Dinner at the Miramont: An End to a Great Week

Thursday evening was a wonderful affair. They day was filled with the regular stuff—classes, work on assignments, and a sundry of other various daily tasks. I finished the day with daily mass, something I'm trying to get back into my routine. I left mass a little late, separating from my friends as the headed to Awakening's Fourth Day activities. I had a tinge of want to just stay behind at Fourth Day, but I knew I should head on.

Where was I headed? To my Engineering Scholarship Appreciation Dinner at the all-new Miramont Country Club in Bryan. This year is first for the Scholarship Dinner, as I've been told, and I was flabbergasted when I arrived and saw the front of the country club. It is truly magnificent! The architecture was amazing; the interior was so well done and spacious. Below is the large flower bouquet in the foyer of the...for lack of better word...mansion. It has a "smell radius" of some 12 steps...and faint smells even down the side corridors.


I started off the evening talking to various computer science peers and even a couple friends from St. Mary's. One of them in fact won one of the Outstanding Senior Engineering Awards. Again, a wonderful thing.

Then we sat down for dinner in one of the club's ballrooms, beef tenderloin with salad and apple pie with ice cream and coffee for desert! The furnishings and design were all the best...spared no expense, naturally! But what was the best thing of all was that three of us undergraduate students sat down at our table (18) and had something of nearly an hour and a half talk with our department head (Dr. Valerie Taylor). Direct discussion about everything from where we were from, what we have done, what we plan to be doing in the coming years, and even questions on the curriculum itself. Nothing seemed to be off-topic, which was wonderful.

I relished in the opulent setting, the good conversation, the rekindling of lost academic and social relationships, and above all the fun that had transpired that evening. I had to pinch myself at the beginning and at the end of the evening. How did I deserve such treatment, such a blessing, or the opportunity? I cannot feel anything but blessed.

Again this Friday, I felt blessed. I had a statistics exam on Friday after work and the night on the town. What's a guy to do to prepare? Well, again there was a presence... not of stress but of can-do attitude. This was something I could wrap my mind around. This was something that I could do and something I did do, with the help of the Lord's grace. Of which I am absolutely sure.

Things have just fit snugly into place, even after spending the entire night this morning outside Planned Parenthood in Bryan—an entire night with friends. What a blessing!!! We went through three decades of the Rosary, interspersed with Chaplets of Divine Mercy, and had discussion moments throughout. To describe it with simplicity, it was a prayerful and reflective night of prayer and discussion. No topic again seemed off-limit. What a blessing!!!

Now I am here on campus, not sleeping yet. I will make it to ESPN College Gameday this morning for a short while, take that atmosphere and get ready for the best game of the season yet, Oklahoma against my beloved Aggies. Beat the Hell Outta Those Oklahoma Sooners, Ags!

God be blessed. What a great way to end the week. Blessed be the Lord's name.

Why I Do What I Do

Life is full of twists and turns and is always too quick to stay the same for as much as a moment. Life is fleeting. Life is something ephemeral, something here today but can very well be gone tomorrow. Life is this way, and, justly so, we must ruefully accept such an agreement.

So what is my driving force to write here in blog? Ultimately, my impetus is in itself to be remembered not as a good writer, not as a good student, not as a good programmer, not as a good thinker, and not even as a good Aggie. Rather, I wish to be remembered as a good person.

If there is anything that is Aggie Bonfire Memorial dedication ceremony taught me, it is to live life to the fullest and to never take granted of your friends' existence with you, no matter the circumstances. May God grant repose to those who died in the Bonfire '99 Collapse and fill the voids of the hearts of those who miss them.

Miranda Denise Adams, Christopher David Breen, Michael Stephen Ebanks, Jeremy Richard Frampton, Jamie Lynn Hand, Christopher Lee Heard, Timothy Doran Kerlee, Lucas John Kimmel, Bryan Allen McClain, Chad Anthony Powell, Jerry Don Self, Nathan Scott West...

We remember your sacrifice. Always.

Bonfire Memorial Day

The day has finally come. The five year remembrance of Texas A&M's deadliest day, that of the 1999 Bonfire Collapse. Now the Bonfire Memorial will be dedicated in a long-awaited and much anticipated event this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. May this Memorial bring some closure to the saddest chapter in the tradition-rich history of Texas A&M.

The Bonfire Memorial can be seen online here at the Memorial's web site: bonfirememorial.tamu.edu.

That Fateful Day

Then Heaven's pearly portals opened,
And hosts of Angels showed the way
For that Fighting Texas Aggie group
On that final Judgment Day.
Then more Aggies came into view,
Twelve dressed in Bonfire gear
Walking arm in arm and singing
Of the School they hold so dear.
Twelve Aggie voices said "Howdy"
To the keepers of the Gate.
"Working hard, we just lost track of time;
We hope we're not too late."
"It's the Fighting Aggie Bonfire Crew,"
St. Peter said. "Behold,
They're ready to light up Heaven,
With their courage and faith so bold.
I would often watch them building,
That stack so large and high,
And surely knew the time would come
That they'd build it into the sky."
And so the Twelve came through the Gates
As St. Peter said, "Don't fear,
You are just in time for Roll Call."
One by one, they answered, "Here."
________________________________________
November 18, 1999

The Fallen Twelve: The Long-Awaited Tribute

"Softly call the Muster, let comrade answer 'Here'..."

This November 18, 2004 will mark the dedication of the Bonfire Memorial, the lasting reminder of those twelve Aggies who died in the unfortunate, untimely Bonfire collapse of 1999. May we remember all Aggies that have passed on, both now and forever. May the Aggie Spirit never falter, never fail, never be forgotten. Fail not to pass on the Aggie Spirit that makes Texas A&M University the greatest institution in the nation. Let the Bonfire Tradition renew again!

Both Dr. Robert M. Gates, president of Texas A&M University, and Jack Hildebrand, student body president, will speak at the November 18, 2004 afternoon dedication. Classes that afternoon will be cancelled so all students will be able to attend the dedication.

Learn more about Aggie Traditions at Texas A&M's web site and view the August 3, 2004 article "Bonfire Memorial Dedication Set in Stone" in The Battalion, Texas A&M's school newspaper, from the links above.

"Once an Aggie, ALWAYS an Aggie"