it's a party, and I'll cry if I want to....

I got politically active at NIU

     As a high school kid, I wasn't that concerned about what happened around me.  I could not vote, it was a Democratic town, my parents were not active in politics....it just never interested me.
     Even the election of John Kennedy did not spur me to political involvement.  By the way, my dad was convinced Kennedy would be a puppet of the Pope!  He believed that if a Catholic was elected president, he would take orders from the Pope.....glad to know we have advanced since then.
     I owe my political interest to Jim Czerwinski.
     I was living off campus.  Jim decided to run for president of the first student government group at NIU.
     A bunch of us formed the Kishwaukee Beach Party, or the KBP as we used in posters.
     We printed posters with a hand and one finger upraised that said, it just takes one vote, or something like that.  Some people were offended that we used the middle finger.
     We had an aggressive campaign strategy.  Say nothing, do a lot.
     At an open meeting with all the candidates for president present, when the first question was asked, Jim said "I am not putting up with that crap," and stormed off the stage.
     We announced rallies, then didn't go.
     We scheduled interviews, and never showed.
     The results were predictable.....lost in a landslide.
     Which was the plan.
     If I remember, there was another election for representatives and Jim easily won.  I think people remembered his name, which seemed to be the whole purpose of the farce run in the first election.
Either that, or the whole event was a hallucination.  We consumed alcohol during our planning sessions...and me, not being of age and not used to drink, sometimes lost track of the conversation.
     That was the same house where Eli lived.  He was into blues and soul music and introduced me to a world of music I had never known.
     There was another guy, I think his name was Will.  He was a philosophy major.  His dream job was being a bridge operator because you didn't work a lot and had time to think.
     I lost track of them all.  A rumor was Jim got a job offer from Sears, but would have had to shave his moustache.  Another rumor had Will going to prison for draft evasion, willfully turning himself in to authorities.
     Election night always reminds me of the KBP..... and it does bring a smile to my face.