I was invited back by one of my college journalism advisers to lend my experiences to the student newspaper staff for a few days. The same newspaper where I spent four years as a staff member, including two as editor, and blossomed as a journalist.
I took an early, early flight out of a gloomy, rainy Chicago on Thursday morning, and reunited with my adviser, who was there to pick me up in a gloriously sunny Kansas City. As we made the two-hour drive through the countryside to our rural campus, we reminisced on the years gone by, chatted about what's become of the people who were in school with me; we talked baseball, Brett Favre and politics.
(We did, by the way, gather to watch Brett's preseason debut on Friday night against the Kansas City Chiefs ... Funny how that worked out. Me, being the longtime Brett Favre fan, watching him, playing in a purple Vikings uniform, against my former home team, the Chiefs ... Brett did not look good.)
The weekend was filled with fun reminiscing of my days as a student journalist -- including the week of Sept. 11 and some of the shenanigans we played in our fabled Wells Hall ... The eating was excellent, with return trips to some old favorites (A & G's, Pagliai's Pizza, The Palms) and trips to some newer places I'd never been (LaBonita, Java Cafe) ... And I managed to sneak away for about an hour Friday afternoon to take a walk around the campus and explore more of the changes ...
After all, it's been about four years -- a whole college career -- since my last trip there.
This return to the campus was so rejuvenating, recalling a place that's a stronghold in my root system ... There were other parts that were so surreal. Like noticing that almost nothing in the newsroom had changed in the last eight years, aside from some sleek new Apple computers and a line of front pages adorning the hallway to the newsroom -- including some I helped create. The office furniture that a couple professors and some of my journalism buddies spent a whole day taking apart and moving was still standing strong.
During my walk, I marveled once more at the symbolism and architecture of the Bell Tower and the Administration Building ... I stood perplexed and somewhat disappointed at the way two new residence halls had all but eliminated "the tundra" where we played pickup games of football, baseball and Frisbee; and yet the crumbling residential towers remained ... I gazed with pride at all of the improvements around what I prefer to keep calling "Rickenbrode Stadium," and took a few minutes to watch the football team practice for another run at a national title ... I toured the Gaunt House as construction crews worked on renovations and preparations for the new president ... And I stood amused in front of Hudson & Perrin Halls -- the place I had lived two years -- which had been decimated and rebuilt as a shiny, glassy piece of modern living.
Still, for me, one of the most mind-blowing sights of the weekend was watching the students texting on their cell phones and chatting on their Facebook pages almost non-stop. To think that 10 years ago the Internet had existed only a couple years in the public domain, you were rich if you had a cell phone and social networking meant going to a bar -- on arrangements you made via your land line phone ...
Here's some of images from the trip ...
... A rainbow over the country side on Thursday night ...
... Enjoying some relaxation time in my hotel room ...
... The Bell Tower ...
... The Administration Building ...
... A football practice at Bearcat Stadium ...
... The new and improved Perrin & Hudson Halls ...
... And returning home to Chicago and the dream of the 2016 Olympic games.
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