I thought that was an appropriate title for this particular blog entry.
Approximately five years ago this week, I was living in Akron and got
the word that I got the funding to return to Ohio State. Of course,
that would be a major turning point in my life, not just because of OSU
but for another reason.
Around that same time a bunch of my
friends and I used to hang out at a bar called the Harry Buffalo in
Akron. The clientele was changing for the worse and Akron itself
started going in a downward spiral regarding the nightlife. Now,
knowing the dancer that I was and still am to some degree, I was not
happy about that even though I was moving to Columbus in about 3 months
time. My friends were looking for a new place to hang out at. In June
of that year (2003), I started insisting we take a trip to Columbus to a
club that I use to go to, which was called the Big Easy (it's now
Screaming Willies). I pretty much nagged them until a date was set for a
trip. That day was three days after I got the word about Ohio
State...Saturday, September 20.
The day came and, unfortunately
as I expected, a bunch of them backed out at the last minute, so it
became a scouting trip consisting of me, Stan (CTOWNCHARMER on my top
friends), and a mutual friend Darryl. I hadn't been at that particular
club for about two years and didn't even know if the place was still
hoppin' or if anybody I knew still went there. Stan and Darryl were
just hoping the trip would be worth it and they'd have at least a decent
time. Well, to make a long story shorter, it outright exceeded all our
expectations. I got to reunite with people that I hadn't seen in years
including Griff (Professor Griff), Dave, Al (FINODI), and many others.
The other guys had an absolute blast while we were there. Aside from
the return trip home where the serpentine belt broke in the car we were
driving in, that night was one of the best times I had had at a club
ever.
The next week, Thursday I believe, the other two guys and I
bragged about what the rest of the crew had missed. The enthusiasm was
genuinely high on our part and a return trip was planned for that
Saturday, the 27th. We rolled about 15 deep into the club that weekend
and we all had a blast yet again. My friends from Columbus and my Akron
crew seemed to really mesh. For the next couple of months, there was a
trip every Saturday night to Columbus. Two hour drive down, two hour
drive back afterwards. It was tiring, exciting, exhausting...it also
bonded many of us who had not known each other that well at that point.
For me, it was one of the best times of my life. It was also a social
rebirth of sorts, because for a long time there I was in a really bad
place in my life. This was a new start for me, reconnecting and
bringing new people into the fold, getting back into college, and
changing the fortune and destiny of not just myself but many of my
friends.
Flash forward five years. There have been broken and
renewed relationships, new friends and acquaintances, new families and
children born, and ever-changing circumstances for all of us here.
Heck, I became a college graduate and a born-again Christian. There are
many of you who remember that time and were even there that night the
big group rolled into Columbus on a Saturday night looking for fun....I
am eternally grateful and happy that I've been able to keep up with all
of you even if sporadically. This Saturday will be the fifth
anniversary of that big trip we all took, and honestly I can't think of a
better time to have a reunion of all the fellas and ladies than that
night. I am inviting you all to come to the OC in Gahanna. I already
know a couple of people who are coming, so it should be good. Even if
you were not there that particular night, I invite you to come on out
and join us, leave the drama in the past for those of you who have it,
and have some fun, or just stop in for a minute and say hi. If I have
to guilt some of you into stopping in this weekend, I will, especially
since if it weren't for that trip 5 years ago some of us wouldn't be
here right now (Kevin, that means you). Everyone is invited but I may
try to send event invitations specifically to those of you who either
were there that night or had a tangential connection to someone who was
there that night, so don't be surprised if you get one. I'll also post a
couple of bulletins about it....I know it'll be late for some of you,
but I'm gonna try to get this going. I hope to see many of you there on
Saturday night...I got a good feeling about it. Take care and God
Bless.
DJ
