Robin Wilson Baker

other memories:
- Janis Tymeson spiking the volleyball
- Mr. Vlad warning us that we would all get rheumatism of the coccyx from sitting on the cement hallway floors
- working and not working in the yearbook office
- the long walk down our hill to waterski
- flying high on the plane to Rio to compete against EA
Okay, now I'm going to list food addictions: pastillas Valda, Chica Bom (a version of the fudgsicle), Lanche Mirabel chocolate wafers, Mr. Peglar's homemade marshmallows, palmitos, guarana, pao de quiejo, doce de leite, pasteis, churros, pudim de leite, brigadeiros. And what were those strange things we used to eat on the bus on the class trips? Sort of clear biscuits that could have been made of fish scales?

Music plays a theme in many of my memories of high school in Brasil. My father played non-stop Sergio Mendes, and musicals such as The Music Man, South Pacific, Oklahoma – I still know the words to all of the songs. My BFF Claire Gruppo and I used to lock ourselves up in her room and listen to the Woodstock album, super-loud, so that we couldn’t hear her little sister banging on the door to let her come in and hang out with the big girls. My other BFF Ann Mitchell loved her Frank Sinatra songs. Barbara Haskell and I sang Leonard Cohen’s song “Suzanne” at the talent show (this still amazes me, since I cannot carry a tune!) Oh - I remember Mark Lund in the middle of the gym, playing the guitar and singing “Rocky Racoon”: What was that about? And we used to hang with Bobby Freeland and blast out his penthouse with Led Zeppelin tunes. At a New Year’s Eve party in Guaruja I was hooked on Santana’s “Black Magic Woman”, and played the song over and over – no one noticed! I had a tiny record player (remember those?) in my bedroom, where I would listen to the Beatles White Album and muse about my purpose in life. And I just remembered another - Bob Gonsalves turning us on to Blood Sweat & Tears at that retreat run by Mr. Wendling I mean Brent!