FREAKY DEAKY

Did you know I was a wrestler at the University of Oregon in 1984? That's what the Associated Press says. Now, I do recall having been a student journalist at that university about a decade and a half later. And I also remember reading about some Charles Whitman wannabe who shot up Autzen Stadium way back then. But this is just perplexing:

November 13, 1984, Tuesday
Brave Wrestler, World-Class Sprinter Shot
Kent Walz, Associated Press
EUGENE, Ore.

University of Oregon wrestler Rick O'Shea thought the man wearing military fatigues and carrying rifles was joking when he barged into the weight room at Autzen Stadium and said he wanted to use the telephone.

O'Shea said he and nine others in the room started taking the man more seriously when he ordered them to move to the room's upper level "or else I'll blow you away right here."

The man turned and went out to the stadium, beginning a shooting spree that ended with former Olympic sprinter Chris S. Brathwaite shot to death, O'Shea, 22, wounded, and the gunman -- identified by police as Michael E. Feher, 19 -- dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

"The gun was real freaky," said wrestler Bill Beutler, one of those working out in the weight room. "It had a little laser beam on the end and the little light was jumping from person to person. He told everybody to get back. It was just business."

"He had a straight, cold face," Beutler said. "The guy said, 'If I pull this trigger, it will tear you apart.' He looked like a shark or something. There was no emotion showing at all on his face."

I can only explain this by assuming it means sometime soon I will invent a time machine, go back in time, re-enroll at the UO, get in shape and try out for the wrestling team. William of Ockham would probably agree, don't you think?

P.S. For those with the access, Nexising yourself can be just as fun as Googling oneself.

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posted by WWB at 7:17 PM |