Friday, February 22, 2008

Glory Glory to Old Georgia


(Augusta, GA) I had something in common with the group I spoke to last night. We are all proud alumni of the University of Georgia. The graduating classes represented spanned some 65 years but there is a special connection nonetheless. I was in town to speak to the Augusta chapter of the Georgia Alumni Association.

I had a blast. And from their reaction, I think they did too.

Truthfully, my years in Athens are like a blur these days. When you think about 4 years out of my 53 years, the time spent there was really brief. But the experiences, memories and relationships built there have lasted a lifetime.


I have written here about my friend and fraternity brother Tim Teck. He was a close friend and died way too soon in an accidental death several years ago. When I get the opportunity to visit with my old fraternity brothers, I am always reminded of Tim. I have known Robin and Harriett Bohannon (pictured here with me) for about 36 years. Robin was a fraternity brother and he was dating his future wife Harriett when I met them. They were also close friends with my friend Tim. I can count on one hand how many times I have seen them since I graduated 32 years ago. To be honest, I had a lump in my throat when I hugged them.

After I finished speaking, Harriett came to the podium and presented me with a UGA blanket. She also made an announcement that the Augusta Chapter of the UGA Alumni Association is placing a copy of my book in the University of Georgia library. I couldn’t help but notice that she was emotional when she made that presentation. Later she smilingly asked me, “Don’t you imagine Tim is looking down smiling at the thought of you authoring a book that will be in the UGA library?”

Not smiling but laughing.

And I’m smiling and very thankful for the incredible relationships I built during those four short years I spent as a student at UGA so many years ago.

Glory, glory to old Georgia.

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