My Sea Scout friends from high school encouraged me to call FACE, when I went to MTU (Michigan Technological University). FACE was a nickname of course – and not a nice one. He did not have a nice face. It was dimpled with the stress of teenage angst – pimples. Furthermore, he wore a full set of braces even after his graduation from Denby High School in Detroit in June of 1983. I knew both these traumas personally. Not only had I worn braces on my teeth for over four years, but I had worn the matching headgear to match. Only the very special pairing of oversized teeth and undersize jaws require these. My headgear was not just the simple one piece strap around the back of the neck. No, my headgear were a masterful interpretation of the Spanish inquisition. Three separate straps around the top of the skull pulling in the remaining wayward teeth to ensure that the bucktooth preteen was removed forever.
My face of pimples were a never ending battle during my teenage years. Sometimes I won and sometimes I lost. I used whatever stringent was available and affordable. On my budget it usually was Isopropyl alcohol, the key ingredient in all those fancy brand names. So I knew FACE, and sympathized with his problems and I really wanted to look him up and see how he was getting on at MTU.
We both were staying at Wadsworth Hall. One of the largest dorms in the country – one quarter of a mile long with 5 stories and 1050 rooms. Each room was 15′ x 10′, or nice and cozy. Some time for two people, sometimes for three. I was on the West end of the Forth floor, in an area for girls. FACE was in the third floor in the middle. I had one room mate, and he had two. To make the room more spacious with three people, and more of a party zone the three guys had all the beds in a suspended wooden self made “loft” and draped the lower area in Christmas lights. It works when you are male and 18, after that it just gets cheesy.
I dropped by about once a week for some simple conversation with FACE. We talked about home and the heavy workload. MTU is not an easy university. The drop out rate the first year was extremely high. So when I stopped by the first week after Christmas, I was informed that he had dropped out. I was about to leave and one of his roommates asked me to stay. Vince, was from L’Anse. He was local and knew the area and the culture. I found it enjoyable to stop by and listen to the local tales about the Keweenaw and the UP (Upper Peninsula). I stopped by about a lot more, and he introduced me to his roommate and friends.
He was very adamant about a friend of his who was the conductor for the spring musical. His friend was looking for musicians, particularly fiddlers. The guys in the room knew I joined the local symphony. I had played the violin since I was five and it has always been a hobby of mine. I told Vince “I am a violin player, not a fiddler.” This conversation went on for a few weeks, but I finally gave in and said “OK Vince, I will help your friend out.”
The Next night I met his friend, Jeff, and my life has never been the same.
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