I caught up with some old friends tonight. Years ago, when I was in college, I was in a band. PWE (pronounced 'pwee!'). The Pass Wind Ensemble. You had to be there at the time to understand. We were decent musicians, but the band was about having a good time.
We actually had groupies. The PWE-ettes. Jean was even named an honorary PWE-ette, though she was never really a groupie per se.
Last week I got a call – out of the blue – from Leslie, one of the PWE-ettes. I hadn't heard from her since the end of my band days in 1985, so it was quite a surprise. She's been keeping up with Brian (Dix), our drummer, who is in the process of separating from his wife. Rough times. He wanted to get away from Boston for just a while, and so he flew down to visit with Leslie and her husband Chris.
Leslie decided to surprise Dix, so she called me to see if I'd want to get together again to say hello. I said yes and contacted Joe, our keyboard player, who said he'd be there too. Leslie, Chris and Dix went to the 3rd Street Diner around seven, knowing that Joe, Jean and I would get there around seven thirty.
When Jean and I got there, Joe had already arrived. Dix seemed quite surprised to see us all. We crowded around the booth they'd chosen until the waitress told us we were a fire hazard. We moved to a different (and more secluded) part of the restaurant.
I'm not the type to live in the past. I'm much more interested in today, and in tomorrow. But getting together with three-fifths PWE was a great time. We are still essentially the people we've always been, despite more than a decade of disparate histories. We didn't talk about the music so much as the times we had with one another: playing at McGoos Pub once a week for free beer and pizza money, too many fraternity parties to remember, and of course the tragedy that was Pittsburgh.
We talked about our missing band-mates (one of whom seems to have fallen on hard times) and about all our friends from college. Joe and I told Dix to move back to Richmond. Maybe we'd get a band going again. Why not? It wouldn't be for old times, but instead for fun new ones. I'm sure we're all better musicians than we were back then, even if I'm a little rustier than I wish I was.
After a couple of hours we had to move on, so we said our good-byes. I want to get together again soon with Joe (he's in town, after all), and hope that I get to see Dix before nine years go by again.
The diner where PWE met is in the city. It was a clear night, though, so we could see the still smiling moon and the stars as we walked to and from the restaurant.
listening: Spinner
reading: The Hobbit (Bumpy's Bedtime Book)
news: The Freeman Hall web site went public today. I'm working with Jane and Lee (in IS) to redesign the residence halls for Richmond College. This was phase one, and we finished more than a month ahead of our goal. More residence halls will be switched to this new design in the coming weeks. It's been a nice side project, and one I'm happy to see completed ahead of schedule. (PWE trivia: the band got together while we were all living in Freeman Hall back in 1983-84.)
© 1999 Kevin J.T. Creamer