Old friends. And football.

In a couple of weeks I'm going to do something I haven't done in years. I'm going to my college homecoming game. One of my music department classmates is putting together a mini-reunion, wherein a group of us who were the primary movers and shakers (yeah, we thought we were pretty hot stuff at the time) of the vocal music program will sing the national anthem before the game. I haven't seen most of these people in 20 years, so it should be interesting. We were all asked to send in little bios to share with the others, and I'm amazed at how many of them have ended up working in church music. We've also been playing a lot of "remember when" and I have to say, though we really did have a lot of goofy fun, it shouldn't be any surprise how many of them are music ministers. Apart from furnishing our kitchens with china and glasses we lifted from food services, it was a remarkably strait-laced group. My god, was I ever really that young and innocent? We might enjoy the very occasional adult beverage, but that was it. For most of them, and for me, for a while. But I was also involved in the instrumental music department, and them folks (particularly the jazz guys) were a little more into mind-altering substances. Lots of drinking, lots of smoking. Then, near the end of my college tenure, I segued over into the theatre department and, look out! Maybe it was prophetic that the first involvement I had with that theatre department was the show "Anything Goes." 'Cause, let me tell you, anything went. But that was a long time ago, and these days I'm more than content with a good beer to wash down a good meal. And I find myself actually quite looking forward to spending a weekend with those people who knew me when I was young, and optimistic, and had absolutely no idea what life had in store for me. I just hope I don't cause a scandal if I slip and say "fuck."