Digitial Scrapbook II: Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth

This ditty appeared in the Apollo High School newspaper around 1989 or so. I think I was one of the two freshmen on the team. That was the same year that one of the senior girls asked me out on a date and we went to the Apollo/Tech hockey game (Go Eagles!). During the second intermission she kissed me and I panicked. What was I thinking???

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Math League enjoying successful season
By Monique Coleman
Staff Writer


    On Nov. 14, Apollo's Math League members took first place in competition for the first time since Math League competition was started three years ago. This first meet of the season, held at Apollo, included the nine teams in the Central Minnesota Math League: Apollo, Brainerd, Cathedral, Eden Valley-Watkins, Little Falls, Rocori, St. John's' prep., Sartell, and Tech.
    After the second meet of this year's season, the team is currently ranked second. For the last two years the Math League team has never been ranked higher than second place in the area.
    Some readers may wonder what Math League is all about. According to advisers Ray Maresh and Scott MacLeod, it gives talented math students a chance for recognition along with the development of their math skills.
    There are some expectations, however. Members are expected to practice once or twice a week with the team or on their own. Members must also learn to work as a team.
    Each member is committed to a particular area of mathematics and takes two of the four twelve-minute tests at each meet. Team members must also
take the twenty minute team test. The four basic test divisions are: algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and advanced topics.
    At practices, members go over tests from previous years since the same topics are generally given year after year. They also ask questions concerning problems with different mathematical theory applications. During practices, the advisers generally offer the students directions in which way they might want to practice.
    "This is not a teaching class," Ray Maresh said. "We can't get up in front of the students and give a lecture. Everything is so general."
    During the meets, the advisers of the different schools are busy preparing their students, correcting the tests, or timing them. "
    Presently there are seventeen members of Apollo's team: five seniors, six juniors, four sophomores, and two freshmen.
    "The students in Math League are the finest at Apollo. They are all taking the time to do well and represent the school," MacLeod said.
    When asked what they wanted to accomplish this year, both advisers replied that they wanted the students to have fun, learn something, and maybe go to state competition.
    The best part about Math League, according to the advisers, is watching students being recognized for their achievements and seeing them excited about mathematics.

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This picture appeared in the St. Cloud Times when I was in the fourth grade. It must have been ~1984ish?! It was taken at the Central Minnesota Chess Championships. I finished third in the Queen division. Check out the watch...it was a transformers watch that transformed into both a robot and a jet plane. (Note: For those of you who might not remember 'watches'; they were mini-clocks that people wore on their wrists to tell time. Think Flavor Flav but the clock is small and worn on your wrist.) (Note to the Note: For those of you too old to know Flavor Flav, he was an member of Public Enemy–an influential hip-hop group in the late 80s early 90s–think Dr. Suess + Gordon Lightfoot + Rhythm.)

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This last photo is of my piano teacher, the esteemed Paul Wirth. His wife Cathy taught us music at Westsood Elementary School. (Do you remember that monster record....we were vampires, werewolves, etc before they were hip!) My first year of piano lessons took place at the St. Cloud Music School and I was under the tutelage of Barbara Meyer. After that Paul agreed to take me on and I worked with him for five additional years. Fairness in Disclosure Act requires that I reveal this must have felt like five decades to him and I made the progress of about 1-2 years at best. There was one point where he realized I would never be any good at the piano so he taught me how to read guitar chords and translate them to piano notes. I got pretty good at that.

One of the things I hated about piano lessons were the required recitals and musicales. Musicales were this once-a-month thing on a Sunday where we went and heard other students play and you got to play for other students. After each performance you would critique said piece played. There were about 7-8 characteristics that I knew, so that was what I said. It would go something like this,


Paul: Andy. What did you think?
Andy: I liked when she transitioned to pianissimo after she played for a bit.
Paul: Great. Ann what about you. What did you think?
Ann: I think she played with flourish. She connected with the piano. I particularly liked when she transitioned back to fortissimo at the beginning of the third movement. I also liked the timbre. It eleicited a dreamlike response in the audience. Did I note a Renaissance influence in what was otherwise a spectacularly obvious Baroque motif in the last several phrases of the cadenza?

On a complete side note, the Musicales I had to go to included Chris Weldon (piano playing machine...attended Julliard...taught at the San Francisco Conservatory...etc.), Ann Duhamel (has a Master's Degree and is either done or almost done with her Ph. D in piano performance), and about 5 other really good piano players. It was like that game on Sesame Street...Which one is not like the others?

Hindsight, being much more like 20/20...maybe even 20/10, I can say that Paul taught me an awful lot. So, although I am roughly 20 years too late, Thank You Paul!