Gig 'em!

Wednesday didn't end with the massage. Afterwards, I grabbed some fruit and an iced coffee at Starbucks, taking a little time to grade another paper (where I also enjoyed a nice conversation with a gentleman who, as I was leaving, said I had great toenails---then added "and great claves." Indeed---I was wearing my sassy shoes, and those shoes make even my calves look good. Still---so nice to hear!)---anyway, then I headed over to Duke's Original Roadhouse in Bedford---my final Fort Worth/Tarrant County A&M Club happy hour.


The local A&M Club hosts a happy hour each month on the last Wednesday of the month. With my move date occuring before the next one, of course, that meant May's happy hour would be my last. And what a great time!


So many people I hadn't seen in a long while were there! Jeff & Amy (with their two boys---Grayson & Logan---two cuties), Dan and Donna (with their son---Garrett, I think), along with regulars like Stephanie, John, Don, Julie & Daniel, Gloria, Steve, James, Courtney, Alex, Leigh, and lots of others.



I haven't been incredibly active as of late in the A&M Club---busy for a few years with the commute to Dallas, and lately, teaching on Wednesday evenings, but through this group, I met most of my Fort Worth friends.


Back in Dec '99, I went to my first Aggie happy hour--at the White Elephant Saloon. There, I met Tim---a great guy from a small town---West. That following summer, I invited Tim to celebrate my birthday with me and other friends, and he brought along a friend of his from his apartment complex---Rod. And that's how it all started.

Rod works for Lockheed, and Rod introduced Tim and me to "the Gang"---a group of (back then, mostly single) friends, predominantly composed of folks who worked at Lockheed. Then there was Tim---a jr. high VP, and me---a law student. As the years went by, the members of the Gang changed. Tim's now married to Kathy, and they have two boys. Others have married. Others have moved away. And others have joined. The activities aren't as large as they used to be; even the "godfather" of the gang doesn't go out as much anymore. He's got a wonderful sweetie, Lindsay, whom we all adore.

Anyway---back to the A&M Club. (I'll get back to friends of the Gang later.) I volunteered a couple of years with Muster. I also lent a hand at Coach's Night once or twice. The A&M Club also participates in Cowtown Brush Up---an annual event where groups get together and paint a house in need in Fort Worth all on one day. And I often look forward to the annual event of the Fort Worth Live Stock Show & Rodeo---this year my friend Heather joined me. But it's the monthly happy hours I consider a big part of the club.

Granted, there's a huge influx of young 'uns these days---those who graduated pretty much any time after the turn of the century. But we still have a few late 80s/early 90s folks hanging in there!

In all, it was a great night---visiting with old friends, even meeting a few new ones. And it was a night to say goodbye. But that's the thing about A&M---it's never really goodbye. And Aggies are everywhere.

In fact, this morning, I logged on to the former student website and located a page about a Memphis A&M Club. I sent an email to the officers listed on the webpage, and within the hour, I had a response and was placed on the email list of notices for fall football game-watching parties. I've never even been in the state of Tennessee, but already, I've been invited to a football party.

Gig 'em.