So do you want to hear about the wedding? Larry, Nemo, Mindy, Bridgett and other assorted people you may or may not know? O.K. We got in Friday afternoon right before dinner. We needed to buy a present for Walgren so we headed out to Marshall Fields on state street. I remember you and I had gone to a Marshall Fields together but I don't think it was on State Street, I think it was at Water Tower place or something like that. Anyhow, on the way out we ran into Jon Meyers (Yorkie) do you remember him? I didn't recognize him at first, he had put on probably 70 lbs since school and he was pretty grey but as soon as he started talking I knew who it was (I had to tell him to stop talking so fast). I met his wife too, Sherry, a very pretty woman, who had that sophisticated urban look. we ended up spending a good deal of time with them. Anyhow, soon after Colin Andersen came up (this was in the lobby). I hadn't seen him since probably my first year at Drake. He was my RA my first year there (a senior). He looked practically the same. Anyhow, it was great seeing both of them, but they were in a hurry to get to the rehearsal dinner and Ann and I were in a hurry to get a present so we promised to catch up later in the evening. Ann and I cabbed it to Marshall Fields and then afterwards went to an Italian restaurant called Tucci Milano or something like that. Have you ever been there? What type of Italian is it where they don't have spaghetti? Anyhow, that's what it was. Ann really wanted spaghetti and they didn't have it, but I thought it was pretty good and I think she did too despite no spaghetti. By this time it was pretty late so we went back to the room and I thought we would call it a night but York called me and said they were all in the lounge, so I went down to the lounge and Yorkie, Colin, and Walgren were there along with a couple of other people. This one friend of Jake's from L.A. was there and he passed out aat the table, so we played perverse tricks on him, until he woke up, Anyhow, we ended going out for a couple of hours to a couple of bars and called it a night. We slept pretty late, and the next day Larry called and we met him in the lobby before the wedding. He looks more like Rodney Dangerfield every time I see him. Mindy looked exactly the same -- I hadn't seen her in at least 5 years. Ann had not seen either of them since their wedding. Anyhow, we went over to the wedding and were taking bets on whether Nemo would show. Right before the wedding started, Nemo makes his gran entrnace with Bridget. It reminded me of the scene from the Big Chill, where William Hurt comes into the church right before the start of the funeral. He looks a lot different, he is really grey and his hair has receded a lot, but he is still a good looking guy. A cross between Sting and Clint Eastwood (or so Ann thinks). He was with Bridget. Anyhow, the wedding was Catholic but mercifully short (did you have a long wddding? and then it was off to the reception. The reception was great. It was so much fun seeing all these people I hadn't seen in so long. I hadn't seen Nemo since Larry's wedding even though I had talked to him on the phone a few times. It was fun catching up with Larry and Mindy. I kept on trying to talk Larry and Mindy into meeting us at Myrtle Beach -- Mindy was up for it of course, but Larry wouldn't commit. I have a pretty good idea why, but I can't say for sure. Everyone was afraid to ask Nemo what he was up to, but Mindy asked him and he says he is a graphic designer for a sign company and a football coach. He said he would meet us in Chicago if it wasn't during coaching season. You know that Larry spends a lot of time at work these days and traveling for work. I came to the conclusion that Larry is not too happy at home. I can see why. Mindy didn't pass up a chance to take little jabs at him whenever she could -- mostly about being a people pleaser (except he tries to please everyone but me, she says) and not paying enough attention to her and the kids. I got the impression that it was one of those vicious cycle things where she is always on his case for not being home and he stays away more because her constant picking is kind of aversive. I forgot that they got married in a hurry. They were living together within two weeks on knowing each other and were engaged within a couple of months. I think they were married in less than a year from meeting each other and she was pregnant one month after getting married. Larry talks a lot about partying and stuff, and she doesn't drink and hates drugs. I think she is used to getting her way on everything -- and I never really thought of it when I lived with him, but Larry was a very tolerant, people pleasing person like Mindy says even back then. Nemo was as enigmatic as