“A page of my journal is like a cake of portable soup. A little may be diffused into a considerable pot.” James Boswell
Joshua Reynolds portrait of James Boswell
Best known for his biography of Samuel Johnson, Scottish diarist James Boswell (1740-1795) once said: “A companion loves some good qualities which a man may possess, but a friend loves the man himself.”
Casey King, photos by Sophia Rapata
Artist, poet, and IUN Fine Arts major Casey King was on the Munster varsity swim team for four years. Casey currently lives with his dad in the Robertsdale neighborhood near Whiting. He swims weekly and enjoys skateboarding, cars shows, the beach, woodworking, and painting film sets. He attended Columbia College in Chicago for three years and frequents Paul Henry’s Art Gallery in Hammond, previously P.H. Mueller and Sons hardware store. Gallery owner Dave Mueller’s Thursday “Jam Nights” feature music, poetry reading, and a potluck meal. Here are excerpts from King’s journal:
January 20:Following the opening reception of the IUN Filters exhibit at Paul Henry’s gallery, I made my way to the South Lake Artists Co-op Recycle show at Wildrose Brewery in Griffith, which featured 53 pieces by 30 artists. My three are screen prints on wood salvaged, with permission from the owner, from a pile on the corner of Hohman and Sibley in Hammond. My concept was to pay homage to past architectural styles such as atomic,mid-century modern, and googie (Populuxe). A collector purchased two of my pieces, “Fast Fred’s Lounge” and “Workshop.”
February 14: “Groove Painting #1” won honorable mention in the IUN Juried Exhibit. Top prize ($1,00) went to Jennifer McGuire. Her screen prints will become part of the permanent IUN collection.
March 3:I had three illustrations in the “Pen and Ink” exhibit at Union Street Gallery. I also exhibited at an IUN student show at Studio 659 in Whiting organized by David Arreola titled “Fiscally Unviable.”
March 18: Over the weekend, we celebrated my father’s birthday with appetizers dinner (pizza and salad) and cake at my grandmother’s house. Next day my father, uncle, and I ate at Superdawgs in Chicago. The building is a step back in time and even has a car hop. The hot dog is served with a green tomato and no ketchup. Today we ate at my father’s favorite Italian restaurant, Tufano’s, before attending a Blackhawks hockey game. All in all, a good weekend.
April 3:I was asked to submit work for the Aeon Gallery exhibition “Monkey Tree.” I attended with Sophia Rapata, who was also in the show. John Jorgensen played an acoustic set in the Blue Moon Lounge throughout the evening.
James Lambing horsing around in 2014
James Lambing wrote about going ice fishing during spring break:
March 13:While others head to warmer climes, I’m off to Wisconsin. At 3 a.m. I hit the open road with a banana, a monster energy drink, and a cooler for all the fish I expect to bring back. After a six-hour drive my uncle and I packed up the truck with a sled, beer, and an auger to drill holes in the ice. For the six hours we were on the frozen lake, I felt all my worries melt away. We only caught ten fish but at least didn’t get skunked.
March 14:I woke up to the smell of coffee brewing and nine inches of fresh snow outside. The temperature is 18 degrees with a -10 wind chill. There’s no phone service, which reminded me of simpler times. We packed beer, peanuts, and leftover pizza and drove my uncle’s truck right out onto the ice, which was a lot nicer than walking. Later, I noticed a Toyota Camry parked near us; the door was slightly open, and a guy fishing from his car.
March 15:On the way into town we picked up minnows for bait. We each caught about 25 fish. Right before we were ready to leave, I hooked a big one, and just as I pulled it through the ice, it split the hook and rolled back into the water. Because the cold had shocked it, I was able to grab the fish out of the hole just like in TV fishing shows. I love it up here and never want to leave.
March 16:Our last full day in the north woods, the temperature reached 56 degrees, a heat wave compared to when we arrived. We tried a different lake and had no luck, so after cracking open beers and enjoying the spring-like weather, we called it a day. At a gas station my uncle bought a bottle of Fireball cinnamon-flavored Canadian whisky. Back at our place we sat on the truck, opened beers, and passed the whisky bottle back and forth. My uncle told stories about my grandparents, which were new to me since my dad doesn’t talk much about his past. That evening we had a fish fry feast.
March 17:We headed for home at 6 am but stopped outside Madison where my uncle bought a used Cadillac. We went our separate ways, and I got home mid-afternoon. After giving my girlfriend a kiss and hug, I lay down for a nap and stayed asleep for 8 hours.
March 23:My dad called and told me that after I’d left my uncle, he put his Cadillac in a ditch, which tore off the front bumper and ripped off a headlight. In addition he was hit with a DUI. Just last week, he’d told me that in 40 years of driving – and doing stupid stuff in his youth – he’d never had a DUI. He should have knocked on wood so as not to jinx himself.
