Dennis Lynch

No

Baltimore

We've been married 22 years.

I taught at the college level from 1974 to 2018, mostly at NIU and ECC..

From 1985-2001 I was also Home Computing Correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. That's basically a fancy way of saying I got paid to play video games and write about them. I gave that up when I got married and realized it was time to put away my toys.

Now that I'm retired I spend time playing pickleball, chairing the Sun City Huntley Book Club, and walking my rescue pup.

I have some fond memories of high school, but my fondest is when it ended. Life after high school has been so much more enjoyable! I don't miss those bullies and homophobes who tried to make high school life miserable for anyone who dressed, looked, thought or acted different. (Not that I carry grudges or anything!)

The funniest moment I recall is when Miss Bridwell, the young, hip, and beautiful Speech teacher, was reading aloud a passage about "tiny little organisms" and instead said "tiny little orgasms." At that age I wasn't even quite sure what the word meant, but I could tell by the look on her face and the reaction of my classmates that something hilarious had just occurred.

Also, I miss my high school nicknames: "Thane of Cawdor," "Round Mound of Rebound," and "The Human Rain Delay."

I taught a year at the Universite de Nantes in France and also for a semester at Carlow College in Carlow, Ireland, and loved both countries.

About once a week, especially during Bears season.

No

Yes, I still hang out with--and see every week or two--a number of people that I went to high school with (Jenkins, Kamholz, Scherman, Steinsdoerfer, Wilbrandt, and Zarnikow). That's either incredibly sweet or incredibly sad; I haven't figured out which yet.

Though I probably won't go to the reunion (the few bad apple bullies have spoiled the whole barrel for me), there are a number of people I haven't seen in years that I'd love to hear from. If you'd like to hear from me, just drop me a line. My direct e-mail is DennyLynch@aol.com.

The only continent I haven't been to yet is Australia, but I have plans to go there with my brother in 2023.

An especially memorable event for me was in gym class (usually a house of horrors for someone with my coordination) when I wrestled a muscle-bound jock to a draw, even with his Cro-Magnon cronies chanting "Fem!" and "Faggot!" at me. Now THAT was sweet!

I also remember days in Latin class with the saintly Mrs. Nelson, who epitomized everything that was good about teaching, and who shared her love of the subject with an infectious passion.

After high school, there was no place to go but up, so it's all been a high point since then!

85+ countries and all 50 states.

My two favorite trips of all time were with my daughter. We went to the Galapagos Islands one year, and Machu Picchu the next, and spent Christmas day in a small village in the Amazon jungle.

But many of my favorite trips were with people from the class of '70: New Orleans at Mardi Gras (with Jenkins), Greece (Scherman), the Canadian North Woods (Steinsdoerfer), Myrtle Beach (Wilbrandt), the Obama Inauguration (Scudder and Zarnikow), Vegas (Kamholz), and Montreal, the Serengheti Plain, and Rio at Carnival (all with Zarnikow).

On the date of the reunion I'll be in Spain with Jenkins, Scherman, and our wives.

Chemung.

I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, walked with the gorillas in the mist in Rwanda, and survived a crash landing of a small plane in Zanzibar--all in a 3-week period.

Yes

Yes, answering these questions.

Hair? What's hair?

I first met my wife by chance on small boat in a remote part of China. I had the choice of one of three boats to take for a river trip, and just happened to choose the one she was on. She was a thousand miles from her home, and I was seven thousand from mine. We were married a year later.

Full-contact curling. Two Man Bob.

Anything by Puccini, Peter Noone, or Milli Vanilli.

I read a lot, and watch plenty of films.

1. Answering these questions for the 60th reunion.
2. Waiting for the White Sox to make it to the World Series.

When I heard about the reunion, I first thought to myself, "If I wanted to join a bunch of old white people to talk about the past, then I should just attend a MAGA rally instead."

But after reading over some of the profiles online and communicating with some classmates I hadn't heard from in years, I can now see some of the benefits of this.