Wasn't sure what to put in the subject line, but here goes.....
Some of you might recall my post from a year ago regarding my wife. To summarize, while on vacation in Florida last August my wife collapsed, we found out she had a brain tumor and I drove her back to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for treatment, etc.
After a long hard year, my wife passed away in mid-August, a little over a month ago. Oligodendrogliomas are a bitch. But that's not why I am posting. I'd like to share a few poignant Penn State related moments from the past few weeks since my wife's passing.......
We met at Penn State as undergrads in the early '80's. We were season ticket holders for many years but in the last ten or so years my wife only attended one or two games a year. One of my friends, who often used my wife's ticket, sent me a text the night after my wife's funeral. It read "Just wanted to tell you that on my way to ----'s funeral, "Don't Stop Believin' " came on the radio. The playing of that song was always one of my favorite moments at Beaver Stadium, and since I always sat in ----'s seat, well, was it coincidence? I think not."
A few weeks later, my 13 year old son and I loaded up the SUV and headed to State College for the Kent State game. As we pulled out of the driveway at 6AM, I turned on the radio and guess what song was playing? "Don't Stop Believin' ". Honest to God.
I spent a lot of that weekend walking around campus and town with my son retracing a lot of history.
Bigler hall, where my wife lived as a freshman...the Nat across the street where my wife and I would meet, swim (and then head back to her room at Bigler Hall)...her apartment above Lion's Pride that she subleased one summer and my apartment on Beaver that I subleased the same summer (my rather conservative parents told me years later that they didn't understand why we didn't share an apartment that summer)....all the places on campus where we would meet to study -- the HUB, a certain lecture hall in Walker Bldg...Pattee.....Hammond. The Forum Building where we would see movies on Saturday and would then return on Sunday afternoon for "Boozer's Mass".
It was a great weekend...probably the best one I've ever had at Penn State.
