For the Glory...Part One..How I Became a Nittany Lion

I have delayed writing this particular blog for quite some time, but with a vacation looming its time to release it from its draft status to just putting it all out there.

On August 19, 1984, nearly 28 years ago I arrived in a mythical place called Happy Valley.  I never had dreams of going to Penn State, frankly, it never entered my mind.  As a nice girl from Ohio, I had high hopes of attending UNC or Georgetown, but I got into neither.  I did however get into some great schools in Ohio - like Miami of Ohio and what is now called THE Ohio State University (we called it Ohio State, but apparently they got some complex about being confused with Ohio University - which is frankly a really fun school.)  But I wanted to escape Ohio, get away from everyone, and my parents were moving to Houston, TX...so why not go to Penn State.

My announcement to attend there was met with secret high fives from my typing teacher who was one of our team's football coaches, and many of my friends who played football but were going elsewhere.

So my parents headed down to Texas before school started, so my grandfather drove me up to school.  He dropped me off with a few suitcases, a set of sheets and a case of beer we bought at the distributor as we entered State College. This case of beer thing was my first clue I was in a foreign land.  I had left Ohio, the land of 3.2 beer and all the wine you can drink and buy at a gas station at the ripe age of 18, for a place called Pennsylvania where you are required to either buy 2 six packs or a case of beer, but not much in between..and 21 drinking age.  The only reason I am still able to survive in this bizarre state is that I can quickly dash to New Jersey or Delaware for my seven beers.  Actually, I don't drink beer much anymore..it does not really agree with me..but I digress..

So, I moved into my dorm with my never before met roommate who not only smoked, but ran up a $500 phone bill in the first month taking collect calls from her boyfriend in jail.  She did not make it through September..but by the time she had departed I had been to several football games and a Fixx concert.

Of course, one thing leads to another...and I learned about tailgates, hairy buffalo, grain alcohol (apparently you can't get that in Ohio with your 3.2 beer).  Since I had time on my hands, I immortalized these events with a scrapbook - kind of like a blog, 1980's style..September 8, 1984..clearly I had consumed the Nittany Lion kool-aid...

I am totally going out on a limb here showing you this next picture..but I am telling a story, and you need all the facts, pretty and not..Yep..I am tripping on Blue and White.

Going Greek..sort of..
But it was not all football, not by a long shot - I decided to go through Little Sister Rush.  The feminists in the room should just step away for a while..but I was just not ready for the sorority world, frankly, I was not sure it was my thing.  It's probably the best decision I ever made in college, from a social perspective...I met my best gal pal from college being a little sister, that would be Betsy..She is a pretty private person, so I will just show you this picture of the two of us...

This is one of my favorite pictures of us - we are at the Fiesta Bowl..yes, the one in 1986 when Penn State won the National Championship, and we were there - and ran on the field, and first drank Corona beer..it was a kick-ass trip to Tempe..but I have 100's of pictures of Betsy and I, but this is my favorite. If you look carefully you will see me sporting Greek boxers, I did, in fact, join a sorority along the way, but it was never quite the same as being a Little Sister at Alpha Sig. (Sorry, KDs - but the Alpha Sigs were a tough act to follow).

Of course, being a little sister lead to a life of being subservient to the brothers of the fraternity, cleaning, cooking and...are you freaking kidding me?  It was a highway to tailgates, fraternity parties, canning for Dance Marathon, friendships with like minded girls, and hanging out with guys who were not ALL trying to get into your pants.  And of course our pledge bolt to Radford College that got snowed out the first time, but when it got back on the calendar is a story worthy of a movie starring Channing Tatum and me..but I digress again..

At Alpha Sig I made great friends, this is me and my Big Bro, Rick at our Little Sister Sweetheart dinner..he got a bottle of Blue Nun for me..it was a ton of fun!  We also used to do things like drink gin and tonics on the roof on hot afternoons and when the weather was not threatening the couches came out into the front yard drank beer and hung out.. Life was damned good back in the mid-80's,

In fact, nearly 27 years later, through the magic of the internet, Facebook etc..I still keep up with my favorite Alpha Sigs..Here I am tailgating at the 2011 Penn State/Temple game with Bill - he is Rick's big, which makes him my big squared...families are complicated...

