Basically alot of things that i’ll be saying won’t make sense if you haven’t read some of the past blogs. It’s like a book…it’s hard to just expect to know what’s going on if you just start reading from the middle. So you’ll only know alot of the characters if you’ve been following along. I’ll do my best to reintroduce some people in each blog mentioned…but i’m just giving the heads up now.
Yesterday I spoke of a possible opportunity I would have to work with some members of the Class of 1958 and their website. The person currently running the website is graduating so was searching for someone to maintain it. He found me. He works on the website under the direction of David Greenberg, class of 1958. So basically the job has been offered to me. David was in town because of an Alumni service today and so Aaron (the senior who’s leaving) figured it was a perfect opportunity for me to meet the person i’d be working for. So I was invited to have dinner with them all.
Aaron (class of ‘06) was there. David (class of 1958) was there. For those who don’t know….David is retired. He owned his own Medical supply company and did really well with that. Also with us for dinner was John, David’s buddy (class of 1958) and John’s wife. John is a retired judge. He lives in New Jersey and who, in David’s words, is “famous.” John’s wife is also a well-known researcher who travels alot and speaks at universities all around the nation. She’s quite the scholar.
So anyway…we went to Nassau Club, which is a ritzy upper-class country-club-esque type place that many alumni and Princeton people belong too. We went there…had a great meal….and really enjoyed eachother’s company….talked about family…..politics……life….stories…etc.
However….haha….boy was it quite the adventure. It was an interesting experience to say the least. These old guys are hilarious. They had their typical Princeton alumni outfit on. They had their nice old-fogie suits, crazy tie & socks, french beret…ya know…the whole works. They were constantly cracking jokes, sharing anecdotes and acting like little kids. It was great. I seriously couldn’t stop laughing. And we were there for about 3 hours…so you could probably imagine what it’d be like after all this time (and them drinking getting a little typsy…haha). It was hilarious.
They talked talked talked. Especially David. He asked me some questions to try to get to know me better and it went well. Once he found out I was Mormon, he started talking about how he’s been to Salt Lake a gazillion times blah blah blah. He didn’t speak negative things, but he would talk acting like he knew EVERYTHING about it. It was funny as I had to correct him many times. I put him in his place and I think he liked that.
Old dudes are funny. Espcially a Princeton alum like David. He knows he’s the bomb. He knows he’s super intelligent and wise. He has to ALWAYS be right. So it was funny as I corrected him or challenged some of his ideas. I didn’t bow down. And it was fun.
He’s excited to work with me for four years. He says he’s gonna give me an education. I think it’s funny how he really wants to keep a connection with Princeton and is thus having undergrads help out with the class of 1958 website. To me it’s cool though. It’s a great way to network. These guys know alot of people and are good contacts to have. For example, one of David’s daughters is a big time regional rep for Apple. Interesting.
It was funny hearing them talk about other classmates of 1958 and their encounters at reunions. “Anyone who’s almost 70 and still goes by Tiggy….ya know something’s wrong with him. He walks around reunions with his nose so high up in the air…he’s such a pompous a*s.”
I don’t curse. And I don’t think it’s right. But hearing these old dudes curse while talking smack about other classmates at reunions just cracked me up. Haha…oh man.
David shared one story while we were eating that really put me in pain from so much laughter. For some reason we were talking about trains. David took the train from New Orleans to Princeton and tomorrow he will return back to New Orleans by train. He said he’s only been on the train three times. He obviously usually takes the plane. But for some reason he wanted to take the train. He got a real fancy one….one that he could have his bedroom, etc. So he did.
Anyway….he talked about how he was traumatized on the second time he rode a train. He said it was about 20 years ago or so. He had heard about some train called the Coast Sky LIght (or something like that) that takes people from coast to coast…and it’s supposedly really luxurious. So he wanted to try it out. So he had his own room, bed, etc. “But there’s one thing that I really don’t like about those trains. It’s that you have to dine with people you don’t know at all.” David then went on to say that he absolutely hated to dine and sit on the same table with people he didn’t know. The dining room in the train was huge. There were more tables…empty. So David paid the waiter $10 to put him on his OWN table. He got his own table.
But then for some reason…an elderly couple was seated on his table. “I just didn’t understand. I paid the waiter ten bucks to put me on my own table and then the other comes and sit. That little bast**d of a waiter.” (remember…it’s this really old guy telling this story….very funny). Anyway, so the couple sits down and starts making conversation with David. David wasn’t really into it at all. But the conversation went on and the nice old couple found out that he was a doctor. The old lady was thrilled. “My husband here is terminally ill. He would really like to die on the Coast Sky Light Train. Can you help us?”
So David was put in this really awkward position. She was basically asking him to help kill the poor old man. “I felt sorry for the man….he had tubes going in and out from all over his body.” David went on to tell her that if she wanted it that bad…it would happen in some way. Shortly thereafter…it happened. They were sitting at the table…the man started flipping out. It was either a heart attack or a seizure….David didn’t know what it was…but the old man fell on the floor and started kicking.
Help was called. And they started working with the man down. David just left. Anyway, when the train arrived to its destination and they were all getting off the train. David saw that lady with a big smile on her face. “He got what he wanted. He’s gone. He died. Thank you so much.”
David didn’t know what to do. With an awkward smile and quite traumatized at this point, he said “you’re welcome.”
That’s it. That’s the story.
It’s probably not as funny as I tell it but when David was telling it tonight at dinner….haha….it was so funny.
So yeah. Dinner was very interesting. Princeton is such a cool place. David says that Princeton is such a special place because it teaches us how to think. Beyond that though it’s fun because you’re always meeting new people that have crazy stories and experiences to share. So much diversity. And there is so much tradition. David and John didn’t even know eachother in college. But through the reunions they became good friends. To me that’s really cool.
Aaron, the one i’m taking the job from will graduate this year. Wanna know what he’s gonna do when he graduates? He’s buying a one way ticket to Asia and will travel Asia and Europe for a year. He’s been saving up money but his real plan is to just find whatever short-term work he can get…living in hostiles….and just finding a way to survive….be it picking rice from rice fields in China or delivering papers in Italy. To me his idea is fascinating. And that’s one of the reasons I like Princeton so much….you never know who you’ll meet and what crazy ideas or experences they have to share.
Peace out.
Oh yeah. And unfortunately I DIDN’T find the “hottie at the gym” today. Sorry folks.
-Sir Mickey
OF THE DAY AWARDS…
Highlight of the day: Dinner with the class of 1958.
Lowlight of the day: I didn’t get ANY homework done.
Biggest Disappointment of the day: Bode Miller. 0-5 in Olympics this year. He had great expectations…but really just didnt get the job done. This is what he said, “I got to party and socialize at an Olympic level.” And Bob Costas completely ripped the dude apart too…it was pretty funny.
Sweet diggity Dog of the day: Apollo Ohno and his Gold medal in the 500m.
Crush of the day: Emmy Stevens
Random Photo of the day: See below. CFA called me up to do a quick photoshoot for a TV show they were shooting for TigerTV (the university channel). I was on my way out to the gym when he called…so that explains why i’m in sweats, headband, etc. I’m the one in the mirror. Word.
