A 40 Year Reunion
04 October 2006 | Annapolis
Rusty. Awaiting Fall
I am way behind in writing the account of our travels in ZT.
It is true that ZT has been securely moored in the South River since early September, so she hasn't really traveled, but Kay and I have.
Let's take up with two weekends ago when we came up to Annapolis for the 40th reunion of the class of 1966 at the US Naval Academy. Although I was not a member of that class, many of our Navy friends were, beginning with Bill and Donna Phillips, who you have already met in these adventures.
Anyway, we arrived on a Thursday afternoon, happy to be out of the early Fall Texas heat. Our great luck is to have ZT berthed just a few minutes from our very own Austin institution, Whole Foods. After stocking up the boat, we settled in and enjoyed the cool evening.
Friday morning we meet our old USAirways friend, Kevin Delaney, at an Annapolis institution, Ruth & Chick's Deli for a great breakfast followed by a long walk through the environs of Annapolis.
Saturday was the big day. We got to the Navy Football Stadium before 1100 for the "tailgate", catered by a local purveyor of what these folks call Bar B Q. No time for impolite argument now, but for Texans, it was "interesting".
What was great was seeing guys and gals that had been a big part of our formative years. Back when we were all invincible. Our women were hot, we flew supersonic fighters off of aging WWII aircraft carriers, we were just as fast on shore. Life was coming at us at high speed and we were up for it, 24/7 as they say now. It was our time, and with incredible luck, some of us made it through to last Saturday, and so did our gals, still hot, but grand moms non the less.
. It didn't seem like 40 years had gone by, and by most measures, the years had been pretty good. to us all. And of course, no one really had counted the years, just lived them the best we could.
We talked about events that had been so traumatic in the first years of our careers. There were crashes, ejections, combat losses that came rushing back into our consciousness. Memories of friends that never got the chance to flash grand kid pictures on a football Saturday. But, there were also many happy memories of crazy parties, colorful guys and gals, and legendary sea stories. We toasted each other for our faithfulness to each other and our ideals of youth, and our women looked on amused as ever at the sight of these old codgers reliving their youth.
The current crop of young midshipman walked by our tent, occasionally stopping to look in, maybe to see a reflection of themselves in four decades. We were blessed with the appearance at half time of Midshipman 4th class Jack Hale of Austin, and his mom, Janet. It was fun to here my shipmates tell Jack that the happiest day of their life was the day they left the Academy, but that wouldn't trade the experience for anything. As we used to say, "you can't buy experience like that". You could tell that Jack believed both parts of those expressions, and it really made me proud to see that continuity and camaraderie develop .
Oh, the football game. If you have never seen the Brigade of Midshipman march on the field to the tune of Anchors Aweigh, well, at least to an old sailor, very intense. Very stirring. It really makes you proud to be an American, and in some way part of what has passed before, and what will carry on in the Senior Service.
The game was pretty exciting actually. All tied up after four quarters. Each team scored in overtime. Then if was over in a flash when Navy missed its attempt at a point after. You could here the wind come out of the collective sails of all those midshipmen and Alumni.
Oh well, back to reality. It was time to find the UT football game on TV�..but alas, it wasn't carried on any of the local stations. So we settled in at the Annapolis Yacht Club, had a very tasty dinner and watched Ohio play Penn, or Michigan, or some other "East Coast" school. Anyway, it was fun. We met an international sailing judge and felt right at home..
Sunday we drove back to the "Gilded Age". A visit to Wintertur, the ancestral home of the DuPonts. What a story, going all the way back to the beginnings of America. It seems that on of Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin's buddies in Paris was a landed French gentleman who, because of his recent elevation to Knighthood, by Louis XIV, was in danger of loosing his head to Dr. Guillotine's ingenious device. TJ and BF arranged for Le Chevalier DuPont de muirs and family to travel to our fledgling country and somehow fixed them up with some really nice land in the Brandywine Valley, soon to be the first state, Delaware.
The DuPont's repaid their benefactors by setting up a gun powder mill and supplied the American army with the results of ground Salt Peter for every war since the Revolution.. Made me proud to be a stock holder, onward and upwards, DD!
Of course, the house was fabulous, containing the largest collection of American furniture and home arts ever assembled. We had the place to our selves on a cool and rainy Sunday. Hard to imagine what it would feel like to live in such style�.but we had fun trying!
Our drive back to ZT along the Eastern Shore was much more pleasant than the drive up the Interstate, and cheaper too. In case you didn't know, it cost about ten dollars in tolls to drive from Annapolis to Wilmington. No charge down the DELMARVA Peninsula .
We capped a perfect Sunday drive with a tasty seafood dinner at :the Annapolis Seafood Market, just across the South River Bridge on MD Rt. 2. Highly recommended..
Back to Austin the next day for a busy week of grand kids, football, and most importantly, a surprise birthday party for Kay. Her girlfriends and her daughter tricked us both so that we thought we were going to Chelsea's home for dinner. Instead we ended up at an Austin legend, Matt's El Rancho, for a fabulous Mexican feast, and dear friendship.
We have traveled the world over, and literally sailed the seven seas, but when our hearts turn to home, family, and friends, we always turn to Austin. We returned very late in life, but like so many things that turn out well, just in time.