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A New Friend from College
Jul. 4th, 2013 04:08 pmI was chatting with a slim, daddy bear type named John on one of my iPhone apps. He and I have been discussing things for a while, nothing really sexual, just the odds and ends of the day. Yesterday, he sent me a message saying he was free all weekend and if I wanted to grab a drink or lunch to give him a text. So this morning, before I worked out, I sent him a message to see if he wanted to grab lunch. He said sure.
After a snafu of bad weather, road closures, and crowded places, we finally met up and went to eat at an Irish chain restaurant. In the first five minutes that we sat down, we were talking about education, only to find out that we are both Berea College grads, only twenty years apart in our attendance. When I find someone who went to the same college as me, something fun happens. The school itself is so small, only 1500 students in the whole study body in a given year, that it is rare to run into another grad at random. Immediately, there is a fun connection, shared experiences and backgrounds (we're almost all from poor families).
Despite our age difference, we did know several professors in common, with me knowing them at the ends of their careers and him at the start in some cases. He told me some past stories about Berea in the early 70's and I related how many of those things continued during the 90's. We talked about living in the same dorms and our different jobs. He started as a freshman in "food service" while I was a waiter at Boone Tavern, essentially the two most menial freshman jobs on campus.
After lunch, he needed to head home, but we're staying in touch. He is wanting to get out more, so I told him about the Cincinnati MovieBears, the gay softball league, and Woof Wednesdays at the 701 Bar in Covington, KY. So I'm hoping I'll be hanging out with him more.
I was happy to meet him. It was a tonic I really needed this week.
Happy 4th everyone!
After a snafu of bad weather, road closures, and crowded places, we finally met up and went to eat at an Irish chain restaurant. In the first five minutes that we sat down, we were talking about education, only to find out that we are both Berea College grads, only twenty years apart in our attendance. When I find someone who went to the same college as me, something fun happens. The school itself is so small, only 1500 students in the whole study body in a given year, that it is rare to run into another grad at random. Immediately, there is a fun connection, shared experiences and backgrounds (we're almost all from poor families).
Despite our age difference, we did know several professors in common, with me knowing them at the ends of their careers and him at the start in some cases. He told me some past stories about Berea in the early 70's and I related how many of those things continued during the 90's. We talked about living in the same dorms and our different jobs. He started as a freshman in "food service" while I was a waiter at Boone Tavern, essentially the two most menial freshman jobs on campus.
After lunch, he needed to head home, but we're staying in touch. He is wanting to get out more, so I told him about the Cincinnati MovieBears, the gay softball league, and Woof Wednesdays at the 701 Bar in Covington, KY. So I'm hoping I'll be hanging out with him more.
I was happy to meet him. It was a tonic I really needed this week.
Happy 4th everyone!
