Flashback Friday

After college graduation, a few of us tried keeping the spirit alive by meeting once a year in a cental location.  This was usually somewhere in Iowa, but once we even met in Kansas City.  This picture is rather intriguing, and I've never posted it before.  Not sure why, but maybe becasue I thought I should know what is going on.  I will do my best with what I do know.  

1.  That young lady looking up at whoever was taking the picture is Margie, with a hard G.  Not sure why it was pronounced that way,  and if I did at one time, I have forgotten.  Margie ended up marrying her date, Mark N., and after his coaching gigs in Nebrask and Idaho, settled in Arizona where we remain in contact.  

2.  The girl in red is Pam, my date and occasional GF in college.  Pam was a New Jersey girl, Patterson, NJ actually, and had the East Coast/Jersey accent.  We liked walks, and walked all over Mt. P talking about life, love and everythign in between.  Poor girl was nuts about me and her folks had money.  Should have worked harder but I was the philosophy student who said a starving man could die happy.  What I have sinced learned from life is that a man with money can die happier.  Alas, she found a hulking brute named Rocky, no doubt with a similar accent, and I assume lived happily ever after.  

3.  The young man, of course, is your fathful blogger,  playing cards and looking like he needs to work on his poker face.  Since I see no money on the table perhaps we had different stakes in mind.  If you peer under the table you might see a white tennis shoe that has my sockless foot in it.  I did not wear socks until I started working at the Mary Davis Home.  In fact I was painting my ankles black for formal functions.  I got caught abusing the dress code at the Mary and the rest is history.  Socks ever since.  Shame.  

4.  I am guessing this to be our first post-college get-together.  Pam was a year younger so she would have been in school still.  What I don't get is the time of year - we all have winter clothes on, and I thought we met in the summer.  That is definitely a motel room.  And I started school in Denver in the Fall after graduation, so frankly I'm a bit confused. 

These get-togethers didn't last (does anything).  People got jobs, moved away and life finally forced all of us out into the real world.  Mark N. became a coach in Nebraska, Tom S. a realtor in Marengo, Iowa, RB back to England, Dave became the CEO of Boetjes Mustard in the Quad Cities, Mark became the Superintendant of Orion water department, and I continued on with school for another couple of years.  The cocoon of college is ephemeral - it is there as a constant reminder of early adulthood, and then it is gone - the real world of kids, bills, jobs and marriage soon popped the protective bubble.  

"When Life begins Anew, 

And Youth, from gathering flowers,

from vague delights, rapt musings, twilight hours,

Turns restless, Seeking some great deed to do..."

Laurence Binyon