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mini-vacation
posted by Brian on June 9, 2002 at 12:29 PM

Amy and I had a bit of a mini-vacation last weekend when we went to New Jersey for her 15th college reunion.

We pretty much knew what to expect based on our experience five years ago at her 10th, but we were still in for a few minor surprises. One thing we did learn was that it’s a good idea to make accommodation arrangements well in advance. Last time, we made a reservation in a dorm room. When we arrived, we found that it was the two of us with two other women, with three bunk beds. The thought of sleeping on a hard wood floor, no matter how picturesque the old dorm was, just didn’t appeal. So we drove about a half hour out of town and found a Days Inn. A bit expensive (especially at that time, when Amy was still in seminary!), but a real bed nevertheless. We discovered how good our decision was when we ran into one of our would-be roommates at breakfast the next morning. She had gotten to sleep at 5:00am because of all the partying in the quad outside the room. I know, I’m not exactly living up to the wild and crazy college reunion stereotype, but, hey, I had driven 1200 miles to be there, and I was tired…

Anyway, this time, the new Episcopal chaplain at Princeton offered to let us stay at Proctor House, the home of the chaplaincy. It’s a big, three-story house across the street from campus where the students meet, eat, discuss, hold some services, etc. Steve (the chaplain) lives there with his wife and son. It was perfect. Just a few minutes walk from the festivities, but away from the wild partying in the quad.

Which, it turns out, didn’t really exist this time. Funny thing, the 15th had bit of a different flavor than the 10th. We’ll just call it “kid-flavored”. There were small children EVERYWHERE. I guess we’re on the tail end of the fad, because most of Amy’s classmates seemed to have children, even the ones who didn’t actually have children with them at the reunion. So I don’t think there was a heck of a lot of drunken revelry going on in the quad this time.

Amy had a responsibility this time around, too. She was asked (as the cover girl from the alumni magazine’s special on graduates who are clergy) to organize a memorial service for her class. The service was beautiful and simple. I played a couple of pieces, and there were short readings in honor of the ten people who have died (none, miraculously, on Sept. 11 last year). Some of the parents of these people came too, and it was clear that, for most of the deceased, Princeton had been one of the best things that had happened to them.

Of course, the highlight of every Princeton reunion weekend is the P-rade, in which all the classes line up along a parade route, with the oldest classes at the beginning of the route, descending (ascending?) to the class of 2002 at the end. As the classes pass by, the parading ones and the spectating ones cheer each other on. Eventually, at the appropriate time, each class joins the end of the parade. Everyone takes bets on how early the oldest class will be. This year it was 1925 (there actually was a 1922, but she was a spouse, so some weren’t sure it that counted, bless her soul). So, two or three from 1925 came by in golf carts, followed by more from the 30’s and 40’s. The class of 1952 was, of course, huge.

BKM

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