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During my senior year of college, I roomed with Val, who was (and still is) Jewish. Every year, at Hanukkah, she’d light her menorah, despite the rules against candles in the dorms. The only year this was a problem was the year she used sub-standard candles that went limp when they melted, then toppled off the menorah and into her wicker trash basket. Which was filled with paper.
Val was an interesting roommate. She kept a pet bull snake named “Houdini” in her dorm room, but thankfully not the year we roomed together. Houdini got out of his aquarium one day and slid under the dorm room door, out into the girls’ part of the dorm. You can imagine the excitement this caused. However, Val was short and very cute, so I think when she went to see the Vice Commandant about Houdini’s escapade, she just sort of smiled, laughed, and shrugged, and in return the Vice Commandant (Col. Vanderpyle, I believe), just sort of shook his head and started laughing too. This of course, led me to believe that Val was pure evil because she could get away with anything. In fact, to this day, if you asked me to describe Val, I was say she was cute, and short, and evil. Very evil.
And apparently still an officer in the Air Force! See what being a cadet can do for you?
Wherever you are, Shorty, I hope you and your family have a happy Hanukkah.
