Two Steps Forward

Congratulations to the Albion College Class of 2005. I am so proud of all of you, my friends, who have made it through this part of the journey that is your lives. For you Andy Groggel, Mike Bohne, Nick Mourning, Maggie Holdershaw, Alex Rivera, Chelsey Wagemaker, Katie Aumann, Heather Schweitzer, Mike Kopec, Mike Huff and the rest of you, my heartfelt thanks for all you've given me in terms of support and the greatest of friendships. You know, as John and I were discussing, losing you makes us feel that much older, because you were such an incredible part of our lives, that even after been away from Albion, its difficult to imagine the place without you. I'll send out more personal congratulations here on this blog later this week, probably tomorrow or Wednesday. But there are some other issues from this weekend I want to talk about, and I want to save those for the special place that you all deserve.

The flights, and I say flights because I had to board two plans on Friday, one in Manchester that flew to Chicago-Midway, and then the other that flew from Midway to Detroit, were fine. The aggravating part was the rather lengthy layover, three hours, that I had in Chicago. I was able to have Potbelly again, which was great, but I probably could have done without sitting the last hour and a half or so. Arriving at home, it was great to see some of those familiar sites, and to see my brother again for the first time in a long time.

I enjoyed Commencement, in that I enjoyed seeing my friends complete their college careers, and to see and talk to my class of 2005 friends, along with John, Amber, Randi, and everyone else. The commencement speech was underwhelming to me, and I think that William Green's speech was good, though not as good as Alex's amazingly good speech at our commencement. I also had a ton of fun after commencement seeing prof's, though again, seeing that Uncle Ralph won't be at Albion anymore was sad. I was melancholy to see my friends go, but I know that I will see them around again soon, like at Mike's wedding.

After Commencement, and the various searching for people, John and I went over first to Charlie's to meet up with Amber and Randi, which was nice because we also got to see Andy again. It was also a bit weird for me because it was the first time that I'd been there since my first date with Karen, but I think not getting upset over that shows that I have moved on and that I'm ready to start living again. We then went over to Nick's sisters house for a barbecue, which was much appreciated by this very hungry soul. We then went to Olive Garden with Randi, Sarah and Amber, and we also ran into one Matt Chandler, there doing god knows what before he graduated from Adrian on Sunday. I then said my goodbyes and headed out.

I then made the short trek to Chelsea, where Ms. Amy Lewis was kind enough to get me a ticket to see the Purple Rose's production of Bus Stop. It was a really good show, and it further convinced me that I need to start writing again soon, though the night was a bit dampened by something I heard before the show, when I heard someone refer to the playwright (who won the Pulitzer Prize) as "William Ing" not "William Inge". I felt like slapping my forehead about twenty different ways. After the show I got a chance to catch up with Ms. Lewis for a while, which was amazing, as we went through a lot of old photos, and she gave me a copy of that most sought after picture, the one at Susan and Adam's wedding that everyone in it wants a copy of. After that I went home and then had a great mother's day brunch with my family, Jen, my grandmother, my aunt Claudia, my Uncle Bill and my cousin Katie. Then it was off to the airport again, first to get to Chicago, and then off to Manchester. Now when I was on the way to Manchester there were a couple of crying children on the plane. I lose patience quickly with those who complain about crying children, because they don't differentiate between the two types of crying children on an airplane: those having a tantrum, and those who are in physical pain. While tantrum children are difficult to deal with, they tend to finish their tantrums quickly, and if a child is in physical pain, I'm not going to blame them if they cry, because flying, with the ear popping and loud noises, can be a painful experience.

I kind of got lost on my way home last night, but I made it back fine, and then had a lovely chat with Rose, who is headed out to backpack in the Smoky Mountains before she heads off to London, where hopefully she will give my best to one Audrey K. Coleman, who I haven't seen in ages.

I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about something else that made me kind of sad on Saturday. When they were reading the names of graduates there was one name prominently missing among the "S" graduates. That person would be Alison Snow. I know of no one, ever, who was dealt a worse hand by fate than Alison, and to make it through as she has is remarkable. If you're reading this dear, remember, that all of us who know you , and knew you at Albion, love you a great deal, and we think you are one of the most special people on this planet. Please be well, and let us know how things are going for you. I know I, personally, would love to talk to you very soon. Be well everyone. I'll write about some of the reading I've been doing, perhaps getting a bit political tomorrow, then I'll post my personal greetings to the rest of my friends in the class of 2005.