Each clique, a "Brenda & Eddie"

Yes our school allowed the juniors and seniors in 1983 and 1984 to have what was called "the smoking lounge", a classroom without chairs but a few couches and ashtrays everywhere and a maximum of 15 minutes between classes to exercise ones freedom in doing whatever they wanted to do; while at the same time attend high school classes. This was mandatory to be enrolled and attend but you were still in control of your certain rights even in high school.

Our class soon to graduate in 1984 had a few couples who fit the "brenda & eddie" mold Billy Joel sings about in this song. Lots of smoking went on in the lounge, after the classes, up and down Coventry, a road that went through a town mostly hippies and cool people lived in or close to. The freer society members of my class were bad-asses, but not dangerous. Since we were very strict with our reservations on taking away personal freedoms, meaning our class demonstrated rebellion, the many non-conformists of my high school agreed with this statement I found at OttawaArts--"Anti-smoking legislation is NOT needed in a free society, it is ONLY needed in an authoritarian society"(1) The school administration did not want to be categorized as 'authoritarian vultures', so until three weeks before graduating, our class, the several "brenda & eddies" who coupled through most of their highschool years together came together and rallied for 'the good ole days'.

Like the singer sings, "but you can never go back there again" and it was voted against us protesting our rights were being taken away, smoking anywhere on school property was banned. I for one was thrilled, I did not smoke yet. The "eddie" (not his real name) I dated was equally thrilled because the smell was repugnant to him. This song brings more of a political aspect to my life remembered than how many "brenda & eddie's" we had amongst the three schools including Shaker. But we had the best and we had the loudest crowd in protest, we also shed the most tears because the administration decided to not just close off the wing but demolition it.

All the memories, all the deep-seated psychologically-motivating conversations we engaged in, all the cozy late evening smokes people shared while working in stage-crew, or practising football in the field, or just there for some extra-curricular activity that went later than usual. The 'scenes from the smoking lounge' were to be no more. The room was no longer able to absorb and then resound with accomplishment, it was taken down in one fell swoop by a huge wrecking ball and a few huge shovels. The school did not really need a new entrance into the house of education, but we accepted it as a way to exercise the administration rights in following community laws. We had had our days, now it was future generations of students also wanting to exercise their rights and a bunch of new "brenda & eddies" were headed in that direction. I was thrilled to finally, graduate ! 

(1) http:/ /derekaudette.ottawaarts.com/smoking.php