One time when I was going to college I was at a girl's apartment and she had a big jar of minestrone that her dad had made and she heated some up for me to have and that's all I remember about going to college.

I've remembered more things if anyone would like to hear them.

This girl's name was Lisa and we only went out a couple of times. Both times were concerts at The Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb in October of 1984 (R.E.M. and Psychedelic Furs). I think she may have only liked me for my concert tickets.

We did hang out one time after that. We worked at the same restaurant and one night she said she knew of a party happening when our shift was over. I told her I would drive us there. I didn't go to many parties in college. I lived in my parents' house in a tiny town 10 miles away

I guess it was a typical college party. It was in someone's absolutely packed rental house. There was a keg on the porch. We paid for cups and got in line. I felt a tap on my shoulder, I turned around and it was another girl named Lisa.

This Lisa was in the same French 101 class as me although we had never spoken. She said, "Hi. Your name's Jim and you're in my French class." Stunned, I said the first thing that came to me. "Hi. You're name's Lisa and you were wearing a red Boy Scout beret in class yesterday."

It was a somewhat awkward position, except that I had already pretty much figured I had been friend-zoned by Lisa 1. I was suddenly in another world anyway. Lisa 2 looked like she could have been Madonna and Apollonia's love child. This is NOT mid '80s hyperbole!

She appreciated that I remembered her hat. We determined that learning French was proving a struggle for us both. She laughed when I told her I signed into the language lab and listened to the Big Country cassette I had just bought on the headset instead of that week's exercise.

She could see I was there with someone else and left to rejoin her friends. We said we'd see each other in class on Monday. After a while, Lisa 1 and I met up with a couple of friends of hers and they decided we should go to a bar called The Jungle. I'd never been. I wasn't 21.

Lisa 1 assured me it would be okay because she knew the head bouncer. She was right -- we got in no problem. I was still kind of nervous about it, which Lisa 1 thought was ridiculous which further cemented my thoughts that this would be the last time we hung out.

We managed to get a table and as soon as we sat down I could see Lisa 2 waving at me from the second level of the dancefloor! I waved back and immediately tried to figure out how I would get away from the table and work my way upstairs.

I made the bold move of telling the table I would go to the bar and buy our first round of drinks. So, here I was -- an underaged, full-time student, part-time dishwasher bellying up to a bar for the first time in my life not sure if I've got enough money to cover the order.

There was a huge crowd of people at the bar. I kept whipping my head back and forth looking for my opportunity to order while still trying to keep track of Lisa 2, but I lost her. Then I felt the same tapping on my shoulder that I had felt earlier at the party. Unmistakable.

I don't know if I've ever had a clearer moment of thinking on my feet. I bought 4 drinks which I just barely had enough money for. Three were for my tablemates, and the fourth was for Lisa 2. I handed it to her and asked her if she would wait for me for a minute by the door.

I took the 3 drinks back to the table and set them down. "Where's yours?" Lisa 1 asked. I told her that I wasn't actually feeling too well and that I should probably head back to my folks' house. Her two friends had come in another car and would be able to give her a ride home.

We now come to the real heroes of this story -- the Campus Activities Board of Northern Illinois University in the Fall/Winter semester of 1984. There was another concert coming up in a week: Ministry would be playing at the Duke Ellington Ballroom and I had two tickets!

Buying two tickets to an event was something I would do to MAKE myself ask a girl out. The financial investment was usually enough to keep me from chickening out. It also provided me the difficult-to-find first words of the question...hey, I got a couple tickets to...

So, on my way out I asked Lisa 2 to the Ministry concert. She said yes. We said goodnight. I got out of the bar I wasn't old enough to be in, I got behind the wheel of my car not drunk, & I drove home and slept enough to be fresh for the Sunday brunch crowd next day.

Lisa 2? We had a good time at the concert and studied French together a couple of times before the semester ended. That was it. I think she only liked me because one day in class I was on fire with conjugational knowledge at the blackboard.

Actually, it was kind of heartbreaking. We studied in the library on the day of the final exam. We walked together in silence to take the test. She finished it before me and I was hoping she'd wait outside the room for me so we could ask each other how we thought we did.

And wish each other a good Christmas break, but she was gone.