With one year under my belt as a yearbook advisor, I dug my own yearbooks out of the garage to look at them with a different eye. As I flipped through them, I wasn't very interested in the boring black-and-white photos and uninspired layout. What did catch my attention were all the signings from friends.
You can tell a lot about friendships, about things that were important at the time, about how we related to each other, from reading what people wrote in your yearbooks. It's the best, most memorable feature of a yearbook. I've had people come to me to see if they could buy an old yearbook because their's was destroyed or lost. The sad thing is they can never get those signings back.
So the lesson for the day is...sign those yearbooks! And get people to sign yours.
Yearbook signings are similar to letters (back in the day when people still wrote letters). Unless someone saves them, you forget what you wrote. I thought it would be fun to show how my closest friends' yearbook signings evolved and changed over the years.
Today I start with the friend who I eventually shared an apartment with during college, a person I've traveled across the country to visit, the guy who was the best man at my wedding. Admittedly, he was not the best yearbook signer, which makes some of his entries all the funnier. I debated whether to censor the entries or not, and I opted not to. So be warned, as we get into the high school years, the language can be, well, typical of a high school male talking amongst friends. I also opted to copy the punctuation and spelling mistakes exactly as they were written (I had to fight the urge to correct as I typed).
And now, from 1983-1990, the writings of Dominick Cecere:
5th grade (the italicized part is erased, but I can still read what it said):
Wayne,
Thanks for being a good friend this year, even though you didn't see Return of the Jedi. Your a great friend.
Your Buddy, Dominick Cecere
(includes a drawing of two hands holding lightsabers)
6th grade:
Wayne,
I'm not much at signing yearbooks, but I'll do my best. I've enjoyed all your jokes, sound effects, etc. You've been a great friend, pal, buddy, etc.
Dominick Cecere
7th grade:
Wayne,
We gotta get together this summer. We need to give Marvel a boost. Hope to have you in my 8th grade homeroom next year. As if you haven't guessed. Oh, by the way I loved your sound ef...., well, catch my drift? Well, I want to go now so...
Your pal, Dom
(I must have complained to him about the brevity of his signing, because on the side, in a different color pen, he continued:)
Ah, what the heck I'll keep writing. Hope we get together this summer and go swimming. About Keli's new house, maybe we could all spend the night there, with her supervision. We really gotta get the D.O.J. Fighters and F.O.E. Enemy Force some character sheets together. Also, go on some good adventures.
8th grade:
Wayne,
I don't like writing on the pages so I'm writing on the hard back part. Maybe if we get together this summer, I got Return of the Jedi on tape we'll watch it. REMEMBER THIS-> (drawing of two hands with lightsabers) Just kidding. And your sound effects suck. No really, we gotta get together this summer if you're not going to North Carolina. Hey this paper is Carolina Blue. Alright! Wow! Golly! Big deal! We've had a big "bad time" this year. But it is straightened out hopefully. You can have Amy. I mean if you want her. A girl for god's sake. How could a friendship get almost screwed up so easily? Well gotta go.
Your friend, Dom
9th grade:
Wayne,
I don't believe we did it, we put up with Burton for another year. (Jus' kiddin' Burt) Maybe we'll (what's after "we'll", Steve? Struggle? O.K.) struggle for another year. (Thanks Steve) We also lived through Steve's pickiness (No Offense, Steve) Thanks for putting up with Brenda. Why am I no good at signing yearbooks. Why? For GOD'S SAKE WHY? SOMEBODY HELP ME! HELP ME! PLEASE, HELP ME! If ya ever need...uh-umm..uh-well...uh...remember you can call on me. Hey what are friends for. This totally sucks. So you going up to N.C. this summer? Check out the guy down there. Remember: 1-D 2-B 3-B 4-C 5-TRUE 6-A 7-D for Lechler's test. I'm gonna quit waisting space.
Your Pal, Dominick
'90 the only way to have class. I'll sign something later.
P.S. Well, I'm back! You didn't have a scuzzy and strange girlfriend this year, that I could take away from you. So what do you expect me to write? Wayne, This year was pretty good. Especially the end. Good luck with Shawn.
Bye, Dominick
10th grade:
Did not sign.
11th grade:
Wanye, (REMEMBER!)
Well, this year kind of sucked cause Steve was here the whole year except those days he was sick because he was too tired to finish a report or project at the last minute, but Steve is Steve and I guess that's who he'll always be (No offense, Steve) because we're all friends. We started the band this school year. That was an experience. We got as far as a concert in the metropolis of Lecanto. You know I hate signing yearbooks, yet every year you beg for me to inscribe some bullshit friend crap among the pages. Some parts are funny and some aren't. When we look back on this year we can remember the rednecks in Ocala who inquired the fact of me being a "sissy bitch." I recall the Amy/Katya date and the absolute embarrassment felt when they yelled out infamous phrases such as "vaginal warts" and "rectal massage." The time when you honked the horn at 10 o'clock at night in Angie "big tit" Finegan's driveway. The encounter with her dad was embarrassing. The Christmas or rather New Year's Eve concert we gave my family late that December night. We really rocked with that classic "Auld Lang Syne." Yes, this was a good year, but of course next year will be better. I'm not going to babble on about being seniors, cause I know that really pisses you off. So I'll leave with saying that you're the yougest of us and you'll always be a step lower than me. Oh fuck it. See ya' later.
Your pal, Dominick
P.S. You're sound effects keep getting better and better. I like the lazer one the best.
12th grade:
Did not sign.
