So, Saturday. What to do? Well, back up a month. An old college friend, Dan, emailed me out of the blue. Turns out quite a few of the old crowd has been getting together at Picnic Day, annual event at UCD where we all went to school. Dan seemed to think I should be included in these events. Glad someone finally did. There are other events as well through out the year. So I decided, after 30 years, I should hook up with my old chums. Some I have seen more recently, say 20 years. A long fucking time, either way.
Anyhow, back to the present, it’s Saturday and it’s Picnic Day and post tax season. So today, I am going to go see very old friends. Very old. Fortunately, Dan sent pictures. My old friends look like hell. Sadly, they all can’t look as fantastic as I do. Poor bastards. And, my lovely bride looks far better than any of the women. Man am I lucky.
We were meeting around 1 in Central Park in Davis, CA. Which is outside the University and not part of the festivities. Not like I care. I have not been to Picnic Day in over 10 years. I have missed nothing I think. I have grown to dislike my alma mater over the years. I had my name removed from University mailing list. So there. But I still have some fond memories of my time there and the friends I made. I met my wife there, though not at school. I should mention, I am not much of a stay in touch guy. Seems obvious I think.
Em and I spent the morning doing chores. I mowed the lawn. We did laundry. The usual weekend crap. Has to be done eventually.
We left for Davis at about noon. It turns out the Picnic Day traffic was backed up a few miles. We made a u turn and headed north via an alternate route and came into town from the west. A good call, no traffic. Also gave us a chance to see the town again. Looks the same. I actually actively avoid Davis. I really have no love left for the place. Town is populated by a bunch of left wing loonies besides. Political and cultural losers.
We actually found legal parking very easily. Though we were really unsure that it was so when we left it. Turned out we were fine.
We walked to the park. Made a couple rounds looking for everyone. Found no one. Went and bought some bottled water, it’s amazingly warm today. Then I remembered I had one phone number. It was for Mike, a guy I knew too well back in the day. I texted him. Turns out we had walked right by everyone. They obviously weren’t paying attention.
We found them. I saw Mike from a distance. Same guy, much heavier. Then I saw Gary, from a distance, first thought – who is the old guy? Wonder what they were thinking of me? Who cares? I look fantastic. Emily says I look like a thin old man. What the hell does she know? The group was small. They told me it’s usually a bigger turnout. Dan, who contacted me, was not there. The bum.
The Picnic Day thing, it turns out, is just a meet up and hang out in the park. So we hung out. And talked, not about old times, mostly about the now of things and the future. I am glad we did not dwell on the past. None of us seems to be the same person, and we sure as hell don’t look like the same people. I guess thirty years does that.
So we hung out. While we hung out, others of our vintage showed up to visit. Some I knew and some I didn’t. Or couldn’t remember. Some remembered me vividly and I could not tell you I had ever met them. Memory is a funny thing. Although, by the next morning I had actually dredged up quite a few confusing memories that helped. Though, of course, no help that day.
Everyone brings food, a picnic for picnic day. Go figure. Em and I brought nothing. So we starved. It’s ok, we are adults. We hung out about 4 hours just reacquainting ourselves with people who were current strangers. Like us, all had been married near 30 years, had kids finally out of the house, contemplating retirement. We are all the same age and had much the same life. Which is weird. So lots in common even if we had been apart awhile. No grand kids in the group. Not that old yet.
Every year, Mike has a BBQ at his place in Woodland. So the party moves to his place in the evening. It’s BYOM, so we left the park and went home. Had a little rest, put together some steaks and headed back to Mike’s in Woodland. He lives in a development called Wildwings, which has a golf course and airport and a couple hundred houses. It’s outside Woodland, not really near town. My very good friend Doug and his family lived there for years. So I am familiar.
Mike’s house is about 3000 sf and he lives there alone. With two cats. He was married years ago, I was at the wedding. That ended quickly. I can say from experience, his former bride was a total crazy bitch. No loss. Anyhow, big, nice house. As usual for any evening dinner get together, we milled around the kitchen. Seems that’s always how parties go.
So we did more of the eat, drink and yak thing. Then cooked up our steaks. All sides provided by Mike. We sat in the back yes finally, and sipped wine and chatted. Turns out Mike has a few hundred bottles of nice wine. Gary also. They act like experts. I just enjoy good wine and they provided a lot of it. An old college acquaintance, Pam Starr, got them started in wine. She is now a star winemaker at Crocker-Starr vineyards. She is half the name on the label. Stellar vineyard located in a prime Napa location. Funny thing, her first wine job was at Sonoma Cutrer vineyards which is where my daughter currently works. Anyway, Pam has influenced my two loser friends to provide good wine to their friends. And she continues to do so. One of the annual events for the group is a wine tasting trip. So I look forward to that. And, Mike felt today was the day to crack a magnum of ‘99 Cab from Pam’s vineyard. See, I win. No matter how you look at it.
The evening ran late, as it should. We were the last to leave, of course we only had a 15 minute drive. Others drove several hours. See, Mike is 15 minutes away for the last twenty years and we never bother to hook up. Which makes sense, if you knew us.
So we said our goodbyes and drove home. And my my mind went to work on its own, dredging up old buried memories of college and the things I did. It’s tough to remember things that long past. I find it easier when I am around the old friends who help to cue up memories I thought forgotten. Some turn sad most are good. The things I remember best all involve my kids and wife. And the old friends weren’t there much during that time. I guess I can change that a little for the future.
☺️👍🏻 Awesome! Very enjoyable read. 🌈