Hello everyone! Around this time, 43 years ago, I attended my first day at Bogan High School as a freshman. That day I entered a world that was exciting, nerve-wracking, and was unprepared at the same time. I remembered my first class was Music with Ms. Fitzgerald as my teacher. The other was Science with Ms. Hare, Algebra with Mr. Robinson, Geography with Mr. Carty, Gym Class with Mr. Toth, Division 111 with Miss Barbaro, and Mrs. Altman for English at the mobile trailers. I have a feeling I missed a couple of classes, but I don’t think I am. At Division, the other students and I were assigned our lockers and given our combination locks. Mine was 3-23-14. At lunch period, there were plenty of convenient places to eat around the school grounds. There was The cafeteria at school, White Castles, Tobie’s Snack Shop, Mr. Submarine, Barnaby’s, and Tastee Freeze. Snacks or soda pop, you can get at White Hen Pantry, Bogan Deli, Edwards Drug Store, and Crestline Pharmacy. A Tribute to Kroozin’ Music II on W 79th St Ashburn Chicago, which is my first Facebook page, was a place that I loved hanging at during and after school. Bogan was a different environment for me because I attended a Greek-American private school that was somewhat isolated. We wore uniforms, and it quite different from some parochial and public schools and was very strict. I met and knew a lot of interesting people there, and they were the typical kids you find at any school. The jocks, the nerds, which was me, the bullies, boys and girls, pretty girls, mean girls, smart, dumb, fat, skinny, tall, short kids. Kids with zits on their faces, weird haircuts, and several that didn’t bathe. Kids with glasses, braces or have some issues at school and home. Kids taking drugs, drinking beer, cutting class, vandalism, and fights in the classroom, the hallway, restrooms, the cafeteria, or anywhere on the school grounds. We had it all. Freshman year, in the beginning, was fine, but towards the end of the school year was rough. I was bullied at the time during my sophomore year and was very miserable. But I stuck it out, and the rest of the two years were enjoyable. My senior year was the best, and it was my favorite. I was an excellent observer and paid close attention to my lessons and watching and listening to the kids doing the latest fads like music, clothing, food, movies, and TV. The hangouts around the school, visiting friends at Ford City Mall or their houses by having fun. It was so darn difficult and frustrating to try to fit in with other kids to be accepted. Feeling rejected and lonely are both the worst feelings in the world. Just because you are different and enjoy certain things that most people don’t do or don’t completely understand. Kids today have social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat on their smartphones. Those never existed when we were at Bogan. I believe kids are meaner today than when I was at Bogan. The phones we had were pay phones at school and our landlines at home. Truthfully, despite being bullied some of the time, I enjoyed my freshman year at Bogan. It was like a rollercoaster. You are thrilled and frightened at the same time. Most of the kids that attended with me at Bogan are on Facebook. We still talk and, I made some new ones that I never knew from the reunions that I attended. A few have passed away over the years, and I always feel sad for them. I enjoyed writing for The Bengal Lancer on Facebook. I love sharing my memories, good or bad, with all the Boganites. For the rest of the three years at Bogan, I will save them for another time. I hope everyone will enjoy reading this editorial as much as I was writing it. One last thing, I was called a benny or bennie in the first year when I was there. I’m sure everyone who went to Bogan remembered that very well. Thank you, everyone. Pete Kastanes. Admin for The Bengal Lancer School Newspaper (Bogan High School) Facebook Page. The photo is from The 1978 Bogan Medallion Yearbook.