Boolah Boolah is the Yale University fight song, and, back in the day, was shorthand for college life. Shorthand, children, was a way of taking dictation. Dictation, children, was when somebody spoke and somebody else wrote it down using symbols to represent common words or phrases. On paper. With a pen.
ANYWAY, guess what this is:
Well, I’ll tell you. It’s a freshman beanie from my alma mater, Eastern Kentucky University. Back in the day, all incoming freshmen (or “frosh” as we were known in the collective) had to wear these beanies for the first — I forget — two weeks? If you weren’t wearing one and an upperclassman caught you, they could require you to do some embarrassing thing.
Such was our innocence that we seldom lied, and the embarrassing things we were required to do were really rather mild. Ah, the dear dead days.
No, we didn’t wear raccoon coats. No, we didn’t say 23-skiddoo. No, we — will you stop it!??!!
Sheesh.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Write some memories or fantasies about college life.
MA
Jane
August 15, 2014 at 9:31amAh, good ol’ EKU. I am happy to say I have no idea what the fight song was.
My best memories are divided between spring blooms in the Ravine, walking out at night along Lancaster and playing on the swings, or taking a cab down to the Hotel for dinner in a torrential rain.
Marian Allen
August 15, 2014 at 10:23amDon’t forget the comics! And Wallace’s book store, where I began my classical music collection under your advisement.