One last bit of nostalgia...
and then it's back to boxing reviews and the latest memes.
Poughkeepsie, Spring 1990. We stood outside Leo Hall on a gorgeous spring day, figuring this was going to be one of the last days we'd all be together during freshman year. By this point, I probably knew I wasn't going to be back in September, and Peter probably knew he wasn't either, but we were still enjoying the time we had together. By this point, Lara had started to slide out of the group a little bit, because she was still concerned with actually studying, rather then participating in the full-time RPG that Peter and Lee had created out of their own heads. But we were still the Kool-Aid Club, regardless of what happened with grades.
If I remember correctly, it started with Lara and I hanging out in the lounge at Leo, watching NextGen and SNL and not going out drinking. Eventually, it expanded to the five of us. We acquired the name thanks to a regular cab driver who used to drive us to the movie theater at the Poughkeepsie Galleria. He observed that we were the only ones he wasn't taking to off-campus parties, and coined the name, which stuck.
For 6 months, we all spent as much time together as we could when we weren't in class. We took the train to New York a few times, spent nights hanging out down by the Hudson, running around the lumberyard next to the school's crew dock, and generally avoiding educational pursuits as much as humanly possible. We played an amalgam of Robotech, Cyberpunk, Aliens, and whatever else popped into Peter's head as he wove the thread of a seemingly endless RPG that more or less filled all of our off-hours. But mostly, we just spent a lot of time together, being good kids who didn't get drunk and stumble back to the dorms to try to con our way past Marc, the badass security guard who worked the front desk of Leo Hall.
But all good things must come to an end, as they say, and shortly after that picture was taken, reality set in. Peter and I both completely washed out of school, and Lee left Marist also. Lara and Kathy stayed, and both graduated. After a summer reunion at Lara's house minus Peter, who was locked down at home, the Kool-Aid Club dissolved.
Peter more or less vanished off the face of the Earth. He had problems with his parents over washing out of Marist(to the point of running away from home that summer), and last I'd heard, was attending Duchess Community College under the thumb of his father. Kathy and I mailed each other on and off for a while, but that just sort of petered out(so to speak) before too long. Lee and I stayed in contact for quite a while. I visited her in New York City a number of times over 4 or 5 years, but then we lost contact also. Last I heard, she was in the Air Force, married with a kid.
Lara and I, though, have remained friends for over 15 years now. She is my best female friend in the entire world, and she's also my harshest critic and editrix(sorry, Thom.) We've gotten drunk together, we've watched some really terrible movies together, we've even been in a car accident together. Tomorrow morning, I will wake up, get the girls up, and we'll drive to Princeton to watch Lara walk down the aisle and get married to one hell of a nice guy. This post is dedicated to you, Lara. Mazel Tov~!
Poughkeepsie, Spring 1990. We stood outside Leo Hall on a gorgeous spring day, figuring this was going to be one of the last days we'd all be together during freshman year. By this point, I probably knew I wasn't going to be back in September, and Peter probably knew he wasn't either, but we were still enjoying the time we had together. By this point, Lara had started to slide out of the group a little bit, because she was still concerned with actually studying, rather then participating in the full-time RPG that Peter and Lee had created out of their own heads. But we were still the Kool-Aid Club, regardless of what happened with grades.
If I remember correctly, it started with Lara and I hanging out in the lounge at Leo, watching NextGen and SNL and not going out drinking. Eventually, it expanded to the five of us. We acquired the name thanks to a regular cab driver who used to drive us to the movie theater at the Poughkeepsie Galleria. He observed that we were the only ones he wasn't taking to off-campus parties, and coined the name, which stuck.
For 6 months, we all spent as much time together as we could when we weren't in class. We took the train to New York a few times, spent nights hanging out down by the Hudson, running around the lumberyard next to the school's crew dock, and generally avoiding educational pursuits as much as humanly possible. We played an amalgam of Robotech, Cyberpunk, Aliens, and whatever else popped into Peter's head as he wove the thread of a seemingly endless RPG that more or less filled all of our off-hours. But mostly, we just spent a lot of time together, being good kids who didn't get drunk and stumble back to the dorms to try to con our way past Marc, the badass security guard who worked the front desk of Leo Hall.
But all good things must come to an end, as they say, and shortly after that picture was taken, reality set in. Peter and I both completely washed out of school, and Lee left Marist also. Lara and Kathy stayed, and both graduated. After a summer reunion at Lara's house minus Peter, who was locked down at home, the Kool-Aid Club dissolved.
Peter more or less vanished off the face of the Earth. He had problems with his parents over washing out of Marist(to the point of running away from home that summer), and last I'd heard, was attending Duchess Community College under the thumb of his father. Kathy and I mailed each other on and off for a while, but that just sort of petered out(so to speak) before too long. Lee and I stayed in contact for quite a while. I visited her in New York City a number of times over 4 or 5 years, but then we lost contact also. Last I heard, she was in the Air Force, married with a kid.
Lara and I, though, have remained friends for over 15 years now. She is my best female friend in the entire world, and she's also my harshest critic and editrix(sorry, Thom.) We've gotten drunk together, we've watched some really terrible movies together, we've even been in a car accident together. Tomorrow morning, I will wake up, get the girls up, and we'll drive to Princeton to watch Lara walk down the aisle and get married to one hell of a nice guy. This post is dedicated to you, Lara. Mazel Tov~!
posted by Jon M. at
10:42 PM
2 Comments:
Congrats to your friend, and one of the things about life is meeting new people as the old go on their separate path. There is always the chance of meeting back up with the old friends later on.
Also, I never say much because I usually don't know how to put it into words.
THAN
It's "than participating in the...RPG", asspoke.
And congrats to L-Dub.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home