Evergreen had retreats for the students and faculty on a regular basis. Sometimes they were at the very start of a quarter, so everyone could get to know each other. Sometimes they were held at the end, so we could all summarize what we had learned. They were usually conducted at youth camps in various Western Washington locations. In September 1978, the "Shakespeare and the Age of Elizabeth" program held their retreat at a YWCA Camp at Spirit Lake, at the base of Mt. St. Helens.

We had not the slightest iota of a clue when we boarded boats at Harry Truman's lodge that Harry and his building would be buried under tons of rock and ash in just over a year and a half later. We didn't know that the beautiful mountain we could see completely reflected in the lake would be the site of the most destructive natural event in Washington in our lifetimes (so far).

A group of students were sitting in the YWCA lodge, when a tall, sincere young man dramatically entered the room and announced with complete seriousness, "I just made love to myself at the top of the ridge." Another student, the same guy who leaped over several rows of seats in Evergroove trivia pt. 35, happened to be drinking a beer at that very moment, which he spewed all over the floor and followed with a loud guffaw.

It was going to be a weird year.