Belair Alumni Association
914-997-6474
33 years of Outstanding Academic Achievement
info@belairschool.org
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Stories from Past Students
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Belair Alumni Association |
914-997-6474 |
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33 years of Outstanding Academic Achievement |
info@belairschool.org |
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Stories from Past Students |
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"Recollections of the Odeon Theatre"The other evening I rented the horror movie "JAWS" to watch with my children - Joe-11, Parker-8 and Bade-13. I'm ashamed to admit it but I thought they'd really get scared watching it, in the midst of all the real shark attacks that occurred in the U.S. this summer. Call me demented. I must admit I forgot how gruesome and graphic the flick was when I first saw it…maybe that's because I watched it at Mandeville's Odeon Theatre with my girlfriend, Michelle. I wasn't devoting my full attention to the movie, plus, I might have been imbibing in Red Stripes throughout the show. What I do vividly remember however is the fervor in the theatre as the audience relished the action and gore of this classic-to-be by the greatest-to-be film director of our time, Steven Spielberg. (Jamaicans know good action films when they see one!) The noise in the theatre was akin to that of a football match. Other sounds and smells are indelible upon my mind. The glass bottles rolling down the isles and the smells of stall snack food and spilled beverage. There's no doubt about it, the Odeon was, and I hope is, a distinctly Jamaican spot. Any other alumni out there who have similar memories of The Odeon?
By way of introduction, I'm Tom Grasse (that's me in "77!).I moved from Florida to attend school at Belair, never having lived outside the U.S. And though my horizons were infinitely expanded by my Jamaica experience, it was the personal relationships I forged that I held most dear. Sadly, time and distance would loosen virtually all physical ties with former classmates, with Mandeville and with JA. I was left to be content with memories, music and the occasional visits to Jamaica. Now there is the Internet making it possible to reconnect with the past. Our Web site is rekindling personal relationships lost to oblivion even decades ago, preserving connections for those just setting out on their own, and, even bringing total strangers together on the basis of a one shared virtue - that of having gone to Belair. This, our first newsletter is dedicated to Mrs. Sylvan Shields, Director of Belair School and a part of the teaching staff since 1968. Recollections of Mrs. Shields are featured in this issue. Thanks to all those who have contributed stories and news items to our 1st on-line newsletter. Keep it coming. I look forward to seeing all of you in JA at the 2003 reunion. Tom Grasse Class of 1977 Back to Newsletter Home Page
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Belair Alumni AssociationUNITY THROUGH FRIENDSHIP AND KNOWLEDGECopyright (c) 2001 Belair Alumni Association |
28 Perry Avenue
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