It’s
been an interesting summer. I have been alternating between worry and pride
over our grandson going off to Colorado State University. Naturally this would lead me to thinking back on my own time at Clemson. By coincidence over the summer, I was
contacted through LinkedIn by Connor Davis who lives just up the road in
Monument. He is an incoming freshman this year to my alma mater. His brother
had graduated from there and I believe ran Cross Country and Track. Conner was
very excited to be headed off to Clemson. He set himself a project of
interviewing as many Clemson alumni as he could in the area (and along his
drive to South Carolina) and finding out why they loved the school. The link
above is the interview I gave.
As
I sat in a local coffee shop being filmed by Conner and his father, I found
myself saying that I fell in love with Clemson not for the school itself, but
for my friends that I made. This surprised me as I love the school and
particularly the Mechanical Engineering and Math departments. I found most
professors to be kind, helpful, and engaged with the students (don't ask me about Ernesto Suarez or a particular physics proffesor). And dorm life in
Johnstone Dormitory was a blast. But instead of talking about the university, I
talked about trying out for (and ultimately failing to make) the Cross Country
team.
This
experience lead me to Ian Davidson (introduced to me by Coach Colson as someone
who could help me find people to train with). Ian was a Clemson graduate,
former Cross Country runner, and legend (to me at least) in the South Carolina
running community. Ian is a great person who immediately took me into his
circle, introducing me to other runners some of whom had run for Clemson when
they were students, others that hadn’t, and others that were still in school. It was running with them that really
made me love my time at Clemson. Those friendships were and are something
incredibly special to me.
It
wasn’t long after meeting Ian that he introduced me to Eddie Pennebaker who at
the time was a school teacher and his soon to be wife Julie Brown who worked in
the registrar’s office. Eddie became my partner in crime (both in the running
and friendship sense), and if I wasn’t on campus or in a bar I was over at
Eddie and Julie’s apartment. That is not to say I wouldn't be found in a bar with Eddie and Julie. Eddie and Ian introduced me to a cast of others
whose orbits I fell into as well. These are the characters of my college years:
Steve Figueroa, Tommy “Pooh Bear” Williams, Dr. Don Lattore, Tim Stewart, Joe
Hammond, Dr. Keith Allen, and Dave “Geerman” Geer. Together we became the Outta
Control Track Club (OCTC or OCCT/OTCC/OTTC if you were Pooh Bear). We were a
good group of runners, knocking back the miles, knocking back more than our
share of beer, and sharing so many good times.
I
could tell you a thousand stories of our group. The friendly rivalries with the
Clemson Cross Country Team and the Greenville Track Club, mid-week “meetings”
at the Study Hall bar where the goal seemed to be drink beer and see who could make me laugh hard enough to fall off my chair, and the many runs and trails and
gatherings we held. But I will only bore you with one of those stories that
sprang to mind this week as I drifted back to Clemson – The T L Hannah Band
Run.
There
was a race at T L Hannah High in nearby Anderson, South Carolina (proceeds
obviously benefitting the T L Hannah Yellow Jacket Marching Band). Steve
Figueroa, Eddy Pennebaker, and I donned our OCTC colors (black and blue baby!)
and headed off for Anderson that Saturday morning. I hazily remember the race
itself, the road, passing people, being passed, but I do know the three of us
all did well. Eddie won the race, Steve won his age group, and I won mine. We
were drinking light beer and awaiting the award ceremony when the race director
finally came to the mic, and this is where the day became memorable.
The
race director began going through gender and age group awards, and for the
first and only time I can remember a race director mispronounced all our names. Steve Figueroa was called
to the podium as Steve Figeria, Eddie made his way to get his trophy as Eddie
Penbauker, and in the ultimate butchery of the day I answered to Teexer Hardel.
To this day, when I talk to Eddie he will call me Mr. Hardel, Teexer, or Tex.
Perhaps you had to be there but I think of it as universally hilarious.
I
am fascinated by how memory works. My grandson leaving us for college primes
its pump, a new friend sets it in motion, and then things start tumbling.
Without knowing exactly how, I find myself at once in Clemson, in Anderson, in Colorado Springs, and up at CSU. All the years a mix in my head.
The summer has sped by and Russell is now enjoying an entirely new experience at Fort Collins which we look forward to hearing about and having him share
with us. I hope he has his own version of my college experience. The summer won’t last much longer, but with my memories I can be
anywhen and anywhere, and that’s something.
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