March 26:It’s been exactly one year since I quit cigarettes after smoking two packs a day. I still get cravings that at times seem unbearable and have had occasional puffs, but I’m glad I made the decision. I am hoping for many more years of being smoke free.
April 21:Yesterday was “Happy 4-20,” and I celebrated with munchies that packed much more of a wallop than I expected. First it made me paranoid, then groggy, and then I fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night and laughed at my reflection in the turned-off TV. It had been ten years since I’d gotten high, and I think I’m good for at least another ten.
KayLee Thompson and Derek Cooper
KayLee Thompson wrote about her boyfriend, roommates, and dog:
Background:In 1999, when I was 18 months old, my family moved from LaPorte to a house in Hobart that we inherited when my grandmother died. Beginning in 2003, my father suffered four strokes and finally died from a heart attack on New Year’s Day 2014. It took all our funds to pay for medications and hospital visits, and we received help from the local food pantry. My mother was our rock, taking care of our needs. When I was 6, I broke my hip and destroyed my plates. In eighth grade I was diagnosed as 50% deaf and have worn hearing aids ever since. My hardships don’t define me but will always be a part of who I am.
March 15:My new hearing aids connect to Bluetooth, which allows me to listen to music and answer phone calls. Even so, I still prefer texts or emails.
March 16:I have been at Mr. T’s Pizza in Hobart for 3 years and worked the closing shift. I live in Portage with boyfriend Derek, his best friend and former metal band mate Leddy, and Leddy’s girlfriend Sydney, to whom I’ve become close; we are nerds and got matching tattoos, as did our friends Rachael and Megan, of the Harry Potter lightning bolt symbol. My nickname is Dobby, like the house elf in Harry Potter. I got my first tattoo at 18, a snake, in honor of my dad whose biker nickname was Snake. I think tattoos are beautiful ways of telling a story and plan to have a bunny tattoo on my left foot in honor of my mother, nicknamed Bunny Girl by dad’s biker pals. I’m thinking about getting a tattoo of Dobby. Hopefully the tattoos won’t lead to problems when I become a teacher, as they are becoming more acceptable.
March 17:Sydney had Sam and me crafting for her big wedding day. We made masks for the photo booth, little candy boxes, and table centerpieces. Sam told a hilarious story about a friend getting her eyebrows done and being upset with the outcome. “The Asians took my eyebrows,”was the punchline.
March 18:I listen to a wide range of music, from country to heavy metal, My last concert was Chicago Open Air, which featured Amon Amarth, Godsmack, Slayer, Stone Sour, and the one and only Ozzy Osborne. It was expensive and hot but amazing.
April 8:At Mr. T’s our opening manager, Tricia, is respectful, understanding, and easygoing, in short a perfect role model, while our closing manager is lazy and no help to any of us. We got backed up on dishes, and she just sat smoking and talking on the phone, causing Tricia to stay much later than 11, when her shift ended.
April 9:On the way to IUN I came upon flashing lights. The driver of an SUV, probably distracted on the phone, had rear-ended a truck at a stop sign.
April 14:I got all dolled up for Sydney’s bachelorette party. When her sister Britney arrived with several boxes of decorations, food, and alcohol, we kicked Sydney out so we could decorate the house. The wedding was superhero themed, and Britney bought everyone matching t-shirts. The party started at 2, and we ate, drank, danced, and played party games, such as Yardzee with giant dice. At 5 a party bus took us to Medieval Times, where a knight on horseback threw Sydney a rose. We all had so much fun.
April 20:In December of 2015, we adopted Apollo, a black lab, from Hobart Humane Society. His litter had been left at a gas station in a box. Derek and I were working a craft show for my mother, and nearby the humane society had a booth to sell treats, collars, and leashes. A man had a lab puppy with him and said the litter would be available for adoption in about a month. We filled out the proper papers and were the first on their list on the day when the puppies went up for adoption. A long line formed at the shelter, but we got first pick and chose Apollo, who proved to be an amazing animal, smart and loving.
Two shots of Ariana Schiewer
Ariana Schiewer wrote about turning 22 and dealing with immature guys:
January 10:I went go karting with friends. The karts go up to 60 mph. Carlos bragged that he was going to beat me. Everything he does, he has to be the best at it. I’m super competitive, too, and really wanted to beat him. None of my friends, myself included, believed he was as good as he kept saying. On take-off, I put my foot all the way down on the pedal. BAD IDEA!! The go kart went way too fast, straight into a wall. After that, I went super slow the whole time. Carlos and Taylor kept throwing me into the wall and acting like it was so funny. Carlos ended up winning and I came in last. If you think I’ll ever hear the end of that, you’re wrong.
