! The sound of clanging pots and pans and rushing water? The first thing I noticed is that the old tables that we ate at were fewer, and all shoved into that back corner by the dishwasher. They looked so old, the rest of the cafeteria was filled with new, round tables. The milk machines were still there, the food line was still there, but they have a pop machine and a salad bar now, in addition to a big bagel/toast area. Still use the same industrial toasters that take your bread for a ride before dumping it out half burned, so you can spread it with yellow-colored, tasteless, imitation margarine.
My sister said, "We're so old," in a whisper. At that moment, walking through the cafeteria, seeing the lake peek out between the windows and the trees, all those years just disappeared. I had walked that pathway so many times. Interlochen was my home, and now I was back. It was like I had NEVER lived the last 19 years. I was 17 again. We went through the dark brown painted metal door leading into the lobby of Stone. The same old wooden phone booths with well-worn wooden seats and rotary pay phones were still there. The stairs to the left were covered in that same smelly plastic liner that they were in TJ. And there were these men, these tall, grown men standing in the lobby. I was looking at them with expectancy, thinking, surely some 17-year-old will emerge and I'll see someone I know. And there were the smiles and the "Oh My God's" chorus coming from all of them. We all hugged and laughed. Then we were all talking at once, making small talk. Trying to catch up on so many years. Lots of shaking your head going, WOW.
There was a reception that night in the student center, and then we all went to Andraccios or whatever it was called, for pizza. 37 of us. It took them FOREVER to serve us all and most of us were performing at the Coffee House, and most of us were late. Adam Pelty (IAA 82-85) was the MC. We finally ate 2 hours later and got back to the Coffee House in progress. THAT was another MAJOR time warp....walking through the back door of Fine Arts, across from the Whip....the smoothed wood of the door frame, the black and red colored floor tiles, some cracked, still there, the campy feel of that room. After the Coffee Hour, many of us went to the cabin that Jeff Yap had rented. It was this beautiful 4 BR lodge over by Corson. Very Swish. We visited, and stayed there until 2 AM. I was sooo tired, after the 9 hours of driving and I'm a mom, I don't DO 2 AM anymore unless it's a sick child. The people from the West coast were still in their partying mood, and they stayed up until 5:30 am. I was soo glad I went back to my "dorm"....no, we stayed at the Stone Student Center…..
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