You can tell a lot about friendships, about things that were important at the time, about how we related to each other, from reading what people wrote in your yearbooks. It's the best, most memorable feature of a yearbook. I've had people come to me to see if they could buy an old yearbook because their's was destroyed or lost. The sad thing is they can never get those signings back.
So the lesson for the day is...sign those yearbooks! And get people to sign yours.
Yearbook signings are similar to letters (back in the day when people still wrote letters). Unless someone saves them, you forget what you wrote. I thought it would be fun to show how my closest friends' yearbook signings evolved and changed over the years.
Today I start with the friend who I eventually shared an apartment with during college, a person I've traveled across the country to visit, the guy who was the best man at my wedding. Admittedly, he was not the best yearbook signer, which makes some of his entries all the funnier. I debated whether to censor the entries or not, and I opted not to. So be warned, as we get into the high school years, the language can be, well, typical of a high school male talking amongst friends. I also opted to copy the punctuation and spelling mistakes exactly as they were written (I had to fight the urge to correct as I typed).
And now, from 1983-1990, the writings of Dominick Cecere:
5th grade (the italicized part is erased, but I can still read what it said):
Wayne,
Thanks for being a good friend this year, even though you didn't see Return of the Jedi. Your a great friend.
Your Buddy, Dominick Cecere
(includes a drawing of two hands holding lightsabers)
6th grade:
Wayne,
I'm not much at signing yearbooks, but I'll do my best. I've enjoyed all your jokes, sound effects, etc. You've been a great friend, pal, buddy, etc.
Dominick Cecere
7th grade:
Wayne,
We gotta get together this summer. We need to give Marvel a boost. Hope to have you in my 8th grade homeroom next year. As if you haven't guessed. Oh, by the way I loved your sound ef...., well, catch my drift? Well, I want to go now so...
Your pal, Dom
(I must have complained to him about the brevity of his signing, because on the side, in a different color pen, he continued:)
Ah, what the heck I'll keep writing. Hope we get together this summer and go swimming. About Keli's new house, maybe we could all spend the night there, with her supervision. We really gotta get the D.O.J. Fighters and F.O.E. Enemy Force some character sheets together. Also, go on some good adventures.
8th grade:
Wayne,
I don't like writing on the pages so I'm writing on the hard back part. Maybe if we get together this summer, I got Return of the Jedi on tape we'll watch it. REMEMBER THIS-> (drawing of two hands with lightsabers) Just kidding. And your sound effects suck. No really, we gotta get together this summer if you're not going to North Carolina. Hey this paper is Carolina Blue. Alright! Wow! Golly! Big deal! We've had a big "bad time" this year. But it is straightened out hopefully. You can have Amy. I mean if you want her. A girl for god's sake. How could a friendship get almost screwed up so easily? Well gotta go.
Your friend, Dom
9th grade:
Wayne,
I don't believe we did it, we put up with Burton for another year. (Jus' kiddin' Burt) Maybe we'll (what's after "we'll", Steve? Struggle? O.K.) struggle for another year. (Thanks Steve) We also lived through Steve's pickiness (No Offense, Steve) Thanks for putting up with Brenda. Why am I no good at signing yearbooks. Why? For GOD'S SAKE WHY? SOMEBODY HELP ME! HELP ME! PLEASE, HELP ME! If ya ever need...uh-umm..uh-well...uh...remember you can call on me. Hey what are friends for. This totally sucks. So you going up to N.C. this summer? Check out the guy down there. Remember: 1-D 2-B 3-B 4-C 5-TRUE 6-A 7-D for Lechler's test. I'm gonna quit waisting space.
Your Pal, Dominick
'90 the only way to have class. I'll sign something later.
P.S. Well, I'm back! You didn't have a scuzzy and strange girlfriend this year, that I could take away from you. So what do you expect me to write? Wayne, This year was pretty good. Especially the end. Good luck with Shawn.
Bye, Dominick
10th grade:
Did not sign.
11th grade:
Wanye, (REMEMBER!)
Well, this year kind of sucked cause Steve was here the whole year except those days he was sick because he was too tired to finish a report or project at the last minute, but Steve is Steve and I guess that's who he'll always be (No offense, Steve) because we're all friends. We started the band this school year. That was an experience. We got as far as a concert in the metropolis of Lecanto. You know I hate signing yearbooks, yet every year you beg for me to inscribe some bullshit friend crap among the pages. Some parts are funny and some aren't. When we look back on this year we can remember the rednecks in Ocala who inquired the fact of me being a "sissy bitch." I recall the Amy/Katya date and the absolute embarrassment felt when they yelled out infamous phrases such as "vaginal warts" and "rectal massage." The time when you honked the horn at 10 o'clock at night in Angie "big tit" Finegan's driveway. The encounter with her dad was embarrassing. The Christmas or rather New Year's Eve concert we gave my family late that December night. We really rocked with that classic "Auld Lang Syne." Yes, this was a good year, but of course next year will be better. I'm not going to babble on about being seniors, cause I know that really pisses you off. So I'll leave with saying that you're the yougest of us and you'll always be a step lower than me. Oh fuck it. See ya' later.
Your pal, Dominick
P.S. You're sound effects keep getting better and better. I like the lazer one the best.
12th grade:
Did not sign.
2 comments:
This is really cool. Hope Dom is doing well. Sure would love to see him and his family. I think it is just great that your band of friends have stuck together so wel over these years after high school. Did you guys have a 20th anniversary celebration in 2010 anywhere?
Wow. Endearing, yet ever so pathetic. What the hell was wrong with me that I couldn't put some sentences together? And what's with the years that I didn't even sign? I guess our friendship can withstand anything. At least I drew some sweet pics. May the Force be with you!
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