Just Happened To Be In The Neighborhood

In 1974, while attending the University of Oklahoma, I pledged a fraternity. Now, this was not a scholastic fraternity, in which participation is generally designed to enhance the educational process. No, on the contrary; mine was a "social" fraternity. And, while there truly was a lot of "motivation" by the older members of the "Frat House," to study and achieve great academic achievement, much of our time was spent learning how to "socialize." And, I dare say that we were as good at socializing, as the University's football team was at winning National Championships.

So, when it came to learning the socialization process, I competed extra hard in order to out perform the other members of my Pledge Class. The days I spent within the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House, were some of the finest times of my life. I have plenty of "Party Pics" (photographs used to blackmail aspiring politicians) to prove it, too. These include a wide variety of unusual costumes, outrageous antics, and extraordinary personal skills. Even today, as I study some of my old fraternity snapshots, I am led to believe that much of the activity occurred as the result of 'out-of-body' experiences.

There are some opponents who would argue that the ATO House would have been better described as the "Animal House," than a residence where young men would learn to aspire to greatness. Hey, I am not about to argue with them. Maybe it had something to do with the number of kegs being propelled off of the second story roof, or perhaps it was due to the repeated violations of the City's Fire Code. Better yet, it may have had a lot to do with our repeated run-ins with the University's (and the City of Norman's) "Finest." Hint: the Finest wore guns and badges and their cars were louder and went much faster than ours.......

Well, through it all, I was somehow able to graduate with a four year degree. And, besides managing to dodge the bullet for at least a dozen times or more, I was pleased with my ability to differentiate between foreign and domestic beer. So, I was ready to begin the employment phase. Interestingly enough, I became a police officer. I felt like I owed it to society, since I had caused the law enforcement profession so much grief during my tenure at the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.

It's hard to believe, but 32 years have passed since I stepped across the stage, shook hands with the University President, toasted my frat brothers, and bid the Sooner Nation good-bye. So, when I received a recent letter from the ATO Alumni Association, requesting alumni presence at a current ATO Fraternity event, I felt obliged to respond to Norman, Oklahoma. My wife kissed me good luck, I hugged my four-year old, and drove from my residence, realizing that I might never see my family again. After all, just as the official correspondence indicated, this was an Alpha Tau Omega event, and it said something about 50 current active members, a bar-b-que and poker. "God," I thought, "please don't make me drink again."

When I pulled into the ATO parking lot, I observed signs that things hadn't changed much in the past 32 years. There were guys sitting in chairs, on top of the fraternity house roof, and practically everyone was celebrating the Sooner's basketball win over Texas A&M; and that wasn't cans of pop or cups filled with coffee that were being consumed. It was like stepping back into the Twilight Zone. No, it was actually better!

As I stepped into the house, several "Actives," as they are called, approached me and didn't even require the sacred handshake. Thank goodness, because I barely remembered one of the ATO Founding Fathers and forget ever recalling the secret squirrel password that is intended to be whispered from one member's ear to another. Instead, I said "Bud", and they replied, "Light", and things couldn't have contained more ritual.

The "Active" Officers crowded around me and wanted to know what traditions they could bring back from the 70's (20Th Century) and I know they were disappointed, because much of our former traditions had to do with physical hazing, which is frowned upon these days. Truthfully, they don't need to worry about updating traditions. They are still upholding some of the more prevalent ones, which involve studying the chemical reaction during the fermentation process, meeting plenty of sorority members, and sharing a passion for hanging out at the fraternity house.

I quickly found that a few of the older guys from my dinosaur period, had dropped by the house, expressed respects, and headed back home. Not me, I had some catching up to do. Because, even though most of these guys were about 36 years younger than me, they were still my fraternity brothers, and I shared with them a certain bond that some people will never understand. And, that was apparent when they immediately made me feel at home, acquired a drink for me, called me "Bro" instead of "Pops" and demanded that I join them in a friendly game of "dice". And from there, we proceeded over to two different apartment complexes, and "closed" a popular bar along Campus Corner. All along the way, I had a tremendous time. Besides teaching me how to play "beer pong" and an assortment of other strategically challenging drinking games, the guys were all very accommodating and I was pleased that I had decided to join them, after so many years of being away from the University. Besides, everyone that knows me, realizes that I am still pretty young at heart, and it was good for me to reflect upon where I began my lifelong journey.

There is a saying I have heard, in which people insist, "You can never go back," making reference to the fact that things are never the same as when you did them before. I don't necessarily buy into that. I often go back. If, for no other reason, than to remind myself how important things were to me then, and why they need to remain important to me now. And, check this out. The morning after returning home to my wife and little boy, I discovered a voice mail message on my cell phone. It was from one of the "Active" ATO Members, Johnathon H., and he informed me that the "Actives" had held a Fraternity Chapter House Meeting and during a vote determined I was the "ATO Brother of the Week." While I am extremely honored by the gesture of their thoughtfulness, I am still a little annoyed that I lost at "beer pong". Sometime in the not so distant future, I am going back, a-gin. Get ready boys, this time your older brother will have his game face on; and I expect everyone to know the identity of my "Big" and my "Little" or it's "toes and elbows time, Gentlemen!"