January 17:I’m better at laser tag than most of my friends. Most important, I’m way better than Carlos. I was on a team with my best friend Annie and Carlos. We won three games. In the lobby Carlos and Taylor started yelling at a guy who had kept insulting Annie and me. After the huge argument we turned our attention to the scoreboard. Carlos’ name appeared right in front of mine. OF COURSE!
January 24:At the movies I was with Annie and Matt. Carlos was supposed to join us, but nobody could get ahold of him. Annie and I were making fun of the movie, which ticked Matt off. Afterwards, Carlos claimed he’d been sleeping and didn’t hear his alarm. Carlos is a known liar though, so I don’t buy it.
January 31:The whole time Annie and I were having our nails done she was texting with Carlos, and they were “joking” about me. It was annoying. After leaving the nail salon, we went to Red Robin for a hamburger and shake. Well, we both get sugar rushes very easily, and after half a shake, we both were bouncing off the walls. Everyone we were texting thought we were drunk, so of course Matt had to show up and make sure we were okay. Really, he was just coming to talk to Annie. He just shows up wherever Annie is all the time.
February 4 (Superbowl Sunday):I was planning to watch the game with Erik, Matt, and Carlos, but at work Matt said he just wanted it to be the guys. It was snowing and the roads were supposed to be really bad, so I decided it was best not to go. Well, then I got a text from Carlos and Erik, and I got talked into leaving work an hour early and joining them. When I arrived, Carlos was hanging half way out the window giving me the finger. I was secretly hoping he’d fall. He thinks he is so perfect all the time. Fifteen minutes later, a guy delivered pizza and pasta. Thank goodness, because I hadn’t eaten all day. I forgot to pack a lunch and didn’t have money. We took bets and I took the Patriots, while they all wanted the Eagles. Loser was to be thrown in the snow from the window. Guess who lost? They didn’t actually throw me from the window. I would have definitely broke something. Carlos and I started wrestling, because I swore I could beat him. Yeah, another bad idea. I was pinned in thirty seconds. It was a fun night. I started to feel like I was actually friends with this group of guys.
February 8:Annie, hosting video game night, texted me to come early. When I got there, Carlos was already on the couch with the game systems all set up and an extra TV. Then Matt started bossing everyone around. He scolded Carlos and me for playing music too loud . I yelled back, and Annie, as always, took Matt’s side.
February 9:Carlos, Matt, Annie, and I played in the snow for three hours and then went to Dunkin Donuts for hot chocolate. With wet shoes, socks, and leggings, I was cold the whole way home but had a great time. The minute I got home I jumped in a hot shower and went to bed for the night.
February 13:At the grocery, in sweats with no makeup on, I got a call to go to the movies. I drove home with the groceries and got ready in 20 minutes. I was running late but had to stop for gas. Being late gives me really bad anxiety. I got there five minutes before the movie and no one was there yet. I thought they were pranking me, but then everyone came running in. The whole time Annie talked to Taylor. I told myself not to go to a movie with them again.
February 21:Guess where I went? If you guessed the movies, you’d be right. I was next to Annie and on the other side was Matt and Carlos. Matt said, “Rock, paper, and scissors to see who sits next to Annie. ”You have got to be kidding me! Are we in middle school!? Well, Matt won and got to sit next to Annie. I almost grabbed my purse and walked out, only I just paid 11 dollars to see this stupid movie. The minute it ended, I ran to my car without a word to any of them. Later, when I told Annie how I felt, she claimed it was all in my head. Great friend. I could never stay mad at Annie though, so I knew in a few days everything would be fine.
March 1:Tattoo time! My second. Beforehand, Annie and I had breakfast at Jelly’s. After we grabbed a table and ordered food, Carlos appeared and said, “What about me?” Then Matt, Zach, and Erik arrived. I didn’t talk the whole time, so upset with Annie for inviting them without even asking me. Later she claimed she felt I’d be happy to see Carlos. Wrong! It really had to do with her wanting to see Matt. After getting our tattoos, I calmed down but went straight home to catch up on homework.
March 8:I lost Drunk, Stoned, or Stupid because I ended up with the most cards. Leaving Erik’s, I had to follow Carlos because I can never remember where we have to turn. Well, he decided to speed all the way home, perhaps because he was annoyed with me. Well, I tried to keep up and got pulled over, my first time ever. I was so nervous but got off with a warning. I talked to Carlos that night and he made me feel better about getting pulled over.
