I was never what you’d call a “school spirit” kind of guy. I never went to games of any sort, and I attended pep rallies only with the utmost reluctance, and even then, I made damn sure everyone knew I was too cool for that nonsense by refusing to participate in anything that might be mistaken for actual pep, preferring instead to just slouch in my old army-surplus trenchcoat and knockoff Ray-Bans. (Yeah, this was long before Colombine made that particular ensemble cause to be placed on a security watch list.)

But having a bad attitude when I was seventeen doesn’t mean that I don’t feel sentimental about my old high school now. (Truth is, I did back then, too, I just didn’t want anybody to know it). So I couldn’t help smiling at the video that’s been going around Facebook tonight. It’s a little long — just over ten minutes! — and it’s not really my style of music (it’s apparently based on a song I’ve never heard of, “I Love It” by Icona Pop). But it has an infectious energy, and it provides a nice peek at what my alma mater is looking like like these days:

I have to admit, I don’t see much about the old place that’s still familiar to me. Back in the ’80s, those hallways were carpeted and the lockers were yellow and orange instead of blue (which actually makes more sense, given that the school’s official colors are blue and white). We never had a costumed mascot that I can recall, and we certainly didn’t have a lacrosse team. And what the hell happened to all the books in the library? Times change…

According to the info on YouTube, this video required over 2,200 participants, 23 soloists, 800 balloons, 250 pounds of flour, 200 glow sticks, and a helicopter. A helicopter. Where the hell did the yearbook staff get a helicopter? I was on yearbook in ’87, and we didn’t have a helicopter. Of course, we were just a smallish school in a smallish country town back then; we didn’t have anything.

I liked that the producers of this seemed to give every group, every activity, every club and interest, every corner of the self-contained society that is Bingham High School its own little moment. And they even managed to include some lyrics from the school hymn, which apparently endures even after 60 years. Hey, I may have been too cool to sing it, but I still recognize it!

All in all, a very impressive effort. Go, Miners!