It was a short walk up the hill to my first college class - Pitt Street to Payson Smith Hall. There was a crisp bite to the autumn air and the smell of burning wood.  Nerves were raw, but I wouldn’t reveal that. I sat four rows up in the center.  The experience was magical, but grades didn’t cooperate resulting in a 43-year sabbatical. Returning to Payson Smith I tried to remember…was it the second or third floor?  Yes, the third floor.  Heart racing as I entered the empty classroom, memories cascaded back. There was my chair surrounded by ghosts.
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Here I reflect on my first day of college at the University of Southern Maine in September 1979.  I've often thought about my first day of college, the walk to school, and...this classroom.  For some reason, memories of this classroom have haunted me over the years.  Maybe it's been calling me.  After my 43 year sabbatical I was finally able to visit the classroom again.  I remembered which building it was in, but had to ask someone which floor it was on.  Climbing the stairs to the third floor and walking into this classroom again was like going back in time.  Nearly half a century had past.  Lives have been lived.  Indeed there are ghosts.  This photo was taken in May 2024.