Going Back (to Nassau Hall)

The gang of 3 old room mates - together again after (too) many years

Outside the entrance to our Cuyler Hall room

After my little “incident” with TSA, I continued on my way back to my 45^th Reunion at Princeton. In the JetBlue gate area, I spotted two young ladies from the Class of ’13, headed back to their 5^th and obvious by orange shirts – a color not common, except among a species migrating to NJ at this time of year. We found two more Tigers on the plane and were joined by a sea of orange and black gear in the Newark airport, all massing toward the NJ Transit train south. The short ride was filled with tales of Reunions past and revelations of odd college nicknames. At the end of the PJ&B “Dinky” tracks, we scattered across campus to find our respective classmates.

With Fred just before the Reunion mayhem started

My first stop was the relative calm of a restaurant on Nassau Street, where I saw my dear room mate and friend Fred Drake and met two beloved Facebook friends - Fred’s wife Marie and Bill Piper, two of my favorite and most thoughtful posters on FB. From there the whirlwind blur of Reunions began. I stayed in a lovely dormitory room in Holder Hall a was delighted to find the scent of wood and ancient plaster walls is exactly as I remembered it 45 years ago.

The medieval staircase up to our room

One highlight of the weekend was visiting old dorm rooms with Fred and our third intrepid room mate Brad Shingleton. To our slight dismay, all our old dorms had been brilliantly remodeled to ADA and energy conservation specs. My old freshmen room had been converted into a womens’ handicap bathroom, nulling our old treks down 2 flights of stairs to use a bathroom. Only our Sophomore room remained intact, with memories dripping from every crack and window. The other salient event was the P-Rade, an orange and black procession of every Reunion class, which I best describe as watching your life pass before you in reverse. Just a few minutes into the march across campus, local lightening strikes caused its rare cancellation. Undaunted, the great Class of 1973 took up its banner and continued the trek alone (after the sound of thunder dissipated) to a hero’s applause from the bystanders. In sum, it was a glorious time with old friends and some new. I was a bit surprised by the number of slow walkers, hearing aids and knee scars among my classmates. My only complaint was the loud volume of the dance bands, which may just be a sign that I too am growing “old”.

PG in his robotics lab

After Reunions, I continued my US vacation with a visit to my dear friend, adviser and adventurer PG Randall and his wife Louise at their new Chestnut Hill home and a visit to his national award winning robotics lab at Chestnut Hill Academy. Then a rainy visit with Dave and Kathleen Phillips in Beach Haven, NJ and a wonderful time with sister Darcy and BIL Steven in Norwalk, CT, complete with sea-going adventure. I did most of the travelling via train, which I found to be prompt and well done. Sadly, visits in FL with son Alden and family and sister Robin had to be cancelled due to a stomach issue. Though I did get in a visit with one of my oldest friends Pete Travis.

Now back in Changuinola, I need some rest.

(note-many of the photos are courtesy of Marie Drake and her keen photographic eye)