Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Goldfish

With no official numbers to back up my opinion I am willing to say that one of the most remembered and recounted activity, according to the www.olympus98.com web site, that took place during our high school days brought death to about 5000 goldfish. There are many “memory comments” that people have made on their profiles, but the “Goldfish in the Swimming Pool” seems to show up more than any other high school memory. What really happened that day? Has the legend grown so big that the truth has been lost? How many fish do your remember floating on the surface? Through a private interview with Dan Kormylo, Mr. Guthry, and other eye witnesses I have been able to nail down some long lost facts about the incident that might have been forgotten had it not been for the wonderful world of blogs.

The winter in 1997 brought a record amount of snow fall to the Wasatch Front, and because of the high run-off the Jordan River was experiencing explosive fish breeding. The idea behind throwing fish into the swimming pool during the belly-flop contest was born when a news broadcast reported that the Jordan River had an overpopulation of carp. “Carp could live for days in the pool,” Dan Kormylo recalled. One problem. None of the pranksters knew where to trap carp in the Jordan River. Thus, the goldfish plan took flight. Rich Strauser and Dave Hendrickson took a trip to PetSmart to purchase numerous clear plastic bags filled with baby goldfish – 5000 baby goldfish. The fish killers slipped in the side door of the pool and slowly dumped all the bags of fish into the North-West corner of the pool as everyone’s attention was focused on belly-floppers. Mr. Guthry asked me recently, “Do you still think it is funny to cause damage to the pool filtration system, and at the same time bring financial ruin upon your school through hundreds of dollars in cleaning and sanitation fees?” Yes.  Some remember seeing the fish several minutes before an on-looker finally cried wolf. By that time the belly-flop contest was almost over and thousands of tiny fish had floated to the surface of the chlorine-laced water. All of those involved faced school suspensions, and Guthry supposedly got a copy of the PetSmart surveillance video showing Rich and Dave purchasing the fish. Many recall the story with the added twist, “The animal rights groups in Utah thought about charging them with cruelty to animals.” I prefer to believe that the fish enjoyed swimming free for those few minutes of eternal glory.

So many memories…so little time.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Dance Time

Some of the only pictures I have of Oly High are the $30 dance pictures that use to hang on the back of my bedroom door. Each dance would bring another picture to add to the collection, and by the time I graduated almost twenty cheep, black-matted picture frames covered the back of my door. After spending some time pondering my time at high school dances the songs of 1997-1998 still bring back found memories.

The organizers of the reunion asked us for a list of our favorite dance songs from the '98 school year. Below I have listed my favorites. Feel free to post your songs into the comments so we can get a killer dance mix put together for the night of June 7th.

1. Next - "Too Close" - The lyrics of this song still leave me puzzled...
2. Ace of Bass -"The Sign"
3. Tag Team - "Whoop" - Not only a Jock Jams favorite, but also played at every stomp since 1995.
4. Chris De Burgh - "Lady in Red" - I have asked my wife to wear a red dress at the reunion to increase the emotional impact of this song for me.
5. Quad City DJ's - "C'mon N Ride It" - So good.
6. 69 Boyz - "Tootsee Roll"
7. Spice Girls - "Two Become One" "Are you as good as I remember baby....."
8. Spice Girls - "Wannabe" This is the worst song ever created. Hands down. Why did we ever agree to dance to this song?
9. Vanilla Ice - "Ice Ice Baby" Over my life time I think I have heard this song more then any other song ever to play at any dance or stomp. We should run a poll to see how many people can sing all the lyrics of this song. Beach Front Avenue!
10. Village People - "YMCA" If you watch any of these videos - watch this one. Scary.
11. B52s -"Love Shack"
12. The Police - "Every Breath You Take" - Stalkers National Anthem

That is all I have time for right now, but if you have more post them.
Peace.
Stuart Anderson

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Sponsorship Opportunities!

We know how successful all of you are and we want to highlight you and/or your business at the reunion! Here's a chance to give back! Sponsorship opportunities are available at the $500 - Titan, $250 - Green and $100 - Gray levels. Email olympus1998@gmail.com for more information.