Today we visited my alma mater, the beloved Tufts University...
I lived far longer in Green Bay than I ever did in on the border between Medford and Somerville (where Tufts is located, outside of Boston), but I don't think you ever know a place as well as where you spent the first four years of your adult life.
While it was only four years, it was an intense experience limited to a relatively small geographic area. We were all amazed at how much I could recall at so many different spots on the campus even though I had not walked those halls for almost 14 years.
Many things remained just the same.
The roof of the library is still covered in part with grass, and continues to present a beautiful view of Boston in the distance...
Okay, Alyssa, Cari and my mom might have thought it more beautiful if this New England winter hadn't reared its ugly head in early Spring.
The mascot of Tufts University is Jumbo the elephant -- made famous by the circus man P.T. Barnum.
Barnum was a benefactor and one of the original Trustees of Tufts. He donated the stuffed carcass of the original Jumbo the Elephant to form the basis of a natural history museum at Tufts. Eventually, the museum was converted to Barnum Hall and Jumbo was destroyed in a fire. However, recently a tribute to our mascot was erected outside of Barnum Hall...
Across the way is the infamous West Hall...
During my days, West was known for two things.
The best 'round the world party of the year and the naked quad run.
The 'round the world party was a big event in which various dorm rooms would host a different drink throughout the building. As you worked your way around West Hall, you, well, had lots of fun.
The naked quad run is when the coed residents of West Hall would strip down and run naked around the quad.
Amazingly enough, the residents of West Hall didn't have to make their way 'round the world to work up the courage to do the naked quad run. They somehow found the enthusiasm to do these things on different days.
I told you it was infamous -- at least in my day.
And it seems that the tradition of painting the canon, which started long before I got to Tufts, still is alive and well...
Yes, the canon has been painted to announce so many causes and events that the bottom parts are caked in dripping paint.
Sometimes it was even painted more than once in an evening. Apparently Tufts is a place of over-achievers.
We visited the bookstore to pick up some Tufts paraphenalia, and it was good to see that the two most common organized distractions to our education have been embraced by the bookstore...
Frisbee and whiffle ball.
I ignored many an assignment for the imperatives of frisbee and whiffle ball.
Of course, I wasn't a natural frisbee player so in my day, I had to pratice, practice and practice again.
Where, you ask, did I do all that practicing?
Well, look at the top of this fire escape...
This is Curtis Hall, the entire third floor of which is home to the mighty WMFO -- 91.5 fm.
The picture is of the side of the building and the fire escape, but it was from that top landing that many a horrible old fashioned vinyl record met its untimely demise.
Okay, more simply, it was from here that we would fling the recordings of New Kids on the Block, Menudo, Tiffany, and countless other really, really cheesy acts (they are so bad, that I can't even bring myself to call them "musicians" or "bands"). There is a railroad track immediately behind the building and it brought me great joy to toss these vinyl records and watch them get run over by the next passing train.
During my day, I served as General Manager of this student/community radio station. Amazingly, some guy who collects bumper stickers has posted one from my days at the station on the internet. I liberated it and repost it below for your viewing pleasure...
Hey, we were radio guys, not graphic design majors.
Of course, some things had to have changed.
During my first week on campus, I found a job working at After Hours, the campus convenience store. I worked there in varying capacities all through my four years on college.
The ice cream parlor -- Jumbo Scoops -- was merged into Afterhours and it is now Jumbo Express...
And like so many other institutions of higher learning, technology has taken over.
When I arrived in Boston 18 years ago, I immediately went out and bought a Smith Corona typewriter. I thought it was the greatest thing because it had correcting tape and it would allow me to delete any letter on the current line -- as long as I deleted it before moving on to the next line.
Today, the whole campus is wired, laptops are everywhere, and even plasma screens can be found in the campus center announcing activities...
The big red object on the right side of the above picture is an automated DVD rental machine.
Long gone are the days of video.
In fact, the video store next to campus has been replaced by a Dunkin' Donuts...
Alright, I admit it. I do consider replacing the video store with a Dunkin' Donuts real progress.
Thankfully, as you can see in the picture above, Nicks is still thriving.
Here's my mom partaking of my two favorite sandwiches in the world...
Hot pastrami on the right. Very, very good.
But nothing beats the veal parmigiana sub, light on the sauce, heavy on the mozzarella.
Of course, after that stroll down memory lane, we needed to buy some Tufts junk to take home with us...
I guess the $80,000 we handed over some 14 years ago in loans and payments wasn't quite enough money to leave behind.
Even Alyssa got in the act, picking out a sweatshirt for herself...
At our expense, of course.
Oh yeah. I almost forgot.
Cari took these pictures and told me that if I didn't put them up, well, then I would be sleeping on the floor of our hotel room.
I knew after we married I'd still be getting the last word. Only I didn't know that the last word would always be, "Yes, dear."
Here's the real reason we are visiting Boston and Tufts...
Here I am spouting off some nonsense to the gathering of Tufts alumni at dinner...
And this is the medallian and other paraphenalia that they presented to the night's honorees...
It was a nice dinner, but too bad they didn't have Nicks cater it. Veal parmigiana subs. Mmmmm.
I gotta get back over there at least once more before we leave.
Tomorrow, Bunker Hill and the People's Republic of Cambridge.
Ta ta for now...
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