In the Fall of 1966 a bunch of us kids started college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Over that first year a group of us became friends and moved from the on-campus dormitories to an apartment. By the end of school year 1967 our group consisted of about eight close friends living off-campus. Over the next few years some transferred to other schools, all graduated, and we sort of lost contact.
Over the next 40 years, a few of us occasionally visited each other. Then in 2008 Joe called to invite Willie, Mike and Alex to his daughter's wedding. Of course we didn't regularly chat with Joe and hadn't met his daughter. Joe said the three of us were at his wedding in 1972, and that Becky and he were still together, and that we were their "good luck charm". He needed us at his daughter's wedding.
It was a fabulous wedding and we had a bunch of fun. It seemed like a yearly reunion aboard the Wild Blue fit everyone's schedule so in 2009 the boys started their yearly cruise. Of course these adventures are documented in this Blog. The post from our first cruise together is here.
A Mysterious Voicemail:
This past week, we pulled into Sitka earlier than usual, on Wednesday, as the weather was turning and we had limited out on King salmon fishing. About an hour out, we came into cell range and a curious voicemail was left for Alex. The mysterious voice asked to go cruising with us on the Wild Blue. The caller wondered if we recognized his voice. Then an email entitled "Not Invited To Go Cruising" was received from a Brian Jorgensen. Wow! What a surprise. Brian was one of our original college roommates from 1966. At the end of his sophomore year he transferred to the University of Washington, and we lost contact. By coincidence, he was checking to see what happened to his college buddies and googled Alex's name. The Wild Blue Blog appeared and he immediately saw a picture of Willie, Joe and Mike from the June 29th post. Without hesitation he booked a flight to Sitka and arrived on Thursday, and after 47 years, Brian has joined the crew. He'll be cruising with the group next year too.
Of course we visited with Brian and relived the past. He still acts,talks and looks much the same as in 1966. What's surprising is that all five us graduated, avoided Vietnam, and ended up in business for ourselves: Brian owns a pharmacy in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It was great seeing Brian and hearing about his life.
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| Cal Poly College chums from 47 years ago: Willie, Brian, Joe, Mike and Alex |
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| 2015 4th of July Finale at Sitka Harbors |
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY
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