Charles Dicola:
CLASS OF 1967
Evergreen Park High SchoolClass of 1967
Evergreen park, IL
DePaul University - New LearningClass of 9999
Chicago, IL
Loyola UniversityClass of 1971
New orleans, LA
St. Bernadette SchoolClass of 1963
Evergreen park, IL
Charles's Story
Life
I'm the guy who almost broke his neck (and also narrowly escaped castration!) when I dressed up as Santa on the last day before Christmas vacation in 1966. It was all part of a scheme we (Stan Greanias, Jim Cozzolino, Gary Pemberton, Ken Russo, and other knuckleheads) cooked up in the cafeteria one day.
I volunteered to wear the costume (supplied by Stan, but when the big day arrived, and we hadn't staged a dress rehearsal for fear of being found out by "the authorities," I was petrified to go through with the stunt.
The rest, as they say, is history - as I almost fell down the ladder from the gym roof BEFORE I grabbed the rope we had stashed and simply stepped off the roof above the hallway leading from the cafeteria to the gym.
After I crashed through the window and dangled helplessly upside down, Jimmy Coz came out the cafeteria door to the the courtyard and said "Santa, are you okay?"
I yelled, "HELP," which he did.
Later, after I had to miss my final in government - after Coach Moore had laughed his head off at the sight of me on the roof and later sending me out of class when the bandage Mrs. Budding applied wasn't enough to stop the bleeding in my upper leg - my mother took me to Little Company for stitches. That night Dr. Storkle, my next door neighbor, came over with what he said was a bill for the broken glass!
I was allowed to go to the sock hop at school that night to soak up the adulation of my friends, so I guess the who...Expand for more
le thing was worth it- especially from a dumb 17-year old's viewpoint.
Those were great times - my days at E.P. If only I spent as much time on my books as I did at having a good time, my grades would have equaled the enjoyment I got out of high school. I often describe the atmosphere at school and in town as a lot like "Happy Days" - no drugs, although plenty of beer - all in all a wonderful time to be a teen-ager.
To my former classmates reading this, please get in touch. We haven't got together as a group in ten years, and missed a chance for a 40th reunion this year. To those of you who remember my situation ten years ago, here's an update:
I got my B.A. and then an M.Ed. at DePaul, got my teacher certificaton, but was unable to find a history-teaching position. I have been teaching part-time in the evening at DePaul, however, since '03, and like it tremendously. I've been at U.S. Foodservice since I sold my seafood business 10 years ago. My oldest son was just offered a position on the law faculty at Northwestern U., my daughter works as a graphic designer at the C.T.A and got married this year, and my younger boy is graduating from Downers Grove North High School this year. Oh, and to continue the adult education theme - my wife Kathy is entering her last semester at Northern Illinois U. Law School. For any of you thinking it's too late to get that degree or change your life - we're living proof that it's not.
That's it for now.
Chuck
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