35 Years later

First order of business, to all the men and women who have served, I salute your dedication and service.  Veteran's Day is not just another opportunity to buy a tv or get a deal on some furniture.   Thanks to all my brothers and sisters who have served.   

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I took a break last weekend to run off to my alma mater for a small gathering of old friends and rehash old days.  The team was playing out of town, so College Station seemed a bit empty for a football weekend, but it was busy nonetheless.  

This past weekend was our 35 reunion of our class.  35 freakin years.  Wow.  I really feel old.  Typical reunions are every five years.  We missed the first reunion (stationed over in Germany) but have made most of the rest.  A good chance to catch up with old buddies, classmates, friends.  It is interesting to see the changes time has made.  A chance to answer those questions of who:  

• looks the same (or looks older)  
• still has hair
• has the biggest belly
• has the most kids (or grandkids)
• is still married 
• got remarried (he's on wife #3)
• has retired
• passed away
• went to jail

Back in the 80s, we had several hundreds show up for the early reunions.  Over the years, the numbers have dwindled.  This last weekend, we still had a decent turnout (~200) but we attributed it to it being an away game.  It is interesting to see how everyone has changed (or not changed) over the past 35 turns.  I will note that most of the people showing up were members of the Corps of Cadets.  We had a distinct bond/camaraderie back then that we still share today.  I gotta admit that, of all of the outfits, my outfit had one of the highest percentage  of participants (aside of the band guys).  Out of 11 guys that graduated, we had 7 show up for this shindig.  Not too shabby. We spend lots of time trying to recall some of those glory days.  The quad water war, Fish Drill team, summer camp, dorm life, Bonfire, the border crossing that almost turned into an international incident, corps road trips, who bunked with whom, who set off the fireworks in Meyer's room, how many people wound up sleeping in the one room when we stole our CO's stuff, "the Trial".  Statute of limitations prevents me from elaborating on some stories, but suffice it to say, we found it amazing that we survived.  One of our guys has taken on the role of historian to see if he can record all of the events/stories from those days of yore.  We'll see if we can put something together for the next gig in 5 years. 

My roommate was always a flamboyant character.  Mark was never one to back down from a fight or to charge blindly into some situation, he left an impression whatever he tackled.  I'll concede this to him - he did everything with style.  We had dinner Friday night at a local clubhouse and the SOB showed up in a tux!  All of us old farts are decked out in casual attire and he ups the ante by showing up in style.  Just guess who got his picture with all of the ladies of our class.       

He is the most interesting man in the world