Saturday:
John arrived on Friday night and I picked him up at the Syracuse airport. I had dreaded the hour-long drive, but after 2 days of packing boxes, going to the Goodwill drop-off and the post office several times, it was actually quite calming. Added bonus: a most spectacular pink and gold sky at sunset.
After breakfast on Sat. morning, we went to the only-coffee-shop-in-town, The Barge (owned and operated by the college) and met up with my new friend, Walt. I met Walt on Thursday morning at The Barge. He is a retired English professor and we shared an hour or so, each morning, just chatting. He and John also had a nice time meeting and Bonnie showed up at 10 to go to...
The History Reception: where most of the professors came to schmooze with their (now former) students and their parents. Bonnie's teachers were all interesting and friendly, and we finally got to meet Prof. Jill Harsin, her unofficial mentor and advisor.
More receptions, etc....like the AMS scholars...and the day was completed with the aforementioned flat tire. Luckily, one of Bonnie's friend's had a dad-in-jeans who changed said tire for us.
We finished the day by taking Prof. Harsin out to dinner in the nearby town of Cazenovia. Restaurants in Hamilton were impossible to get in to, and Bonnie had eaten at all of them before. We (and bunches of prom night high schoolers) had a wonderful dinner at Lincklaen House.
Unfortunately, we lost track of the time and forgot that Bonnie was supposed to be back at Colgate for the traditional Torchlight Ceremony, where hundreds of grads (some exceedingly drunk) carry sticks of fire around the Colgate Pond with fireworks blazing overhead, terrorizing lost ducklings and fellow students, alike.
Bonnie arrived near the end of the ceremony, found her friend Dalia, and was regaled with stories of drunken frat boys trying to burn down trees. Later, she found best friend-and-housemate, Erin...only to be told that drunken sorority girls had hurled a lighted torch her direction, she ducked it but not in time and she received a small burn on her hand and had her graduation gown sleeve CATCH ON FIRE!!!
Now, Bonnie has a real terror of fire and fireworks due to an early experience with a renegade sparkler, so she was nervous about this event before she even got there. But hearing these stories, she was actually glad she was late and missed all the 'excitement'. Erin said that she would forever remember the Torchlight by getting pissed off, over and over, at 3 thoughtless, drunk sorority girls.
It sounds like a fortuitous late arrival. Drunks with fireworks--not a good combination! I have two graduating this year, Ashley from UW and Alison from high school. Ashley decided not to go through commencement and that was also fortuitous, since it is the same day as Alison's!
Posted by: Margaret | Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 10:40 AM