Finale

Sunday was our last day at TLE's college reunion, and the only activity remaining was banquet finale that evening at 5:30.  Initially I walked over to Starbucks for a light breakfast sandwich with the Houghtaling (pronounced Ho-tel-ing) sisters  seen in the picture below.....Phyllis is on the left, Laureen is in the background, and, of course, TLE is on the right.  The first Houghtaling sister I met was their oldest sister, Marcia, back in 1963 at a church summer camp which was called SEP (Summer Educational Program) held in Big Sandy, TX.  Little did I know at the time that I would, over the course of the next 7 years, meet the other three sisters, and choose to spend the rest of my life with one of them.  Regretfully, Marcia passed on way too soon back in 2010 at the still young age of 67 years old.  In all TLE has 5 siblings.....3 sisters, and two brothers.  Their father, Frances, raised 4 amazing women whom I have been privileged to call family for the past 43 years.  It would have been wonderful if Marcia had been able to attend this reunion as I lost track of number the people who asked after her over these past 4 days.

Hangin' with the Houghtaling girls

Marcia Houghtaling Demarest....RIP

You might be wondering how it is that so many different class years are represented at this reunion.  Ambassador College was a very small college.....I think the total student body the year TLE entered her freshman class in 1967 numbered somewhere just over 6, or 700.  This particular reunion was open to all those who attended from 1947 to 1977, so there were three decades of graduating classes represented.  In the first decade of the college I don't think the entire student body exceeded 100 in any given year.

After returning from our late breakfast we spent a couple of more hours in the hospitality room talking with friends, then TLE and I walked over to the local Rubio's with Laureen's husband, Glenn, for small lunch, and then retreated to our rooms to take a break.  My brother Dwyer came by and spent a couple of hours visiting for which I was very grateful.  Over the past few years spending time with my siblings has become a priority and every chance I get now seems so precious.  You just do not know when your number is up, and if there is a chance to connect we make it happen.  I no longer feel I have the luxury of thinking 'I'll see them next time around'......you just don't know for sure that the opportunity will be there.  Life seems so much more fragile, and temporal at age 65 than it did at age 45.

TLE talking with good friend Dick Quincer

Waiting for the evening's festivities to begin

Around 5:30 we got dressed up in our 'Sunday go to meeting' finest and headed downstairs to the grand finale banquet where we spent a few more hours talking with friends, and exchanging contact information.  We have received so many offers to stop by and visit friends from around the U.S. that it will take a few years to work them all in to our travel plans.

It has been a wonderful four days in Pasadena reconnecting with our past, but we are both mentally exhausted, and are looking forward to returning to the solitude of the high desert near Sedona to recharge, and resume our nomadic wanderings.

Thanks for stopping by!