Y

De Jong at Night

Everyone knows that building lockdown happens at 10pm -- but if you're on the inside "studying late," no worries. One of my favorite places to camp late and explore during the night was the Harris Fine Arts Center with all of its long hallways and tunnels. Occasionally we'd find some of the back doors to the De Jong concert hall unlocked. One time in particular we found our way up into the spotlight crow's nest, and peered down at the empty stage below where a lonely student was sweeping the stage. We threw a couple pennies -- which are incredibly loud from that height. They hit the stage sounding more like a hammer hitting a table. When the first hit, the guy sweeping stopped and stood silently, obviously freaked out. The second penny sent the guy running.

All in good fun.

Laser Tag

Its hard to believe now, but Laser Tag was almost cool at one time. In fact, I even remember when there were multiple Laser Tag arenas in the greater Provo/Orem area. We went one time with members of Sigma Epsilon and had a blast.

Occasionally you'd see groups of happy people up on campus, running around shooting at each other while dodging in and out of the whale's tail in front of the library, or ducking in and out of buildings surrounding the main quad. One of our favorite pastimes was to sit off to the side and watch these people, with our own laser tag guns hidden away. They'd run by, trying to slip past one of their friends, and we'd gun them down. They'd look around frantically to see who shot them, but would only see us -- innocently sitting somewhere off to the side, just observing.

The Beet Gods

Like so many of our ideas, The Beet Gods were born out of sheer boredom. One evening in The Hole, Preston was badgering me about getting out of the house and doing something. He was bored out of his mind, and I was near comatose. None of the ideas he presented especially struck my fancy. But then a thought crept into my mind: smear red makeup on your face, don a towel on your head, wear your long johns and a cape, and go onto campus.

Preston instantly recognized the value in this idea, and we changed our clothes. That night, The Beet Gods were born. As we did with so much of our conceptual art, we needed Sue Lundquist to see it. She always appreciated our work. We found Sue at home on Condo Row with her roommate from Conecticut -- Tracy Smith, who purchased one of my paintings once. Preston brought his camera. Here we are with her:

Yes, torn jeans were the hot thing back then. We assaulted the ladies, and then retired to campus. Because what good is a cape if you don't have a heating grate to stand over? It beingmid-winter, we found several poor unfortunate souls standing near the grate in front of the ASB that evening. Here is a shot of me:

The Beet Gods were released a few more times that year, always in a time of great need. Blessed be the Beet Gods.

Origins of the Budge Run

I don't remember the specifics of how it started - most of my memories are clouded by the sheer adrenaline rush of the scooter ride, and the testosterone-laden belly screech that made the Budge Run infamous. But what is a Budge Run, really? For that answer, you realy need to look deep down inside oneself and question ones own existence. Or not. Actually, all it consists of are two guys on a scooter, driving through the visitors parcking area in front of Budge hall (at the time it was a girls dorm), both screaming things like "Oh Budge, I love you!" and "Hey baby....Budge! Budge, I say!" and then riding off. That's it. And yet it was so much more to those who participated int his ritual. And yet it was not more. ok, I'm done now.