The College Years

In my third year at Georgia Tech, in the fall of 1976, I moved out of the dorms and into an apartment with Industry Figures Curt Welch, Bobby Tague, and David Phelps, Cat Killer*. It was quite a drive (maybe as much as 14 miles!) from Georgia Tech (situated just off of North Ave., the north edge of town a hundred years before) to our place in Smyrna, just north of I-285, which was at that time arguably the new north edge of town.

Our good friend, Industry Figure Ruppo, elected to remain in the dorms, but would still occasionally make a pilgrimage out to the boondocks to see us, partly because he was our friend, and partly, I believe, because we sometimes kidnapped him.

I took a few photos during that time, but since I'm not much of a photographer, I usually liked to use a prop to put people at ease while their picture was being taken. For these photos, I mostly used the kitten, Phædeaux (later simplified to "Fido" because kittens are poor spellers).

The great thing about living in a real apartment, rather than the dorms, was that I could finally keep a pet again. Phædeaux was, even for a kitten, especially affectionate and playful. In the photo on the above left, notice how intent she is on killing my finger (which is just an inch or two above the camera). In the right-hand shot, she is practicing being a boneless cat. Sadly, no photos of the Kangaroo Effect remain in my possession.

Industry Figure Curt Welch (above) relaxing with our furry mascot. I call the picture on the right "Welch Morrison," and have no idea exactly why Curt didn't have a shirt on at the moment - probably he just hadn't gotten around to putting one on yet, since I don't remember shirtlessness as one of his central themes. I have a far greater number of pictures of Industry Figure Bobby Tague with no shirt on, although none are shown here, because his Robin-Williams-like hirsuteness is likely to frighten small children.


Here, Industry Figure Bobby Tague innocently relaxes with his good friend Phædeaux. Ignore the claw-proof baseboard underneath the cat.	If I remember correctly, the baseboard was simply pulled away, rather than Phædeaux actually being launched.

Industry Figure Bobby Tague (above) had something of a grudge against Phædeaux, since it liked to enter his (normally closed) room during unguarded moments and chew on his beloved, and fragile, Venus Fly Trap plant. Eventually, after several incidents of mere upendings, Phædeaux got it fully uprooted and danced with it around the room. Bobby bravely and lovingly repotted it, and probably about a day later, Phædeaux again snuck in and finished the job, just like in the movies.

Industry Figure David Phelps, Cat Killer* (above left), seen here killing a cat, and Industry Figure Ruppo. Ruppo either was so internally at ease that he didn't need a cat while being photographed, or else he didn't really care for the cat - I don't remember now which it was.

*It is important to note that David Phelps, Cat Killer has never, to my knowledge, actually killed a cat, even to this day. He was then, and remains today, a perfectly nice person, not to mention an Industry Figure. He was awarded his title by acclamation, in much the same way as the Honorable Venustiano Carranza (President of Mexico).

The Honorable Venustiano Carranza (President of Mexico), along with Charles the Cat, Captain Colossal, Igor, and the Indiana Zephyr are characters (American high school students, actually) from Daniel M. Pinkwater's novel, Young Adults. For a representative passage, click here.

The College Years A Study in 16 Million Colors, with Cat

The College Years
A Study in 16 Million Colors, with Cat