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Thursday, June 17, 1971.
The surrounding dimness of the overhead lights helped cool the uncomfortably warm weather just outside the large auditorium. Me and my friend Albert were sitting in the third row from the rear of the room. A few minutes prior, Albert was absent-mindedly flipping through the Daily News newspaper, but he became focused after hearing my admission. "You've got to be some kind of a nut," he said while shaking his head. 
"I'm not kidding," I said abruptly. "This is the first time that I've ever cut class. Never had a reason to before. I mean, we're in school, we're supposed to be in class."
Albert went back to noisily flipping the pages. "We're going to be graduating in a few days. Nobody cares if you take a day or two off." Without turning my head, I could hear that others were filing into the rear doors. Albert was talking a little louder than I was comfortable with. If there was a way to dig a hole and hide in the floor between the seats, I would have. I felt torn. I knew it was ridiculous to argue about others hearing a conversation that I shouldn't be embarrassed but I was. I needed to say something.
Albert suddenly raised the paper barrier so I couldn't see his face. "Just seems weird that you didn't sneak out with Bunny in the last two years."
It was difficult not to hear Albert chuckling on the other side of the paper. I was happy that he was changing the subject and I happily followed his lead. As I answered him, I poked at the photo on the front page of some guy with a big grin on his face. "You know I've only been with Regina for about a year and half. I don't need to cut class to ..."
"Whoa, wait a minute," Albert said as if he had been startled. "Take a look at this article. It's got seniors from the school in it," he said. He folded the page and turned the paper in my direction so we could both read.
I first saw the Hotpoint washers and dryers prominently displayed on the right side of the page then my eyes fell on the title on the extreme left, NEWS MUSIC AWARDS GO TO 35 STUDENTS. "It's the All City High School Chorus and Orchestra," I said, reading hurriedly. "The Daily News put together scholarships for $5000 for students." "Let me see. Who is it?" Albert said as we suddenly found ourselves doing a tug-of-war to see the familiar names.
Recipients of scholarships from the $5000 grant from M&A:
The warning bell loudly sounded to let everyone know that the last class was over. It was suddenly imperative that we go to our next class. I quickly folded the paper and headed in the direction of the nearest rear door with my friend close by. We had formed an unspoken agreement. We had to share this information about these new-found celebrities with as many as possible.
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Lloyd A. GreenM&A was a blessing, which is difficult to forget. Let's talk about the good times. 
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