My One Semester

First of all I'm not sure who to thank for putting the effort into "finding" me so to who ever it is, thank you. Secondly many of you may not remember me because I only went to BS my second semester of eighth grade and moved out of the area shortly after graduation. My memories were faint until a lot of the pictures of the later years started appearing on the reunion site. I thought I owed it to those who thought to hunt me down to contribute something although I regret that I can't attend the reunion.

Here is what I remember in no particular order. Everyone was nice to me being the new kid (for me that would be new kid again) and I remember feeling at home fairly quickly. I carpooled with my grandma's neighbors, the Bors, and John and I had known each other since we were little kids. His mom and my grandma were best of friends to the day my grandma died only two years ago. John if you are out there hello! Its been a very long time.

I remember the class trip at Indiana Beach...lots of fun. I do remember the dumb act! I told my kids about it and I think that was one of the first things you guys showed me on the way to lunch for the first time although by 8th grade it may not have been done very frequently anymore. I remember chess games at recess...I think Jerry was the Bobby Fisher of the class. I remember Frank bringing me up to speed in math in the library. Our family moved a lot so I had gaps in my learning at times. I remember the girls throwing a surprise birthday party for Sister Collette. Nice gesture but Sister was not happy. I remember going to church every morning...every single morning. That was new to me.

But most of all I remember the baseball team. Believe it or not I found a picture that my mom took of us near the end of the season. I have attached it to this blog. I know everyone is not pictured; I figured some kids just got picked up early. Sandlot! That is what it reminds me of. The movie Sandlot. Sandlot is a great movie and takes me back to our BS practices and games. Our uniforms were our junky clothes (as pictured) and we played teams that had the best uniforms. Unlike the guys in the movie though, I don't think we were that good. Help me here, I have no memories of winning. Mr. Zagar was the coach; what a nice guy. Mr. Z I read your blog and just laughed. I remember after practice one day we were all standing by your car waiting for our rides when a wasp flew right between all of us and landed on your car. (I think your car was green.) Anyway, one of the guys, maybe it was Keith Underwood, wacked it with his glove and you yelled "Keith!" in horror. Keith's almost exact words were, "sorry Mr. Zagar but I don't think I hurt your car". In perfect Zagar form, your horror was not in the possible damage to your car but rather in the needless death of a wasp who was as you said, and I quote, "possibly on his (you knew it was male) way home to feed his family." I can see in your short synopsis of your life that your values still hold true. With everything going on in the world today we really need more people like you. I respected you then and do today, as do wasp families everywhere.

My life in a nutshell, I graduated from Lockport High School, Lockport, Ill, graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Business from Eeurka College, Eureka, Ill. (College home of the late President Ronald Reagan), he campaigned at Eureka when I was there. I got my MBA at Lewis University. When my dad left Walgreen's after 25 years in 1978 he started his own chain of drugstores which my brothers and sisters and I still run today. I'm actually the president of the company (somebody wasn't thinking very clearly). I have been happily married to my wife Jacquie from Joliet, Ill for 22 years and have two great kids, David and Mary Grace. And get this, my son is a freshman at Indiana University and my daughter, a senior at Joliet Catholic Academy, will be a freshman at IU this fall. Hoosiers afterall!

Well thank you all for being a part of my life albeit a relatively small one. Honestly the reoccuring memories I have had forever are basically two things, the baseball team and the wasp. Baseball was just fun and as basic and unpretentious as you could get. And whenever my kids would needlessly attack and kill a wasp, just because it was a wasp, I remember you Mr Z. For the short time that we had been together you taught me, on a ball field, with a bunch of my friends, that every life no matter how seemingly insignificant, has significance to someone or something and deserves to be respected. Thank you Mr. Zagar and God bless everyone from the Blessed Sacramant Class of 1972. Have a great party.

Tony Sartoris
Coal City, IL
sart912mail@comcast.net