Earth Day, 1970

Way back before Earth Day, I graduated from the Wood Road Elementary School in Centereach. I would, however, on the condition that I attend Selden, NY's Newfield High School's half-day summer school "advanced placement" training in physics and math, be placed in advanced placement classes in Dawnwood Junior High in Centereach, NY. I decided to peddle my little monkeybars and banana seat bicycle there everyday, (have you seen the picture through a garden mirror ball of actress Heather Graham on one? like that) where we were taught the metric system, using McDonald's straws for a balance scale, and used a programmed math text in vinyl, which you hid and slid the answers to. There were so many kids, they went on split session in 7th grade and I was invited to the 9th grade Algebra class which met before the 7th graders started. The School Board would not allow the two or three of us in Mr. Guydeboroff's (ex EDO researcher I think) to take the 9th grade Algebra Regents, so we took a test anyway. I later substitute taught in the Middle Country School District in Social Studies, though I don't have an education certificate, which I enjoyed, though cleaning Unity Drive at night and being awake for substitute teaching a little trying. Earth Day at Newfield H.S. came with a new Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training unit in the school at the end of Marshall Drive, in Selden, which I found out later was named after a Judge Selden, who out of the acceptable judicial role, testified to Susan B. Anthony's character at a trial in Upstate New York, where she had dressed as a man and voted in an election, before women had the right to vote, not too long ago, and suffrage still being achieved in countries around the world. We went out into the grassed circle, where all the buses went around to pick up and discharge passengers and planted a tree that from my last visits there did not survive. Some arborists we are!