Carthago Delenda Est

     While working on another story recently, I realized that I could remember something that a classmate wrote in my yearbook from 1971 without having to go look it up! So then I started wondering if I could remember any other yearbook comments after all these years, and several came to mind.

     Cheryl's entry will stick with me forever. In my sophomore yearbook, she wrote, “you are a sweat girl”. I gave Cheryl the benefit of the doubt when I read the note – thinking she accidentally spelled “sweet” incorrectly. But Mom saw it and laughed and laughed – either I was being told I sweat a lot, or I was hanging around with a friend who did not know how to spell “sweet.” Now when I think of yearbook messages, “you are a sweat girl” instantly comes to mind.

     Jeff was in many of my classes over the years of junior and high school. I think it was junior year I sat behind him in English class. He wrote in my yearbook, “I hope you have enjoyed looking at my back as much as I have enjoyed looking at your front!” I did not pay any attention to his comment until, again, my mother wanted to know who Jeff was and what he meant with that remark? After I figured out that the comment had to do with my sitting behind him in class, it made sense. And he was not making an affront to my front – Jeff was just being clever and sweet. Wish I had told him at the time how much I appreciated the comment – who could have guessed I'd still remember it after all these years?

     M wrote “you have an unique personality” - that was her nice way of saying that we didn't get along very well. A couple of years after graduation I saw M in a dress shop in Hamburg called Guyettes. (isn't that a cute name for a dress shop? - Mom liked going in there) I was about to say hi to M when she turned her back to me! I knew I deserved that.

     “Carthago Delenda Est” is the Latin phrase that MaryAgnes was writing in everyone's yearbook junior year. It translates to “Carthage must be destroyed”. The phrase evokes the memory of Miss Collins, our Latin teacher, teaching us about the Roman wars and telling us the stories of the Greek and Roman myths

      The lilting way “Carthago delenda est” flows off the tongue made this phrase what I thought was a perfect yearbook entry for fellow Latin classmates. And I am ashamed to say this now, but when I saw what MaryAgnes wrote, I thought it was too clever not to share, so I started writing it in classmates' yearbooks also! It was not until later that I realized how wrong it was to steal MaryAgnes' Carthago delenda est. My only defense is to say I really was not claiming it at my own, but merely sharing the genius! Sorry MaryAgnes.

     Of course, now I will have to go to the yearbooks and pore over all the writings of my classmates. I'm sure more memories and stories will come of them.

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