Swarthmore, revisited

On my last day in Philadelphia, Kate came with me to revisit the campus. We got a nice locally-grown food picnic and went out to the much beloved adarondak chairs on Parrish Beach, and looked out onto the completely scorched lawn and, my favourite, the belltower. Later we went over to ML (our dorm of 3 years) and startled a number of current students who wondered what these strangers were doing, gasping at run-down things and gaping at improvements, climbing out windows and sitting on the roof... Weirdly, I ran into Julie from Mixed Company, in the room next to my freshman double. She was doing well, and had a rubber duck wristband to give me in memory of our mixed company days. It was sweet and sad and bizarre. I wouldn't want to go back, but I have so much affection for Swarthmore. It was lovely to revisit it with Kate. If you'd told me the last time we were on that roof that the next time she'd be married and I'd just be back from France, I would never have believed you. Well, maybe the france part.