Today’s post has a personal an historical context, and there is a message to be gleaned, but it’ll be more challenging than most posts to figure out.
One of the best ways to have peace at midlife is to have deeply-rooted relationships.
Tonight, there are a bunch of Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers (50-year olds) reuniting near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a 30th anniversary celebration.
While attending West Chester State College (later West Chester University) 1977 – 1983, I became a “founding father” for a fraternity that earned it’s charter in 1980.
Mind you, I ain’t really the fraternity type, but the ten fellas who where chosen to start the “colony” where my friends, fellow Physical Education majors. Ended up being president (still wondering why) of the Beta (2nd) pledge class.
It took a year and about 36 young men to make it happen.
There is something remarkable about laying the foundation for something versus joining something already in place, without all the blood, sweat, tears, and bonding that occur from an overwhelming challenge to do what hadn’t been done before.
Through the years, this core group of founding fathers have had annual gatherings. We were all single in the early years, but gradually wives and children started showing up.
Toso, Benny, Brad, Hop, Rick, Cort, Howard and a few others where the glue that kept the communication open and alive for three decades.
This Jimmy Buffett song, Cowboy In The Jungle, is dedicated to the Penn Tau founding fathers:
Don’t let our blind ambition, erase our intuition. Trying to cram lost years into two or three days.
