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| The Drake Bulldog in front of the Drake Diner. 11/1/2019 dwm photo |
Drake was a good experience. I liked the classes; the independence; late night walks; and hanging out with friends.
One of my best friends and eventually my best man barely talked to me when we met. The day we moved in I asked if he wanted to share the cost to rent a dorm fridge.
He said yes. I think the next time we talked or even saw each other was two weeks later.
My friend, Yasin, who you met in Chapter 10, lived down the hall. One day I passed his room as he was positioning a rug on the floor of his room, trying to figure out which way was east.
Yasin was from Tanzania. We became good friends. I learned a lot from him and tried to help negotiate American customs. One of our adventures was that midnight ride to O'Hare Field.
A typical day in college including rising early enough to eat breakfast before my 8 o'clock class. There was a small group that ate together, Kevin and I usually sang "Won't You be My Neighbor?" as we walked to the Olbrich Center. After classes and some study, I worked each day from 4 to 6 at KDMI with a 9-hour shift on Sunday.
Most nights my roommate, Scott, and I would study until midnight when we ordered a pizza. That helped us keep going another hour until turning lights out between 1 and 2 am.
Maybe that's why an all-nighter didn't seem so daunting since I was only a few hours shy of one most days of the week. I guess that's why caffeine was discovered and Mt. Dew was born.
The ultimate all-nighter happened second semester freshman year. A friend taking Psychology was researching the impact of sleepless nights on reflexes and needed volunteers to stay awake 48 hours.
The first twenty-four hours were pretty routine, although there wasn't much going on between 2 and 5 in the morning. Strangely, my reflexes improved the longer I was awake.
The second all-nighter in a row was tougher. The wee-hours were more challenging. I started seeing things, but made it 48 hours. However, when the 48 hours were up, I had classes to attend and work. I recall nearly nodding off at a stoplight on my way to work for my 2-hour shift.
By the time I crawled into bed, I'd been up 72 hours.
The next memorable all-nighter happened shortly after graduation. I was working at KJJC in Osceola, Iowa as their news/farm/sports director. Rhonda and I were married January 26, 1985. I got up each morning at 5:00, showered, dressed and arrived at work 30 minutes later. After delivering half-hour newscasts between 6 and 8, I drove into town to make the rounds of the Police Department, Sheriff's Department, City Hall, and County courthouse then stopped at home for breakfast.
After a noon newscast and recording a mid-afternoon update, I was done. But as the only news/sports guy at the station, if there was a meeting to cover or a game to broadcast, I'd head back out.
One evening, I drove to Atlantic, Iowa to cover the Osceola High School girl's volleyball team in the sectional playoffs. After the match, I called in my report and headed back. That night the Amtrak derailed after passing through town.
It was after 10 when I got to the scene. We were the only local station, so when I returned to my office/studio I had local updates to give plus make reports and share sound with ABC radio news. By the time I was done, it was after 3 and it was then I made the worst decision of our short-marriage.
I decided not to call home (this is pre-text messaging) and wake up my wife, thinking that was the thoughtful thing to do. Well, it turned out that until I talked into the next morning on the 6 AM news, Rhonda didn't know where I was, or if I was alive.
I didn't make that mistake again and haven't pulled an all-nighter since.
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