THON
I would be remiss if I did not share with you that the combo of Alpha Sig/ASA raised the most money for Dance Marathon in 1985 - and the overall haul that year for everyone was a shade over $225k...I am sure you have heard about THON..you know that largest student run charity in the entire universe, which is based at Penn State that has raised more than $88 million for conquering childhood cancer since its inception in 1977. Below is the link if you need to educate yourself..

http://www.thon.org/

In 2012, the kids raised $10.6 million for the Four Diamonds Fund...you read that right...$10.6 million..As a side note, if you see those canners out in the fall/winter - don't ignore them..give them whatever random change you have, before somebody breaks into your car to steal your miscellaneous change.  When JoePa died, the family asked that donations be made THON and the Special Olympics..I sent a very nice check to THON..don't forget to ask me for a check in 2013, I will be back to give you more..

I realize that I have been going on for a very long time here, and I have not even talked much about football...or going to class...but my Penn State was about making friends, making mistakes, making sure your friends didn't do stupid things, protecting them when they did..

The Next Three Years...I will make this quick..
Its fair to same that the next three years were pretty much more of the same but here are some brief highlights..

A New Apartment and a Roomie
I moved out of the dorms...and into a great apartment with my former RA and wonderful friend until this day Kirby. This is a picture of her and her then boyfriend, now husband, at our Dorm Formal.  She goes by her big girl name these days, Andrea, but she will always be Kirby to me.

This is our apartment on Foster Ave across from Acacia Fraternity, and next door to the Commons, which was a condo complex where some football players lived..football players are very useful neighbors, because, well they are tall, and when they stand on a chair they can actually change the lightbulbs in your apartment or you.  We shared a one bedroom shabby ass apartment..but it was ours.  I am fairly certain its the rare college kid today that has to share their bedroom..

Sorority Girl...

I joined a sorority - Kappa Delta - and I made more great friends..we were truly a diverse good looking group of gals, I am still friends with many of them - they have become a group of first class women, mothers, lawyers, marathoners, in public service.. I lived with two of my sorority sisters in this very apartment after Kirby, sadly, graduated.  Both of them no longer speak to me.  One decided she hated me as I was graduating, she hated me so much that when she was moving out near the end of the summer, she took the shower curtain, because she bought it (it was $7.99 at Kmart) - quite a bitter ending.  Well, I am not calling her out, but sweetheart, when you got too drunk and peed in the corner of our bedroom and lost your virginity to one of my really nice friends, I never told people...because I am better than that.  I hope you are no longer that neurotic.   The other one decided I thought that I had no moral compass because of my viewpoints on the whole Jerry Sandusky issue.  He is a creepy ass pedophile who should rot in hell, it was my failure to immediately condemn JoePA that pissed her off.  That's okay.  I haven't seen her in about 20 years, another 20 are neither here nor there.

I got a four credit D..had to drop sailing class, stunk at squash, and got an A in Sex Ed..

Algebra 5 - which is algebra for idiots, but a pre-req for business school.  I killed my GPA - in fact, not only did I get a sub 2.0, I did not get initiated into the sorority on time because of that (me and my pal Stacie..love her - but she had a better excuse than me, I was just a dim-wit).  That was the hardest class I ever took.  Before and after that rotten semester I made the Dean's List.. 

Penn State requires that you take some random number of phys ed credits..and be able to swim 50 yards before you graduate.  I took some great classes - lacrosse, personal fitness, volleyball..but three classes nearly killed me, and well, I am more athletic than the average bear..

• Squash - Wally Bahr was teaching that class.  This is the guy that coached soccer at Penn State, he is the father of three NFL kickers (all Penn State guys), and well, I was the worst ever squash player. The ball was different back then, and it took me 25 years to get over my near failure of this class, he gave me a B for showing up, being a good sport, and told me to go hit the weight room or ride the bike, because I was a danger to other players...I still am.

• Sailing - every Penn Stater dreams of a summer spent in Happy Valley taking hard courses taught by hopefully less intense teachers (Comp Sci), taking a sailing class up at the place which name escapes me, and taking sex ed..My friend Gail and I were in this together, and well, I cannot tack, turn, and turned over the boat twice in our first class.  It was complicated..we dropped the course. I rocked out Sex Ed that summer, and passed CompSci..'nuff said.

Bowl Games..

• Orange Bowl-South Beach was a rough place back then.  We had more fun than I can report..however we lost to Oklahoma..
• Fiesta Bowl-as previously mentioned - one of my personal best days ever. Classy Penn State vs. Scummy Miami - if you think we lack class - go back an acquaint yourself with the events surrounding that.
• Citrus Bowl - misery...but its a bowl, and we partied in Tampa.
• Rose Bowl - yep - me and my girl Betsy went to this amazing game..We beat Oregon and should've won the National Championship, but they gave it to someone else.  That year was a double yummy - I went to the Super Bowl a few weeks later!

And here I will jump off the Penn State memory train...because I need to do something productive and write Part 2...thanks for walking down memory lane with me.