The parking lot is full. And the street out in front of the school has cars lined up along both sides of it . . . forming riverbank-like barriers for a channel that has dried up and turned black.
The donation guys have been busy. Four guys . . . wearing blaze-orange long sleeved shirts that have “DONATION GUY” embroidered on their fronts . . . cruising the parking lot and street in two pick-up trucks . . . looking for helpless alumni to rescue.
Cheryl Baker, a Barclay alumna, and her husband Josh and their two young children Ashley and Matt have found a parking spot about a half of block away from the school. Josh flags down one of the donation guys, and the pick-up truck pulls alongside the Baker’s mini-van. They, the Bakers, are giving a dresser, a couple of night tables, and a box of women’s clothes and shoes to the school, and the donation guys are quick to remove these items from the mini-van, hoist them up and onto the bed of their truck, and then move on.
It is noon, and the school cafeteria is crowded with alumni and their families, and the air of the cafeteria is crowded also . . . with the sound of chatter and laughter. Extra tables and chairs were brought in the day before and squeezed into the dining room area. Mr. Hendersen even made some “standing tables” for the occasion, and these were placed along the cafeteria walls.
Everyone is enjoying the brunch food, served buffet style, while ten of the Barclay seniors are working the room. All ten of them . . . indeed, all twenty-five of them . . . are wearing light blue t-shirts that have “BARCLAY
GIRL” embroidered on their fronts and each girl’s first name . . . or nickname . . . embroidered on the back. The girls are hustling, making sure that people are getting everything they want.
There is a gradual migration from the cafeteria to the campus green outside where an outdoor stage has been set up at one end of the property and where, a little later . . . what with the oak and evergreen trees serving as a backdrop . . . an eye-pleasing setting for two stage shows will be enjoyed.
A few hundred chairs have been set up facing the stage, and off to one side of these chairs are some . . . diversions . . . for the children. There are three backyard swing sets . . . with one set sporting a nifty slide to one side . . . a couple of those tube tunnels . . . elongated, wire-ribbed, plastic tunnels the kids like to crawl through, and an inflated “bouncing room” that has an air-cushioned floor and walls.
The alumni and their families wander around the school grounds, and many of the children are gathered in front of two wooden booths. These booths offer excellent prizes . . . toys, dolls, games, and the like . . . for anyone willing to risk a penny. Four-year old Ashley is one of a row of kids standing in front of one of the booths. She has put her penny on the number seven. Laurie, who is working the booth, gives the big carnival wheel a good spin, and, as it slows down, the suspense grows. The wheel goes around . . . slower . . . and slower . . . and slower. And Ashley is watching. It finally comes to a stop on the number . . . seven. Well, this is unbelievably good.
Jody, who is also working the booth, shouts, “And the winner is number seven. Does anyone have their penny on the number seven?” Ashley raises her hand and says, “Me!”
After looking over the prizes, Ashley chooses a new Barbie doll . . . which will be her close companion for the remainder of the day.
It is now two o’clock, and the show “Maria and Tommy” is starting.
It is the story of Maria and Tommy and their two children . . . Micky and Angel. The four of them are whisked into an “opposite world” where the little people are the adults, and the big people, over time, grow small and become little people. Maria and Tommy are quite put out by this, and they try to resist . . . wanting very much to maintain the old status quo. Micky and Angel are delighted with the change in circumstances, and they try to enforce their newfound authority on Mom and Dad. The show gives the audience a lot of laughs . . . and some songs . . . with Tommy at one point singing “I Gotta Be Me” and Micky and Angel singing “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?”
When the performance is over, the crowd sort-of disperses to various parts of the school. It is at this part of the day that many of the alumni wander up to the dormitory floor and poke around their old dorm wing.
There is a connection there . . . a connection that spans across the years . . . so that two alumni, who have never met, can both stand in their old game room . . . and smile . . . as they share the same fun memories.
Back out on the campus green, the train is ready to leave. It’s a mini-train . . . with an engine and four canopied cars . . . for the kids to ride on.
Each car can seat six children . . . more if they squeeze in tight.
Engineer Missy rings the train bell and calls out, “All aboard!” and the children all scramble to find seats. There is quite a bit of excitement in our little passengers and this excitement jumps up a notch when Missy shouts, “OK. Here we go!” And the train starts off on its journey, and who knows what adventures await.
The “choo-choo” chugs along over the grass and approaches the gazebo . . . where Tiffany, Celeste, and Sandy are waiting. The train comes to a stop, and the three Barclay girls pass out lollipops to all of the kids.
Missy blows the train whistle and away they go again. The train rolls along toward its other stop on the schedule, and the sight-seeing is pretty good, as, up ahead, Sadie, Rachel, and Gretchen are waiting and, to the delight of the children, they are holding colorful “bouquets” of balloons. The train stops, and each child is given a balloon of his or her choice, which is wisely tied to their wrist. The train whistle blows again, and our little commuters now make tracks for the circuit’s starting point . . . the home depot. Little Matt is one of the passengers on the train, and, with a lollipop in his mouth and a balloon floating above his head, he is a happy little camper. The train pulls into the “station” and all the kids hop off and re-unite with their parents.
It is nearly five o’clock now, and virtually every visitor to the school, and every student at the school, is finding a seat in front of the stage. At exactly five o’clock Sela takes the stage and they are treated to a warm reception of applause. They begin their show by expressing gratitude and then dive right into their repertoire of inspirational music. Their vocal harmonies are precise and their acoustic accompaniments are a delight to the ear. They intersperse their popular songs with some of their lesser-known numbers . . . while keeping up a running banter of anecdotes and jokes with the audience.
They play for an hour and a half, but are called back for an encore.
After the show, Mr. Hendersen goes up to the members of Sela, thanks them for giving the audience a great show, and then proposes that they
“Join us for an after-show treat.” And they do, blending in with the crowd, as everyone “treads a path” to the cafeteria for milkshakes.
And the milkshakes are now being served! “Customers” get to choose from vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, blueberry, and . . . Snickers milkshakes.
For some reason, there is more laughter at this “meal” than at any of the others. The little children, normally tuckered out by this time of the day, seem to be recharged by, not just having milkshakes, but having milkshakes with Mom and Dad. In time there is another gradual migration from the cafeteria, but this one is out to the parking lot and beyond, where some last minute conversations are spoken and final partings take place.
Back inside, the school building is quiet now, and the silence seems sort-of strange to Mr. Hendersen and the girls. The seniors all return to their rooms for some well-earned rest, and Mr. Hendersen heads to his apartment for the same. Alumni Day is over.