CHAD BENNIN

I believe I first got to know Chad during 6th grade. We had Mrs. Casey together. I'm pretty sure he was at Magee also. But my first contact with him was at Clarke.

Chad had two personalities. At times he could be snotty and annoying - very annoying. And at other times he could be fun and goofy. He had a big ego. Or was that just an act? I don't know.

Now that I think about it, Chad must have been at Magee. Because at the end of 5th grade, I was friends with fellow graduate Chad Daffner. And the two Chads were friends themselves. They were both wrestlers. So they had that common bond. Because of their friendship, Chad Benin came to my house once or twice. I have a vague memory of the two Chad's throwing some cookies at me from my attic, as I was looking up at them from my bedroom. I also have a very bizarre memory of the three of us hanging out down by the river. The two Chads decided to whip out their respective wieners and compare pubes. They were just starting to develop. I was a year younger than both of them. So I had nothing to show yet. For the record, there was nothing gay going on between them. It was just two boys comparing their peckers. Boys will be boys I guess.

During 6th grade, all the classes spent a night at Camp Tapawingo. We all took some sort of nature hike at night. And I recall seeing Chad try to lead Stacy Taddy into the bushes to do... whatever. But nothing actually did happen. Stacy wasn't having it, and pressed on with the walk.

In 8th grade, my friend (and fellow graduate) Greg Flemal got into an argument with Chad. The two of them decided to settle it with a fight. So the three of us walked over to the cemetery after school. And the two of them literally put up their dukes and went at it. What an odd display. First off, the fact that they calmly walked over together was strange. The actual "fight" consisted of a few mere punches before they stopped. And typically, they parted as friends - or at least friendly. Kid fights are weird that way.

In highschool, Chad continued to wrestle. He must have been pretty good at it, seeing as he stuck with it for all those years. By this time, his ego was out of control. And for the life of me, I couldn't understand it. He was kind of short and wore glasses. He didn't seem like the bully type. He didn't seem capable of being one. But man, he had the mouth of one. I dubbed him "God." And Richard and I ran with that nickname.

Chad was blunt. During our sophomore year, I was starting to get some stubble on my face. Chad was quick to point out that I needed to shave. Of course he was also quick to point out that I needed to get a haircut or do something with my hair. He was right of course. But his candor made him look like an asshole.

During junior and senior year, Chad went out with fellow graduate Kim Nokes. Lucky bastard! Kim was so nice too. What did she see in this egomaniac?

In our senior year, Chad and I had Ms. Neveau's mass media class together. At some point in the year, she wanted us to make a list of all of our favorites - song, movie, TV show... On this day, Chad happened to be sitting next to me. As his favorite song, he put down Def Leppard's "Don't Shoot Shotgun" - which can be found on their "Hysteria" album. And for his all-time favorite film, he wrote down "Child's Play." I didn't say anything to him. But that disgusted me. I wanted to ask him, "Chad, in 20 years, as you look back on your childhood, are you going to remember "Child's Play?" Or are you more apt to remember something Like "Star Wars?" "Child's Play" happened to be big at the time. And I'm sure he was just buzzed about it. But geez, put some thought into your answers. Now, it's been 17 years since that day. And if I were to run into Chad, and he were to tell me that "Child's Play" is still his favorite film, and that he has it, and all the sequels (which keep coming to this day) on DVD, then I will eat my words.

On our senior video, Chad can be seen mugging to the camera as he talks about wrestling. I think he was trying to be like a professional wrestler. But he wasn't quick enough to come up with something clever to say. But the attitude displayed was rather funny.

I realize this entry makes Chad look like an ass. And he was. But like I said, there were two sides to Chad. I've come to the conclusion that Chad didn't even believe a lot of his bullshit - that he was somewhat of a parody of himself. There was definitely a lovable quality to him.

I ran into Chad many, many times at the video store. And I must say, he was a delight. He was always happy, smiling, and fun to talk to. He was a good guy. Now THAT is the Chad I choose to remember.

Chad married class of 1990's Janet Anderson. It looks like they divorced in 1998. I believe they had two kids together. Today it looks like Chad has remarried to a woman named Barbara. I believe they live in Mishicot.

UPDATE - 11/22/06 - A comment got deleted. Here's what it said.

"I work with Chad, he's a maintenance guy with specialization in wiring/electrical. He usually wears a hat. One day the hat was off, wiping sweat off his brow--he is as bald as Homer Simpson. I'm not one to groove on another's misery, but it was a bit of a shock. He has the illusion of hair, what I would call a "hat ring". When the hat is off, the illusion is dismissed."