Mama, I'm Comin' Home

i ventured to michigan this weekend for the annual tradition called "homecoming." i hadn't been back to the mitt in about 3 years and was eager for an opportunity to see a revamped college campus, visit watering holes we frequented "back in the day" and to see old friends that hadn't been blessed with my presence in a long time.

as my plane descended toward the metro airport runway, we passed through a never ending layer of clouds. it was a strangely familiar feeling, as the very day i left the wolverine state was, well, gray, overcast and rainy. so i was happy to see that nothing had changed. i made my way through the antiquated smith terminal, grabbed my one checked bag, complete with gels, liquids, and other potential bomb friendly materials, and headed toward the curb to meet my ride. i was picked up, brought to the apartment as arranged, and crashed out for the night.

friday was boring. plain and simple. i was stuck in an apartment with no cable, no food, and i had no car. sure, i'm fit enough to walk to the store or a restaurant, and i would gladly have done so....if i'd had any clue where the hell i was. it was amazing to me that in 3 years, the place i'd called home for nearly 5 was now a completely foreign land to me. i remembered the names of exactly 4 streets in the city, knew of only 3 bars, and was generally lost the entire weekend (directionally speaking, of course).

thankfully, friday night was better. we headed out to my fave establishment in the booming city of enlightenment, ypsilanti--sticks. when i was an undergrad, i pretty much lived at that bar, going every thursday, friday and often saturdays as well. hell, i vaguely recall going on a few sundays too. it was always a welcoming atmosphere there, since i knew roughly half of the 200-300 people present at any given time, but friday night was different. we arrived early after having been told that the place was already packed. i walked in and knew no one aside from the 3 people i'd come with. i felt strangely out of place in a pub that i'd made my drunken home away from home throught my stint in academia. i made a bet with my friend that within an hour, i'd know at least 20 people there, and within 2, 40. sure enough, by 11pm, i was mingling about the gaggle...as if i'd never left.

there were, of course, many stories exchanged and descriptions of what was going on in each others' lives as well as abundant discussion about my recent health issues, and looks and statements of shock regarding my new physique. personally, i notice only a slight difference, but i knew there was something to this "you look great" thing when some girls i used to fancy told me in no uncertain terms that i was now officially "hot". yes, hot. i'm actually hot in the "oh my god, that cute guy there is smiling at me. he's hot" kind of way instead of the "why is your cute but creepy friend staring at me like he's undressing me with his eyes?" (i was) type way. 5 "you're hots" later, and i was feeling pretty good. following tradition, we closed the bar and headed to our temporary home.

the pre-game tailgate on saturday was weak, since most alumni my age have now moved into baby-making stage of life or are too involved with their careers to come back for a visit. some have moved far away, like h-wood who, oddly enough, lives very near his namesake town. others were conducting business abroad, while the rest were either too lazy or too poor to make the schlep to the town of Y. those of us that did make the trip felt collectively too old to be there, while simultaneously marveling at how much the campus area had changed, but how little some people had.

saturday afternoon brought barroom cheers from the regulars *i* remember from my days there, as the michigan wolverines systematically removed another foe from the schedule on their way (hopefully) to a perfect season and a national championship. and saturday night broke the hearts of everyone that had returned, as the tigers fell in game 1 of the world series.

it wasn't the experience i had hoped for, since many of the people i'd wanted to see were not present. but all in all, i think i got out of the trip what i'd wanted: to reinforce all the reasons i left in the first place, while getting to see some of my closest friends whom i've missed for the better part of 3 years. sadly, i think this year may have marked my last return trip. i'd been unable to return the past 3 years for various reasons, and anticipated this to be a triumphant return. i'd always idealized that on my last visit, i'd go out with a bang and ride off gloriously into the sunset (actually, i'd envisioned that everyone would be there and i'd simply tell them that it was my last trip and in order to see me, they'd have to come visit me in 5280 or get married so i could come to the wedding. there would be tears and hugs and plenty of "we'll miss you's" --which there were-- but there would definitely be a finality to it.). it didn't happen and off i went without the true closure to my collegiate experience, which left me with a similar feeling of disappointment as the lack of attendance and celebration.

chapter 2 of the book of jeen yes, sadly, is now closed.