Roll, Tide!
One identity I failed to mention was College Guy. It makes sense that I would forget him. After all, I haven't been College Guy for around 22 years. But something remarkable happened last week -- I got to spend some time with an old college buddy, Karen Smith.
My friend Ed tipped me off to some sociology about how men traditionally keep the friends they've made in their childhood through some sort of activity. Since I've moved a few times, those folks are long gone. But I was fortunate enough to stay in touch with a couple of folks from college.
Now, a few words about Karen. Karen is one of the coolest people I know; so cool in fact that she would probably question my making that statement. She and I were good friends through college. We didn't hang out an awful lot, or have a bunch of classes together, but shared the same vibe for the most part. The best way to sum it up is with this situation: A local band director was out on extended medical leave. They had asked the University to supply them with a few Music Ed students to fill in for him. They chose Karen and I.
We've both gone off in different directions and are living quite different lives than we ever though we would, but the connection between us is always there. But moreso is the history. We both went through some wonderful things in college. We shared some grand experiences with the band and through music. It wasn't until we met up again some 20 years later that we realized the impact those experiences truly had and how long they've lasted inside of us.
So, we had a nice dinner and trolled around LA for a while. It wasn't like we suddenly reverted back to who we were back at the University of Alabama or anything. But there was a familiarity to the whole meeting. Though we were different than we were, you could still trace the paths we took back to that one place and time.
So, Roll Tide! Thanks for the experience ... and the friends.
My friend Ed tipped me off to some sociology about how men traditionally keep the friends they've made in their childhood through some sort of activity. Since I've moved a few times, those folks are long gone. But I was fortunate enough to stay in touch with a couple of folks from college.
Now, a few words about Karen. Karen is one of the coolest people I know; so cool in fact that she would probably question my making that statement. She and I were good friends through college. We didn't hang out an awful lot, or have a bunch of classes together, but shared the same vibe for the most part. The best way to sum it up is with this situation: A local band director was out on extended medical leave. They had asked the University to supply them with a few Music Ed students to fill in for him. They chose Karen and I.
We've both gone off in different directions and are living quite different lives than we ever though we would, but the connection between us is always there. But moreso is the history. We both went through some wonderful things in college. We shared some grand experiences with the band and through music. It wasn't until we met up again some 20 years later that we realized the impact those experiences truly had and how long they've lasted inside of us.
So, we had a nice dinner and trolled around LA for a while. It wasn't like we suddenly reverted back to who we were back at the University of Alabama or anything. But there was a familiarity to the whole meeting. Though we were different than we were, you could still trace the paths we took back to that one place and time.
So, Roll Tide! Thanks for the experience ... and the friends.
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