“They didn't let just anybody in that club
Took every ounce of heart and sweat and blood
to get to wear those game-day jerseys down the hall
The kings of the school, man, we're the boys of fall”
If you had told me 37 years ago, I would be writing about 30 fraternity brothers getting together to spend a long weekend together, I would have gone to Vegas to bet against it happening.
I would have lost.
This past week(end) magic happened when members of AE PI fraternity, who graduated from the University of Missouri decades earlier, came together for the same reasons—to reconnect, laugh, and prove that even after all these years, we can continue the same conversations from long ago. We laughed, cried, and hugged—even though for many of us we had struggle to get off the couch to do so—but we really did hug. Okay, it was a “bro-hug,” but you can be sure back in the late 70s, hugging would rank very high on the list of things that guys did NOT do! Wow, how far we have come!
This is not the first reunion we have had since graduating, it was however the most attended. We all met up in Vail, CO and stayed at the home, and surrounding rented homes, of one of our “brothers” who lives there—I know, I wouldn’t trust us either, but that’s not Steve Lasky, he is much nicer than all of us and truly loves us.
In fact, Steve is probably the kindest, most loving, human being, you will ever meet; when he was in college he was known as “Muhammad”—due to his love of Muhammad Ali—and whereas I am sure he was just as nice, I am not sure I would have given him a bro-hug out of fear of getting decked.
Move forward to last Wednesday…
There I was on my way to Denver, “traveling back” all those years to think about who I was about to see, what I remembered about them, and what the heck do you say to someone after all those years? Turns out it was easy, we were all “frat brothers” and we had life experiences to catch up on—darn it!
Everyone looked good—sure there were a few extra pounds, glasses/contacts on most, and for some, the expression of letting your hair down took on a different meaning, however, for these 92+ hours together, we all wished it would last much longer. I can say with absolute certainty, the emails flying back and forth today were at warp speed and were all about how we need to stay in contact and get together much sooner than (gulp) 37 years!
The photo above was taken in Vail Village; although these are just a few of the guys at the reunion, it reminded me that when you’re an 18-year old kid, moving into a house that would should be condemned, these are not just guys…they’re your trusted confidants, back-watchers, and most important—life-long brothers.
Thanks for stopping by.
