the Roommates

by D.O.

There are certain things in this world that — when they cross your path — affect and influence who you are in such a dramatic manner that you find it hard to imagine where you’d be if they hadn’t found their way into your life.

One such thing in my life happened in college in the form of 9 guys. There were no doubt more than a mere 9 guys who made major impacts in my life during college, but these particular 9 are a special breed: the oft-referred to Roommates*.

Pictured above you see the Luther Boys as they appeared the Thursday evening preceding Colby’s wedding. The only way I could have been happier at that long Buca di Beppo table would have been (a) to have T-Bomb present or (b) to have it be the Thursday before my wedding. Those things aside, this night, and the weekend that followed, were wonderful reminders of how much these men mean to me, and how unbelievably blessed I am to have them in my life. My soul is encouraged by simply being in their presence.

We reminesced on the Luther Street days when we’d sit on the porch and sing Wagon Wheel or talk about the greater questions of life until the wee hours of the morning. We laughed at boorishly high volumes as we recalled moments of egg throwings, poop throwings, gas pipe hittings, uneven (unfair?) rent payings, and scores of other carpe diem-ings. It goes without (re)saying that the evening was as enjoyable an evening as I’ve had in a while.

Since graduating I’ve taken part in several conversations where the non-me person says something along the lines of, “Man, it’s such a shame that the only time all the college people get together is at weddings.” I’m not so sure I have a problem with that. No doubt I’d love to see certain people more often than weddings allow (though these days that’s about weekly), but the times of absence make the times of togetherness that much sweeter. (Hallmark, feel free to use that sappy piece there… royalty free.)

So now you will all have some sort of mental picture of what I mean when I say “the Roommates”. Too, now I’ll have a post to link to when I type “the Roommates”. But most of all, now my Roommates (the handful who read odfm) will see in sans-serif format a glimpse of how highly I feel about them.

Love you guys.

*The capital “r” Roommates denotes the Luther boys, which could in theory also be referred to as Roommates Proper. This allows a necessary distinction between current roommates and Roommates. When used in conversation, saying “capital ‘r’ roomates” as opposed to “roommates” will also clear up any otherwise muddy waters.