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| Photo credit NDK |
When
we started dating we had a penchant for getting into trouble. Not on purpose.
Usually entirely innocently. But there were the cops, and the trespassing, and
the making out in the truck, and so on.
I
also had an obsession with climbing buildings. Not that I ever really climbed
buildings. Except for the rooftop (another story), and the water tower (three or four other stories), and I
think once the field house (but I didn’t make it very far before my brother
told me to get down). I often thought about the best way to scale each of
the buildings on campus, but I didn’t actually do anything with this knowledge.
And really, the idea was put in my head by my adventurous but slackerish
brothers, anyway. My “dean’s list” butt would probably never have concocted
such deviant thoughts.
This
particular story took place in the winter, because my strongest memories from
that time usually happened in winter. It’s also important to mention that there
was a particular bell tower on campus that had become my personal mt. Everest.
I loved imagining standing up there, looking at that old bell, surveying the
entire campus. So, I had an obsession with climbing buildings, but especially with
standing at the summit of Sutton Hall.
It must be said that he tried many different ways to help me reach
that goal through legal means. He had pull with security on campus, so he was
led to believe. But all these plans fell through, and my time at IUP was nearly
spent. I was graduating that Spring and I think I knew even then that I
wouldn’t be returning as an alumni to fulfill that desire.
That night I was wearing my full-length pea coat. Which is
entirely old ladyish. Which I definitely still have because it keeps me warm. I
make no apologies for it. And I still say that in a crisis situation I could
hide a lot of weaponry under that coat. Like a complete arsenal.
During our adventure I also probably only had one glove. I was
always losing just one glove. He spent many nights after we parted searching
for my lost glove. But that is purely speculation, because I don’t remember if
I had one, two, or no gloves that night.
It’s also important to know that Sutton Hall has thirteen doors. I
know because he and I made a little pact. If, for some reason, we were able to
find an open door, we would then “break in” and try to find a way to that bell.
I spent a lot of time in Sutton Hall delivering not so important documents from
the Stapleton Library. So, I guess it could be said that I felt a certain
entitlement when it came to that building. But let’s be honest, at that time in
my life trespassing seemed more like a rite of passage than a crime.
Doors 1-6 were locked. We tried the ones that were in plain sight
first. Under those bright new lights that IUP installed in the Oak Grove. Those
blinding globes that they didn’t have my Freshman year. The basement doors were
a little more exciting to try. I didn’t realize how many entrances Sutton had
until that night.
We casually walked our way around the building trying doors. And
we probably managed to stop for a kiss or two. That is not purely speculation, though not 100 per cent
cemented in my memory.
By the time we reached door #13 we didn’t really expect to find it
unlocked. Every other door had been solidly secured. There was really no reason
why the 13th door wouldn’t be, too. But it wasn’t. It was open. And
what’s more, no alarms sounded off because we opened the door. There seemed to
be no immediate consequence to walking right in. And if the timing had been
different, say 9 o’clock the next morning, it would have been completely normal
to stride right in. But it wasn’t.
It was probably closer to midnight.
Winter makes for the brightest nights because the air is clear and
the snow radiates light. There were also lights on inside Sutton. He and I
stood there for awhile, contemplating our next move. Somehow, the decision we
were about to make seemed to be one of those defining moments. One of those, do
I dare…do I dare, disturb the universe? moments. We decided not to. Not to
disturb the universe, that is. We left that opportunity behind. It seemed so
inviting but equally foreboding. Like our futures would be locked in place
because of one night’s decision.
I often wonder about that night. Had we decided to walk through
that open door would we have been caught? Would we have alerted campus
security? Would it have led to a series of consequences that would tarnish our
future existence? Would we have walked in, taken the elevator to the top floor
and realized that there was still no way to open the staircase to the bell
tower? Or, would we have found that it too was mysteriously left open? Would we
have created a memory and accomplished a secret fantasy all in the scope of one
evening? I guess we’ll never know, but I often wonder about open door #13.
