The University Stories

The University Stories

Here is a collection of short pieces of University Life that Clark, the Narrator, experienced after transferring from State College. These brief glimpses of campus life are some of the more poignant moments that Clark narrates after losing himself after a break-up from a long-term relationship, and then purposely losing himself in a big city. The slow recovery of self-esteem is hit and miss, and many traps and setbacks along the way can and did occur. There were also a variety of diversions that were, if not at least a cause of some levity, then surely some of the most unlikely events he ever expected to experience.

But all the hassle helps start the recovery of a self and a Soul that was once damaged beyond apparent repair.
There is no fluid continuity to these stories, except by an effort to order them somewhat sequentially and to present them through the eyes of the Narrator. Sometimes the stories may appear to overlap, or double back to the past. Sometimes the same roots are common and important to several stories. Hopefully, there is a unique connection to a root event that gives clearer insight into the new incident.

With the understanding that there will be gaps in time between some stories and short intervals between others; this reflects how time can sometimes stand still - due to studies and routines - or move more dynamically, due to events happening in rapid succession. The stories cover a minimum four years in the mid-to-later-70s and (mostly) at this university and its vicinity.

The stories have been fictionalized and do not claim to accurately depict any actual events or characters as they may or may not have happened, or as campus hearsay would have it, or cross-collecting research across several colleges may have had them play out.

What happened in the 70s - happened. No excuse will be made for other character's actions, the events as depicted, nor the Narrator's own thoughts and reactions. No attempt to be politically correct is maintained here. Perhaps some of these events should have been left in the past; but nevertheless, they unfold in the following stories of the Narrator's herky-jerky college life.
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To be alone in a new city, to experience a fresh start with no guarantees of success - this is the challenge a sophomore - midway through 1973 and starting anew in January of 1974 - faced.

His path is varied and every next step seemed to contain a twist or an unexpected turn. Many of these quirks were his own fault and of his own doing.