REUNION-LMC STYLE

A few notes now that the 25th college reunion is in the rear-view mirror:
1. Monica Mink was right--it was a blast.
2. Babies are still chick-magnets. (Granted, the gals Little Ellie attracts at such functions are in their forties and up.)
3. The college put the names of two alumni who died on 9/11 on the War Memorial. Disappointing was the lack any reference to rank (one was a Navy commander) or the ongoing war against radical Islam--they were simply listed as those "who died in the tragic events of September 11, 2001." The Chi Psi fraternity pulled no such punches and erected a thirty-foot flagpole in front of "The Lodge" with a plaque in honor of their fallen brother. A spotlight ensures the flag is always illuminated.
4. The alma mater suprisingly did not put the touch on us to pony up for the Big Class Gift--a fraternity brother who was in charge of the effort tactfully put it: "I knew you had small children."
5. Time mellows the sharp edges of some personalities. It does not have the same effect on others. Fortunately, there are far more of the former than the latter.
6. W&L pulls out the stops for alumni returning for the 25th and the 50th. I surmise it wants the first group to send their kids to the college and the second to keep the school in mind for estate planning.
7. One classmate is self-employed and serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Maryland National Guard. He deployed to Iraq and struggled to rebuild his practice when he returned. Nevertheless, he still continues to serve knowing he might get called up again and knowing the likely crushing financial expense. He is a patriot in the mold of one of the Founding Fathers--willing to shoulder the load at oppressive cost.
8. There was the usual swapping of "great plays and memorable moments." One fraternity brother volunteered he recently found a picture taken of yours truly--and my college girlfriend--we were passed out--still leaning on the toilet. I must add him to my Christmas card list and generously remember his birthday lest he send the pic to my wife, or worse, Robbo's wife.