by J. Bueker
    Sahuaro Elementary School first opened its doors in September, 1960, and has been expertly serving the educational needs of our community ever since. Located at the corner of Sweetwater and 33rd Avenues, Sahuaro has truly stood the test of time and produced a number of genuine local luminaries, including Crusader publisher and CEO John Bueker (Class of '72). As a loving tribute to four decades of this legendary institution of academic excellence, the Crusader recently asked some Sahuaro alumni to relate their fondest memories of  matriculation at good old Sahuaro School:

• Among my many fond memories of Sahuaro, I probably relish my success in the creative writing contests and on the athletic fields the most. I won the Best Story award in both the 1st and 8th grades, and the shot put competition for my grade on Field Day three years running, 1968-70. Oh man, I'll also never forget the time I got in trouble in 7th grade for calling one of my classmates a "slut." Boy, was Mr. Green ever mad! The poor guy was practically apoplectic. Confidentially, I didn't even know what "slut" meant. -- John Bueker, Class of 1972

•  One time I got sent to the principals office in second grade for jumping over a bush.  It's true.  In second grade (my first year there) a couple of my classmates and I were hurdling over the bushes in front of the cafeteria  after lunch.  It just seemed like a good idea at the time. While we were enjoying this moment of youthful exuberance, somebody's mom approached with a disapproving look on her face.  She asked for our names, which we stupidly gave her, and walked off in a huff.  Sure enough, right after the lunch recess, we were called in over the dreaded loudspeaker for an audience with principal whatshisface. I had no reason to lie, and freely admitted to performing this dastardly deed.  A display case of assorted paddles was opened and certain veiled threats were made.  I had to promise to never jump over bushes on school property ever again. A hardened criminal, at such a tender age.  Tsk, tsk... -- Charles H. Bueker III, Class of 1970

• Some of my most cherished memories of Sahuaro School, as with many memories of childhood, are linked to smells:  the musty book smell of the library, the yummy yeast rolls baked fresh by the lovely cafeteria ladies, the playground after the irrigation water soaked in a little and then left mystery items clumped on the grass. Hoo-eee!  They let us PLAY in that stuff.  Throw in a 101 degree day at the end of the school year, and 30 fifth graders playing kickball because Miss Obert ran out of lesson plan ideas, and well, let's just say you didn't want to be an outfielder. More playground memories: getting thrashed at tether ball, having mean seventh graders throw my purse on top of the bathroom building at Westown Park, winning ribbons on Field Day, cheering for Pop Warner football.  Sahuaro School:  it smells like (pre-)teen spirit!! -- Barbie Formichella, Class of 1967

• The PTA women at Sahuaro were thrilled when I joined in the fall of '63. I was unwittingly coerced into being the fund-raising chairman for the following school year, and assigned to the annual spaghetti dinner project. It was my job to arrange for the supplies, organize the kitchen staff and line up volunteers to provide dessert. The trouble began when we ran out of desserts due to my overly generous cutting of the cakes and pies (my apologies to all who did without dessert that evening!). I made up for this miscalculation, however, by overestimating the required amount of spaghetti. I ended up carrying home pans and pans of sphagetti and freezing them in innumerable little plastic bags. I was delighted, as I anticipated feeding the stuff to my kids indefinitely. However, in the end, we threw out quite a bit of it as there was serious dissention in the ranks and the kids finally refused to eat another bite of spaghetti. -- Barbara Bueker Stewart, Sahuaro School PTA and PTO (1963-72)

by J. Bueker
    In 1968, the late great director Stanley Kubrick unleashed his ultimate masterpiece upon an unsuspecting public, an unequaled vision of human destiny in the guise of science fiction entitled 2001: A Space Odyssey. Now that this fabled year has finally materialized, a reappraisal of this cinematic milestone seems appropriate, even compulsory. Based on Arthur C. Clarke's original short story, 2001 redefined not only science fiction as a genre, but the motion picture itself as a paradigm for human experience.

    This reporter first viewed 2001 on the 70 mm screen of the old Bethany Theater, a genuinely awesome visual offering easily exceeding any big screen imagery experienced before or since. At the point when the camera peers up at the sun and moon aligning with the alien monolith during the dawn of man sequence, a genuine sense of dizzying vertigo is achieved that was simply breathtaking when viewed on that big Bethany screen from the fourth row. In fact, the way Kubrick's special effects stand up to this very day is nothing less than astounding. Long before computer generated effects were even contemplated, Kubrick managed to create convincing scenes of interplanetary grandeur, extensive lunar activities, and complicated orbital acrobatics of both man and machine. Add to the mix a tastefully selected assortment of classical music, an extraordinarily complex character who happens to be a computer, a time frame that extends from millions of years ago to infinity, and an unseen alien race who nevertheless controls all of the inexplicable action, and you are left with a matchless achievement of the silver screen.

    The ultimate meaning of 2001 has been much debated, and in point of fact will never be successfully resolved. As Kubrick himself once remarked: "I intended the film to be an intensely subjective experience that reaches the viewer at an inner level of consciousness, just as music does....You're free to speculate as you wish about the philosophical and allegorical meaning of the film."

    2001 is much more than simply the greatest sci-fi flick of all time. It remains one of the most profound statements of the wonder, potential and hope of human experience ever committed to film, or any other medium for that matter. This singular film extended the possibilities of exactly what movies are and have the potential to be, to previously unknown heights. I dare say that people will still be viewing, contemplating and intently discussing 2001 in the year 3001.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________JDA