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We had drifted apart. It happens the way it usually does, the years in between get togethers started to pile up more frequently, kids and careers got in the way and before you know it the wolf pack of friends you did everything with in college suddenly become the occasional “hey whatever happened to him” conversation. That was the way it played out with me and my boys from school until one single meet up changed everything.
It was late January 2011 in Fort Worth Texas, site of Super Bowl 45. A friend I hadn’t seen in years reached out about getting together for a drink. We’ll call him Joe for the purposes of this story because… that’s his name. He was my little brother in our fraternity and someone I hadn’t seen in years. After the obligatory “how are you and your family” questions we were both surprised at how quickly things settled back into the way they’d been 20 plus years ago. By that I mean telling the stupidest stories, laughing at our horrendous decisions and realizing at our core we’re all still really 15 emotionally. So when that went well we decided “ let’s try and put the band back together”. I mean it wasn’t a decision as significant as nuclear fission or the invention the IPhone but to the two of us it had merit.
And that’s how it started. The first of the annual golf trip get togethers began that spring, and they’ve been going strong ever since. While one or two people have drifted in and out for a variety of reasons 7 of us have been essentially going strong for the last 12 years: Joe, Sesh, Hodgie, Haney, Buck, Jordan and me. The idea has taken us to some of the greatest golfing destinations in the country where we’ve proceeded to play some of the worst golf those hallowed grounds have probably ever seen. But let’s be honest, it’s never really about the golf. It’s about the laughs on the course, the drinks during and after and the dinner conversations that keep us going for hours long after the food had been consumed.
Each trip brings something a little different. There was the time were in Scottsdale when one of the group was spotted by his nephew and niece when he hadn’t informed them he’d be in town. Awkward. Or the time four of us stayed up till about 4 in the morning trying to solve the worlds problems. Programming note: You all really feel brilliant after many cocktails and 100% certain you’ve figured out the key to making it work. CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY!! LORDS OF THE PLAINS!!. The flat tire of 2021 created its own drama, as did the initial visit to The Nest in 2015. And don’t even get me started about “ Sean’s World 2014”. This trip, like all of them, had it’s moments and key phrases: leche and Pooh bear top the list for VERY different reasons that we don’t need to get into, and of course there was the very unfortunate Hodgie spa incident of 2022 that shall never be spoken of again… outside of the group text😂.
I should point out that while we all went to the same school we are now spread out across the country and we don’t engage in group think. We come from very different sides of the political aisle yet somehow we find a way to get along and respectfully disagree on certain topics without hating each other. Seems like a lost art in these troubled times. The goal is pretty simple now, keep the thing going. We lost one of our boys a year ago far too early and that just serves as motivation to make sure we take the time to make the time together. One of us became a grandfather on this trip. Just another reminder that time marches on, people get older and life will inevitably get in the way.
But this train will keep moving, the trips will continue as will the conversations from the impossible to the inane. It’s important to simultaneously be serious and stupid. I did mention we’re all still emotionally 15 yes? So to those reading who have thought about going down this road I highly suggest reconnecting with your boys. We won’t stop until we can’t. And maybe, just maybe, in the right situation.. you’ll hear more about the infamous spa incident of 2022, but I doubt it. Same time next year fellas?