March 17:My whole shift was with Matt, Erik, and Carlos. At Jelly’s for lunch we got green pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day, kind of weird. We sat and laughed. When Annie isn’t around, Carlos and Matt actually talk to everyone and are fun to be around. Our waitress forgot our bacon. Since it took 30 minutes for our food to arrive, I told them to take it off the bill and it was fine. On the way back to work Erik was smoking. I start having coughing fits and hanging my head out the window; they all thought it was funny.
March 21:My brother is getting married. He’s been engaged for almost six years and has two kids. I hadn’t seen them since Christmas. I used to live with them so it has been really hard on me. It was a four-hour drive; when I got there, my niece ran up to me and wouldn’t leave me the rest of the day.
March 24:I had been texting Annie almost all day, but at 7 o’clock stopped hearing from her. I knew something was wrong; two hours later she messaged me that her me mawpassed away, her last living grandparent. I packed a bag and headed over to her house. Halfway there, Annie told me she’d decided to go over to her brothers’. I texted Matt to see what we should do to help and he told me to stay out of it.
March 26:I gave Annie condolence cards and we had a nice long talk about her feelings and needs.
March 27:Today was the wake so I dressed up before leaving for school. I have only ever been to one wake and never actually saw the body. When Erik, Carlos, and I got to the funeral home, we instantly ran into Annie and her mom. They seemed fine, but I knew it would be a while before they felt okay.
March 28: My brother’s family is in town, and mom volunteered me to stay at their motel room and babysit. I was upset at first, but my nephew and niece were really excited for me to be spending the night so I got over it. Only a few hours away from turning 22, I always like to go into my birthday in a good mood. I went to the pool with my niece and nephew; after about 30 minutes of swimming, they were tired and fell asleep soon after changing into pajamas.
March 29: My mom decided we should take my nephew to an arcade. My niece played in a toddler area while he got to play his games. Everyone kept apologizing that my birthday was ruined, but really I couldn’t have planned it better. My sister who lives far away even came to see me.
March 30:I had dinner with Annie to celebrate my birthday, and then we hung out with Matt and Carlos at the arcade. Annie asked her boyfriend Taylor if he wanted to come but he declined. Carlos decided that we should go play arcade games and leave Matt and Annie alone. Afterwards, they acted annoyed that we had disappeared, but if they weren’t so involved in each other, maybe they would have noticed.
April 9:I was hanging out with immature Carlos. Annie was supposed to join us but didn’t show up. Carlos made some dumb joke and started laughing so hard, everyone in the room was looking at us. He kept laughing for a good five minutes. I ended up leaving out of embarrassment. Then he kept calling for me to come back, which just drew more attention to us.
April 13:Carlos texted me to go see The Quiet Place with him and Matt. I was jumping throughout the whole movie and they kept making fun of me. It’s getting old.
Walt's in 1937 and 2010
Nicholas Campagnolo wrote about a Geology field trip to the Indiana dunes, reading “Game Change” for a course on the American Presidency, learning about William A. Wirt from Ronald Cohen in a Hoosier History course, working as a stocker at Walt’s Food Center in Dyer (which started in 1937 as a fruit and vegetable stand), organizing an NCAA “March Madness” office pool, attending an auction of items repossessed from home foreclosures, and playing his favorite slot machine, Swiss Riches, at Horseshoe Casino. Campagnolo’s final journal entries described Easter weekend with family:
March 30:On Good Friday my church passes out Easter eggs to be painted and returned for Easter mass. For every painted egg, the church donates a dollar to charities that fight world hunger. The person judged to have painted the best egg receives a $100 gift card to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, which my mother would appreciate. I painted mine light blue and then added pink paint shaped like diamonds and a yellow stripe down the middle.
March 31:After working until noon, I shopped to help my mother prepare for Easter. On the list were eggs, butter, parsley, cinnamon, bread crumbs, celery, tortillas, and an oven thermometer. It took nearly an hour to find everything and get through the long check-out line. My next assignment was to devein shrimp for shrimp scampi while my mother glazed the ham. I peeled potatoes until my hand was in pain and helped her prep several other items.
April 1:When I woke up, my mother, an obsessive neat freak, was cleaning the kitchen and rest of the first floor. Arriving in the early afternoon were my grandparents, step-father’s grandparents, uncles, cousins, and one year-old Giovani, who smiled and rolled around on the carpet like a puppy playing with stuffed animals. Giovani’s father is a professional meat cutter and his mother works part-time at Michael’s Craft Store. My mother and her 3 brothers reminisced about their childhood. I ate so much I didn’t have room for the carrot cake and ice cream. There were plenty of leftovers. After the guests left, I helped my mother clean up; because we used paper plates and plastic silverware, it didn’t take that long.
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