(Ed Note: That blog title is meant to be sung to the funky rhythms of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.)
It was almost that cool on August 28, almost fifty years after that toe-tapping ditty, at Back to School night at Lighthouse. The weather was perfect, the wine, beer and softdrinks flowing, and our venue overrun with... well, thousands of others from everywhere possible in Denver. Which ended up being a stroke of great luck! There was pizza all around, and almost every band known to Denver (covering every other band known to Denver) mingling in the name of writing and literature. Or at least pizza.
[caption id="attachment_1397" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Evidence that we fed people at the Back to School Night Party. Who we fed? The world."]
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All Lighthouse instructors were recognized (and some were caught by the paparazzi--also known as the enormously talented Lynn Clark--check out our FB page for more photo evidence). Many Lighthousers showed great school spirit (word out to Laurie S., who created inkblot earrings out of our well-known inkblot backpack buttons), and all who came helped us enjoy some Marco's Coal-Fired Pizza and Simple Sugar Bakery cookies.
[caption id="attachment_1398" align="alignright" width="143" caption="Don't hate her for her beautiful pyramidal statue. She'll teach you, too, if you let her!"]
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Paula Younger had the great distinction of being our third ever recipient of the coveted Beacon Award for Teaching Excellence at Lighthouse. Congratulations, Paula!
We were reminded that night of our astonishing good fortune to have such a warm, cool, supportive community at Lighthouse, a faculty that (I think, but don't tell anyone) rivals the best MFA programs in the country, and more stunning eyewear and delightfully glib offhand remarks than you can find anywhere--even LoDo on a Saturday night. So here's to a new school year, to good friends, to new pacts made because September is Pact Making Month (Jenny, Eric, and Jeff--don't forget!), to white sneakers that turn almost immediately reddish brown, stiff jeans, and great hopes for the coming months. May it keep on coming! See y'all at the Writer's Buzz on Sept. 11 at 910 Arts, where we'll chat with member (and future instructor) Sarah Ockler about her second (and third!) novel. More pics can be found on our Facebook Page.
(It took me three whole play-throughs of "December 1963" to finish this blog post, for those keeping score at home.)
--aed
