Back to the Future

Whoever said high school is the best time of your life never went to college. :) I loved college. I've said more than once that I'd go back in a heartbeat. SO many memories of E-town!

Mondays meant 10 cent wings at Noah's.
Thursday was 50 cent tacos at Babe's, and of course, Karaoke.
After singing like a rock star, you could go next door to Lewis and Clark's/Buckets/The Outback. . . Luckily its popularity didn't change like the name. It was always THE place to go.
Then at 2 am, nothing was better than going next door again--Pyramid Pizza. It was even good during daylight hours when you were fully-functioning. :) That braided crust dipped in honey. . . Yes, honey. . .
Godfather's Pizza offered free buffets if you could sink the Nerf ball in the hoop hanging behind the register.
Bruff's had amazing pin tacos and a fun dance floor upstairs.
Turtles had big schooners and shuffleboard tables.
My first date with R was at Coach's. I can still see exactly where we sat and the long sleeves he wore on the last day of April to hide poison ivy. :)
If you could stand the smell of IBP (Iowa Beef Processors) across the highway, Carlos O'Kelly's was the place to go for margaritas and (FREE) baskets of chips and salsa. . . Who needs to order a meal?
The Dugout had cheap pitchers. . . And they didn't really mind if you weren't 21. . . Oops.
Lugens had a big outdoor "beer garden"--seriously cool.
I waited tables at McGillicutty's and learned you shouldn't date a co-worker because it's not fun to work with your ex-boyfriend. . .
At Johnny's, you could have your own mug on the wall (Hubby's self-proclaimed label read "Captain.")

It's really no surprise that the "Freshman 15" exists. . . I'm more shocked that it's not the Freshman 50. Is it sad that so many fun times involved food and. . . beverages?

Last weekend was bittersweet for me. E-Town obviously holds a special place in my life for numerous reasons. It's where I met some of my closest friends. It's where my dream to teach became a reality. It's where I first realized my love for libraries. It's where I met the man I would later marry. Not to mention all the fun! :) It was great to re-live our college memories, but it was also sad to visit our old stomping grounds.

Sitting at the stadium and "people-watching," I realized that it's no longer "OUR" college. This year's freshman are half--HALF--our age. They have no clue who we are--nor do they care. Noah's, Babe's, Lewis and Clark's/Buckets/The Outback, Pyramid Pizza, Godfather's, Turtles, Carlos O'Kelly's, The Dugout, Lugen's and Johnny's. . . . all GONE.

Bruff's and Coach's have both moved to different buildings--which just isn't the same. We tried to re-create our first date last Saturday (minus the poison ivy) but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were in a Mexican restaurant; it wasn't the Coach's I remember. McGillicutty's ironically enough is now La Hacienda. Driving around, I got more and more depressed and finally blurted out, "Why can't it just be 1997 again?!"

And then it hit me. Thank goodness it's not. If it were, I'd still be a 21 year old college girl, not the person I've grown to be. I wouldn't have my babies. I wouldn't have my husband. I wouldn't have THIS life.

E-town is still an awesome college town. And the kids there probably can't imagine life without Natasha's (new bar on Commercial) or Wheat State Pizza (in Godfather's old building--I have to admit it was awesome. Even without the Nerf ball.) They'll have a different set of memories to take with them in four short years.

And at the end of the weekend, I took my own memories with me. No, E-town isn't what it used to be, but neither am I. Luckily though, some things never change. I still got to drive a cute boy home. And this time I didn't just drop him off at the door.