STEPHANIE GARDNER

Stephanie sat in front of me. We got along ok. We weren't friends or anything. But she seemed pleasant enough.

Stephanie was friends with Mindy Moore. Mindy sat behind me. So I suggested that the two of us switch seats. By doing so, I would be up by Jeff Bodwin and Shawn Rappley - two people I regularly conversed with in there. So it was a win-win situation for both of us.

So the two of us approached Mr. Heuer with the idea. His answer? No. No real explanation was given. He simply said no. Why was he such a jerk? Who knows. But I wasn't going to stand for it. So the very next day, when I got into class, I sat in Stephanie's seat. Stephanie was a bit shocked. But she quietly sat in my seat, and hoped for the best. When Heuer started class, he clearly noticed the switch. But he said nothing. Interesting. So the switch was complete, and remained so for the rest of the year.

As a side note to that story, Lee Jacquart (who sat next to me, on my right) also tried to switch seats with someone else. This was a few days after Stephanie and I had switched. When Heuer saw him, he blew up and said, "Lee, get in your own damn seat!" Lee replied, "Well Burt and Stephanie switched." To which Mr. Heuer responded, "Yes, but they asked!"

So we asked, were turned down, did it anyway, and got away with it? My only guess is that Heuer somehow forgot that he had told us no. I guess a lot crossed him mind in 24 hours.

I can recall walking home after taking my final exams in the first semester of my freshman year. About a block behind me, Stephanie and Craig Rysticken were walking together. I think they were heading towards her house. If memory serves, she lived a few blocks from school. The streets were really slippery that day, as it had snowed.

After freshman year, Stephanie and I didn't have much contact with each other. We each took very different paths. Stephanie was on the volleyball team I think. Or was it softball? Maybe it was both. Or maybe it was tennis. I don't know. But she was involved with sports. Tennis was probably the one.

After high school, I think Stephanie went to UW Madison. I think she met a boyfriend there - a guy named Ed. I believe the two of them are together to this day. I think they have one child together. Over the years, I believe Stephanie has lived in St. Louis and Baltimore. But today, it appears she resides in Pennsylvania, where she's an assiatant biology professor at Dickinson College. If the two of them are in fact married, it looks like Stephanie has chosen to keep her maiden name.

UPDATE - 1/29/07 - It looks like Stephanie now lives in West Lafayette, Indiana. I think her husband is an assistant professor of Bio Science and Bio Engineering at Purdue.

UPDATE - 7/27/07 - Ask and you shall receive. Stephanie sent me a nice E-mail this morning, along with a couple of pictures. She also mentioned that prior to college, she'd only lived in Two Rivers for five years. So it look like she arrived there in 8th grade. You can see the pictures of her and her children below. Thanks Steph!