A good time was had

By all, I would guess. It was wonderful seeing everyone, and I almost felt like I didn't have enough time with everyone. Getting stuck on 294 contributed to that; I felt cheated out of a couple of hours that would have been better spent on campus than in a rental car. I know I saw Nina for about 15 seconds, long enough to say hi but then didn't cross paths with you again, and I'm sorry about that. There were so many people to see and not enough time. Collecting e-mail addresses became a kind of hobby so that perhaps we can establish some ties again after all these years.

Oh, well. I sent a thank you e-mail to the band staff this morning and asked if there was any way they could put a link to the halftime show on the band website. With any luck we'll be able to see ourselves and the performance. Judging by the reaction of people in the stands, I think we acquitted ourselves well. Friends of mine e-mailed and said the internet coverage was wonderful and some of us actually had fleeting face shots, so that makes me all the more interested in seeing the show.

Drummers circle rocks. When I get my pictures developed, I'll post them here because I got a couple of really good shots of y'all having a ball. And speaking of pictures, I'm also curious about seeing the group shots by Kevin Knepp. He hasn't changed that much, has he?

And marching. Wow, it really hurt to pick up my knees. The trot was a distant dream; I was just glad not to do a face plant in front of all those people. Fortunately my glock is a light version, otherwise I would have sidelined myself like Marsa Mitchell did (she had just gotten out of a cast from breaking her ankle). The knees just aren't ageing very well. Next time I would suggest that band members make massage appointments after the game!

Leaving the field after pre-game was kind of strange. We were all saying GO! GO! GO! and no one at the end of our line moved. I don't know if the wrong person ended up on the point or if everyone just had a senior moment there. I saw the cell phone drop, Kevin, so when the Stanford staffer picked it up off the field I beelined to make sure it came back to the band. I wasn't sure who had dropped it but I knew if I held it up it would be claimed.

We all look pretty good for not having regular practice for lo these 20 some odd years. And I enjoyed meeting some of the people that were just legends to me, like Jim Catalano and Tom Burke. Those were some of the names I remembered hearing from freshman year and it's good to put faces to names. Now guys, get in touch with Cat and see if he can help you locate those 7 lb. drums.

I vow to work out more in the four years leading up to the next reunion!

one final thought -- it was a great feeling as Fr. Ed said at Mass of family and belonging. The hugs and love we share are great and it's too bad we can't do it more often. I guess the next best thing is keeping up with this blog, so thanks once again to Nancy for getting us started on the blog. Kevin, I have every confidence that you will be blogging with us soon!

Rosie