Moments: Morning Rush

Every Friday morning, Grant High School faculty members, alumni and other members of the community gather in the gym to play pickup basketball.
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Richard Fisher, Spanish teacher (at left, in white shorts)

“I’ve been playing basketball since I was six. So that’s like 40 years. With this group of people, this is my sixth year. We play in the summers, too. It’s good exercise. Basketball is great for bonding with the guys; they’re all really nice. It’s kind of my form of meditation, where I can let go of everything else out there…drama or stress. When I come on the court, everything seems to go away. There are some strong personalities, people who have been around forever. And they say what they want to say. There’s no filter sometimes. But the maturity is really high and we leave it on the court. When we leave, we don’t take it with us.”

– Interview by Finn Hawley-Blue

Karry Cameron, retired Grant teacher and former wrestling coach (second from right, in red and black shorts)

“No matter how far anyone goes, everybody still remains Generals, blue and gray. And some years ago, when we had a little bit more active faculty here, there would be 20 of us out here. It’s now watered down to where there’s only four or five faculty members, and then a few ex-Generals in the community like myself. It’s also just a great way to start the day. When you have your exercise behind you, the rest of the day goes so much easier. We…do compete against each other, but it’s all about love and friendship and camaraderie. It’s all about fun.”

– Interview by Sophie Hauth

About
Finn is starting his third year as a staff member on the magazine. Since early childhood, he has had an acute interest in art. For his freshman and sophomore years at Grant, he took darkroom photography, which inspired him to apply to the magazine last year. This year, he is taking an array of art classes and will serve for the fourth year in a row in student government. His dream is to go to an art school somewhere far from Portland.

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