Today, my father and I attended homecoming at our high school, Brooklyn Tech. My dad is a member of The Class of 1948 and I am a member of The Class of 1973. My class was the last all-male graduating class.

I drove with dad into Brooklyn from my parent’s home in New Jersey. Since it was early on Saturday, traffic was not an issue until we got to the Prospect Expressway interchange on the Gowanus Expressway. Then, it was bumper-to-bumper until we exited The B.Q.E. at Atlantic Avenue. From there, it was an easy drive to the parking garage about two blocks from Tech.

We then walked to the entrance on South Elliot Place where we were greeted warmly by the Tech cheering squad. Dad and I checked in. I remarked that I had a social studies class in the room that was being used for checking coats. We then proceeded to a reception held in the first-floor gym.

Dad wanted to sit down somewhere and I steered him toward the auditorium but it wasn’t open yet for the scheduled presentation. A woman in the principal’s office offered us seating in the office.
Quite honestly, I told dad I had never been in that room before. The current principal stopped by to say hello while we were cooling our heels. Then we walked into the auditorium for a presentation.

The auditorium is the second largest in The City of New York. It is second only to Radio City Music Hall.  The presentation consisted of a scene from the play, “Fiddler on the Roof,” some music from the school’s jazz band, and the Brooklyn Tech Alma Mater sung by the school choir. Each anniversary class was recognized and followed by remarks from the current principal. One alum was a member of The Class of 1936! The auditorium was rededicated to a member of The Class of 1953.

Following the presentation, dad and I took an elevator to the seventh floor to have lunch in the school cafeteria. There was quite a spread. We each had a salad and some pasta.

I remarked that the view to the west had been ruined by all of the high-rises that were built over the decades. When I was a student, we had a view of boat traffic on Upper New York Bay.

Dad wanted to do more, but he was tired. On the way home, we drove over the new eastbound span of The Goethals Bridge. The westbound span was not open to traffic yet, and the original span has mostly been dismantled.