This Probably Got Me Kicked Out of the Steely Dan Fan Club

Photos from the afternoon at Seabreeze.  Photos taken by and the property of FourWalls.
@FourWalls (70958)
United States
February 3, 2025 9:31pm CST
First, an apology to @NJChicaa for referencing her second least-favorite band of all time. Sorry. At least you don’t have to listen to them (unless you want to! ). Steely Dan had that song back in 1974 called “My Old School,” where the chorus said, “I’m never going back to my old school.” Love that song. But guess what I did today. Yep, I went back to my old school. I didn’t go to Seabreeze Senior for a full year, while I went to the junior high for two years. Those years were magical to me, though. I was bullied through most of my school years. The exception was the years I spent at Seabreeze. Anyway, the junior high was torn down a long time ago (I don’t think the building lasted 25 years ), which left only the senior high to visit. And here’s where I have to give NJ Chic a BIG hug. You all probably know she’s a teacher. Well, today was the first day since, oh, 1978 or so that I’d stepped foot on school property, and I couldn’t believe the difference. Yes, Seabreeze had been remodeled: all the outside lockers were long gone, and the courtyard was enclosed. The buildings, according to the teacher who helped me out/showed me around, had been remodeled in the early 2000s. But I’m talking about the lovely decorative locked gates barring entrance to the property. You know how it is these days. So do I, so I made sure to check in with the first official-looking person I saw (in the parking lot). I approached with nothing more than my ID in my hands. He was very sweet and called the office to let them know I was coming. Once inside, I gave them my ID again and told them I was a semi-alumna of the school (didn’t graduate from there, but my heart is still there). I was interested in seeing if any stores around town sold Seabreeze merch, without having to actually GO to every store in town. The teacher they called came to get me. She had just received an order of t-shirts, hoodies, polo shirts, and sweatshirts. I found exactly what I wanted (left photo) and got it. We chatted about the old days, the vast differences (like how inappropriate it is to make a joke about being an ex-postal employee on Prozac while you’re on school property…that’s like saying hello to Laura Petrie’s husband in a bank ), and my cringe-worthy memory of the football games: our cheerleaders out there, going, “Crabs are dynamite.” (It was the 70s, sure, but somebody didn’t think THAT one through!) So, while I may get kicked out of the Steely Dan Fan Club for going back to my old school, it really was a great time. PHOTOS: (Left) My Seabreeze hoodie! (Right) The sign on the building
7 people like this
4 responses
@JudyEv (345137)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Feb
That's nice that they showed you around. You'll enjoy wearing that hoodie.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (70958)
• United States
4 Feb
It’s so much different than when I went there (I told the teacher escorting me that the courtyard used to have lockers lining all the walls). I’m in no hurry to get back to weather that allows me to wear it.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (110859)
• Marion, Ohio
4 Feb
Glad they were all nice and helpful.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (70958)
• United States
4 Feb
I was pleasantly surprised. Like NJ said, in today’s world you couldn’t have blamed them if they’d escorted me out.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (110859)
• Marion, Ohio
5 Feb
@FourWalls It helped that you were catching people to let them know you were there.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (30921)
• United Kingdom
4 Feb
Glad you had a lovely visit. I'm never going back to my old school!
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (70958)
• United States
4 Feb
I have to say I think I’ve been back to my high school more times than the university I graduated from in the last 20 years. (And the university is in the same city I live in, not 800 or so miles away!)
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (121113)
• United States
4 Feb
That is great that you had a nice visit. Frankly I'm surprised they let you visit. Our school doesn't even let recent graduates in to visit former teachers. And I have to say that I'm surprised that they call themselves "sandcrabs" but then use an image of a blue crab as the logo. Sandcrabs look a lot different.
1 person likes this