SHAWN P.

Shawn is a guy I met in grade school. He had Miss Charter for 4th grade and Miss Hynek for 5th grade. So I didn't cross paths with him too much.

I have heard stories that Shawn and Miss Hynek didn't get along. In fact, I've been told that she tormented him to no end. Of course I'm sure Shawn had most of it coming. But I think Shawn was Miss Hynek's person whipping boy all year long.

I had Miss Hynek for reading class. She taught the "smart" kids - or at least the ones who were supposed to be the best readers. Shawn wasn't in there. he either went into Mr. Tisler or Miss Krause's room. I think it was Tisler. Anyway, he somehow got kicked out of reading class one day - literally. And he didn't know what to do or where to go. So he wandered back into Hynek's class, mumbled something about being kicked out, then sauntered over to the book shelf to stand. That class was packed. So there was no place to sit. And someone was obviously in his seat. So he grabbed a paperback book, leaned against the wall and started reading. About five minutes later, Miss Hynek blew up at him. And she really tore into him! She had no idea what he was doing or why he was there. Why she let him stand there for five minutes is a mystery though. I thought Shawn would going to need therapy after that. Whatever the case, she got rid of him, and he was gone from our room for the rest of the period.

Shawn lived pretty close to me. He was actually our paperboy for awhile. In fact, I can recall sitting on my front porch, looking at the May cable guide (which showed all the movie lisitngs for the movie channels that we had) that had come in the mail that day. Shawn sat down and looked at it with me. There was a picture for the HBO series "Aerobicise." It was a 20-minute workout show. Shawn commented, "I don't like it. All they show is butts."

Shawn was neighbors with Scott Jaklin. Scott had some interesting stories about Shawn. I don't recall much. But perhaps he'll chime in with some memories.

Scott did tell me that he ran into Shawn one day after school. This was during middle school. Scott would walk home through the field behind my house. Near the end of that field was a very small, wooded area. As Scott walked by, he heard, "Hey Scott!" Apparently Shawn had decided to skip school, and spent the entire day in this woods. I think he was asking for some food too, as he was quite hungry. He must have been bored out of his mind sitting there all day.

Shawn had his picture in the paper once. It was an ad looking for a big brother/big sister for him. Shawn got teased over that.

I'm not sure when Shawn left school. I'm not even sure he made it though 8th grade. If I were to guess, I'd say he didn't graduate anywhere. I take that back. He did make it through 8th grade. I recall that at some point that year, he got into a fight with class of 1990's Jon Kern. Both of them got suspended. Both Shawn and I were banned from the end-of-the-year picnic due to multiple suspensions received that year.

I ran into Shawn once or twice at the video store. One time he'd rented three films. But he didn't bring them back on time. They were only a day or two late. But for whatever reason, he wrapped them in a paper bag and mailed them back to us. The cost of postage was probably more than his late fees would have been.

I think Shawn was in the navy for awhile as well. Shawn eventually married a woman named Andrea. Today they live in Two Rivers. According to Kevin Dehne, he and Shawn were in the same alcohol rehabilitation class. I don't see any drunk driving offenses for Shawn. So perhaps he just had a drinking problem.

UPDATE - 3/20/08 - A few weeks ago, I got an Email from Shawn. He included a few photos of he and his wife. They are posted below.