Let's Go! Hokies!

So for the past few days, I've spent the weekend at Virginia Tech with some friends from college- Becky, Missy and Elizabeth. We try to get together at least once a year and this year we decided to go back to our stomping grounds in Blacksburg. It was the first time since April 16th that they had been there and I hadn't been there since my week there in April for work. It seems like it's gotten back to normal, or as normal as it can be. There aren't that many physical reminders of the shootings. They are replacing the makeshift memorial with a semi-permanent one at the base of Burruss Hall and the construction machines were in high gear. But other than that, all that remains from the events of April 16th is the tremendous sense of Hokie pride that I think was there all along.

This weekend at Tech, we had a blast hanging out together- from hanging out in our room at the Inn (actually the exact same room I was in during April) to going to the Hokie Wine Festival at Chateau Morrisette- we always laugh soooo much when we're together! Since it was Hokie Day at the wine festival, we took bets on who would be the first person to see someone in the crowd of thousands who they knew. I'm proud to report that I won! Not only once but THREE times, people recognized me!! I'm sorry to report that we weren't all dressed appropriately. We were probably the only people there not dressed head-to-toe in Hokie garments. Maybe that's what made me stand out so much!

The other highlight of my time in Blacksburg was a quick meeting with Larry Hincker who is the university spokesman (the one who did all the press conferences back in April). I had never met him in person and he took time out of his busy schedule to say hello and we just had the nicest conversation. I told him that I was just amazed at how he kept his poise and wits about him under the most stressful conditions while dealing with the worst mass shooting in US history. He told me stories about the media from his perspective and I told him stories from mine. One of the things we talked about was how universities rebound after huge events like this. We talked about Kent State and the University of Texas. No offense to any Golden Flashes fans, but I hope that in this case, we can be like the Longhorns and not have this event define my school. Hokie! Hokie! Hokie! Hi! Tech! Tech! VPI!....