An Ol' Ag

This weekend Joey and I went to the A&M-Baylor game with another couple. Thankfully, it was a game that made sitting in a cold, plastic poncho worth it. Not many Aggie games the past few seasons make this ok. I absolutely detest ponchos. Joey made me wear it. I sat in the rain stubbornly for as long as I could stand it, disdainfully looking at the poncho in the bag. Putting it on felt like swallowing horrible cough medicine. Why couldn't I be one of the girls in the cute rain jackets? Instead I was wearing a piece of clothing that differs from a trash bag by a single snap at the neck. Somewhere I know there's a Poncho Millionaire sitting on his mountains of cash because he decided to repackage the trash bag as a "poncho" and then sell it to all desperate people caught in the rain.

I am relaying this part of the event to you so you can get an idea of my state of mind. I was Wet-Hair-Stuck-to-My-Head-Smudgy-Eye-Make-Up-Girl-in-a-Poncho.

There is one thing about revisiting college campuses as a former student (NOTE for non-Ags: A&M graduates are not referred to as alumni, but as "former students" - one of the many weird things we do), you feel OLD. Class of 2012, really? Really? I remember when Class of 2004 sounded fresh. Oh my gosh. It's happened. I am what is termed an "ol' Ag". (NOTE to non-Ags: ol' Ags are ancient). I remember 'ol Ags. You would run into them at the MSC (Memorial Student Center) where if they caught your ear, you'd sit and listen to them reminisce about life as a student at A&M in 1932 while turning their well-worn Aggie ring around on their finger. They would tell you about how girls didn't attend A&M back then, how their sweethearts were given Aggie pinky rings and how campus was only from Building A to Building B. And there I was...and am. I felt it as I would catch myself saying to Joey, hey remember when there wasn't a walkway from West Campus to Kyle Field? Remember the girl who ate The List while everyone was waiting to pull tickets for the TU game? Remember how the 12th Man used to be on the other side of Kyle field? Remember when the shuttles were like old school buses? Remember...oh no, I'm doing it again.

So there I was, surrounded by young girls wearing A&M t-shirts proudly stating "Class of 2012" with their fresh faces and God love'em, skinny jeans that were actually, well....skinny. And me. Wet, smudgy, old, pitiful and in a poncho. I could practically feel the wrinkles coming on.

This was pretty much how I was feeling. Then I spotted true ol' Ags sitting on stadium seat cushions. A refined woman in her 70s, all decked out in maroon and white, wearing what looked like her Aggie sweetheart ring and sitting next to her Aggie husband with his gold ring worn so smooth you can hardly see the once prominent details. I was reminded that it's all relative. I wander what she thinks of us all? She would probably laugh at my feeling as one of the elderly. I'm sure she'd long to be the age that I am. Or maybe she wouldn't. Maybe she would be happy just where she is.

And then I saw my kindred spirit. A girl proudly giving away her age by wearing a "Saw 'Em Off" t-shirt circa 2004. Remember when we were able to wear these shirts before the trademark infringement banned them from being made again? She didn't look old at all, but just slightly more seasoned and the maturity suited her. That made me feel better. Now granted, she wasn't wearing a poncho.