Chance, David, Michael and Rima Hanusek in St. Augustine, FL in the summer of 2003.

Chance writes:  Well, of all the people to speak with after years of self-imposed exile [laugh] it was Danny Norton!  I remember Danny from Boy Scout Troop #1 in Dhahran, swimming in the Rec. pool preparing for the One–Mile Swim award at Half Moon Bay.  Maybe you wondered: "Where in the world is Chance Hanusek?"  It has been a wild and rocky road, with some hairpin turns and mistakes, but in the end I’ve settled down.  I had my middle–aged crazy phase during boarding school and college.  I suspect that much of that was the result of trans-hemispheric parenting and too much of a good thing (i.e. being a big brat and living large). I attended Northfield Mt. Hermon (NMH) for a semester and a month or so.  I was immature, homesick, in the middle of nowhere (though good friend Mark Corn was at Deerfield and Barry Clark and Karen Bage (RT 79) were at NMH), and not at all ready for the experience.   I was the quintessential sophomore, or wise fool.  The school was way too big and overwhelming and I had never lived through a depressing New England winter. I transferred to St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, FL  and did well in the small campus environment.  There were a lot of day students but only a small boarding contingent, with two or three dorms.  The weather was great (though the heat was too much at times) and I was near my grandparents, which was nice.

I got really involved in drama and acted in two or three plays, stealing the show in Philadelphia, Here I Come.  My interest in the dramatics sprang from Donna McCool’s mom’s RT Players Group; I used to hang out with Donna (RT79), her parents, band teacher Bob Klien and others in ninth grade.  At St. Andrew’s, I really liked my English teacher and the dean was my drama coach and director. I thought about majoring in theatre in college.  I took some voice and dance lessons and auditioned at a few of the major universities known for the arts.  I wanted to go to Juilliard or NYU but ended up in the Acting Program at Boston University.  BU’s program is renowned.  Faye Dunaway and Jason Alexander (of Seinfeld) got their start there.  After running around in sweatpants and singing and dancing non-stop for many months, I realized that this was really not my cup of tea.  I was more of an art supporter and into film than being a Broadway musical thespian.  The only word that I can find to describe freshman acting class without being too judgmental or critical would be "different".  Oddly enough, I did have Broadway star Brad Oscar for a roommate one year and got a chance to act in ensemble briefly alongside Brad and Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei.  [Apologies for the gratuitous name dropping.]

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