ever. He didn't have much to say about what he was doing, but he remembers so many stories from our Drake days, that he spent almost the whole night reminding us of things that had happened. It was really funny hearing all those stories again. I hardly rememer half the things. I think I burned too many brain cells back then. You probably don't remember many of these people, but Bridgett was there. We all thougt she was gay but she talked a lot about the boyfriend she was living with and what she was doing She was only at Drake a year, from 82 - 83 and then dropped ou but like so many others, she hung out there a lot. She is now studying to be a teacher and is a part-time bartender. Nemo didn't mention anything about a significant other, and we were all afraid to ask -- Mindy didn't even ask. Yorkie is a school teacher on Long Island as is his wife. Others from Drake that were there were Bob Harvey (a college professor now), Tom Simpson, and CJ and his wife, both people from Drake. Larry called him his "competition". Anyhow, CJ came up to me and introduced himself (I knew who he was and was going to talk to him but he beat me to the punch). He works for the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis and entertains Walgren whenever he comes to town for the Bulls and Whitesox games. Anyhow, we didn't talk long mostly because we hardly knew each other at Drake, but he remembered me and I asked him about Linda, he really didn't seem to want to talk about her I think because his wife was there and it seemed it might have been a sore subject between the two (maybe I am reading more into it). Anyhow, I don't remember her name, I think it might have started with an M. She went to Drake and was his age. She looked older than him, probably because he still looks so young. It looked like he was trying to grow a beard and was wearing those small oval shaped glasses that are so trendy these days and was carrying a bunch of photo equipment, very much the journalist look. His wife is a free-lance producer with the same station as CJ, so she helps produce stuff with Walgren when he comes to town. Anyhow, he asked about Sonia and remembered that you and I were an item and asked about you and I of course had to lie and tell him I have no idea what ever happened to you. Luckily Ann wasn't around. I might have been paranoid. So.. the reception ended. More than one person said that I am really mellow now compared to the person they knew at Drake. The DJ played a lot of songs that were popular when we were in school, so it was like a college reunion. Much more fun, than I thought possible, I forgot how much I liked some of those people. Anyhow after the reception (it ended at 8:00), we all went up to Ray's room at the hotel and continued the party. After a couple of hours there, we all decided to go to the bars so Pam Gaffigan decided to join us. Do you remember her? So Ann and Larry were in the mood for listening to a blues band, so we headed out looking for a band, but the place we wanted to go had a line, so we decided to all meet at this bar in Wrigleyville (Ann and me, Larry, Mindy, Pam, her roomate, Yorkie, and his wife, Nemo, and Bridgett. So.. before we knew it, Bridgett and Nemo jumped in a cab and told us they would meet us, and the rest of us jumped into cabs and we all met up there -- except, surprise!, Nemo and Bridgett never showed and Yorkie's wife decided to go back to the hotel. What was kind of annoying was that Mindy said she wasn't interest in going either, but for whatever reason, she decided to go, and then right after we got there insisted that Larry take her home. So Larry was really bummed and had to go home right away. Pam, her roomate, Yorkie, and Ann and I stayed and drank until about 3:30 and then went on to McDonalds and made it home about 4:30. everyone was speculating that Pam and her roomate were gay (she looked really "butch"). The roomate didn't.I talked to them for probably 3 hours, but the bar was so noisy and I was drinking and I can't remember her name. Do you remember a person by the name of Ann Trotter? Anyhow, the next day there was a brunch, so most of us went to that except Ann, and of course Nemo and Bridgett (as usual Nemo leaves without even saying goodbye). and that was about it. We all talked about trying to organize a get together maybe at Hilon Head or maybe Drake relays. It was so much fun seeing all these people again. Ann said that she could tell we were all checking each other out. I guess that is how it is at reunions.... but nobody talked much about their jobs. Mostly it was about their kids and old times. So.. Larry and I didn't get much of a chance to talk except on the way to the airport (between bouts of Mindy complaining about this and that). So what do you think? Jim