Another one off the payroll ...

Well, a happier theme to this post.

Son Brendan graduated from Gordon College on May 13th.

It was a day to remember for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which was the incredible rain and floods. The ceremony had to be moved from the usual Quad to the Bennet Center (gym) which didn't do a bad job of accomodating the majority of celebrants.

Besides the rain, we had to deal with a couple other screwups to the schedule.


Neil couldn't get there Friday night thanks to the weather, so I had to get my mother and Jan to the Bennet Center early, get down to Logan Airport for Neil and back to campus before 9 AM ... so of course we didn't get to check out of the hotel until after graduation.

And after graduation my mother had a terrible time in the pouring rain trying to rush over to Lane Student Center for the reception and a chance to meet the profs. and Brendan's fellow grads. In the rush Mom's athsma got the best of her and she had to stop off in the lobby of Wilson Hall, I had to rush for the car and get her. By then we knew we had to get back to the hotel to finish packing and check out.

Through all this our friends, the Pomazons (we go back to the early 80s when we lived in Malden and then Salem, MA) were trying to put together some sort of lunch encounter before we had to get to Logan for a 6:30 flight to LA.

After about a dozen phone calls they graciously offered to go get some Quizno's so we would be a bit less anxious. Meeting somewhere was out of the question given the pelting rain, which just wouldn't give up.

In the end Pomazons and Roberts had a marvellous visit and enjoyed a great cake in the warm, dry Pomazon kitchen. And 90 minutes of breathing time before the madness of the airport.

Long story short ... we made it to Logan, flew uneventfully to LAX, boarded the Carnival Pride for Mexico on May 14th ... and while we were waiting to pull away from the pier Amalia Pomazon called to update us on the flood. It ended up invading their basement and it turned out we got out of there just an hour or two before the roads became impassable.

So, Brendan. What for most graduating classes is a rather unremarkable day turned in to something unforgettable.

We'll make it up to him with a visit to Homecoming in October ... Gordon is "alma mater" to both of us.

Colyn Roberts, '72