At Some Point Everyone Comes To Room 148

You know when you send someone a text message relaying a piece of crucial information and all you get back is, "K,' but you really wanted them to respond with something just as thoughtful or at the least, "O.K..," but "K" was all they were able to manage? Well that irritates me. I mean, out of all the love, affection, and turmoil good friends go through, I believe strongly that we should at the least be able to add the vowel to the consonant. This is how I feel about life sometimes. We get so busy being in the middle of it all; family, work, and bills, that we forget to enjoy the people and beauty around us. We forget to put the "O" in the "K." As I've been writing this blog over the past three years , I've come to realize that being personal with you the reader and my friends is important to any story I'm trying to tell, as my ultimate goal with all of this is to make sure we are reminded that it's not just flags in a gym. This activity is the height of love and passion and Dayton is my yearly reminder to live fully and spherically or in other words...to put the "O"  back in the "K."



148. It was my room at the Marriott for Dayton 2015. On Friday night it was the place to be. The liquor flowed freely and the laughter was boundless. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many people filtered into that room between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m., but it was many and I can't say I knew everyone that walked through the door, but I feel that I understood them and knew why they were there. 

Someone once said that at some point in Dayton, we all wind up at the Marriott; Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night...or all three. As I sat on the bed watching people stream in and out of the room, I couldn't help but think of the antics and escapades that have been committed in the name of pageantry within the walls of this hotel. If we were to be honest, it strikes a chord of, "What happens in Vegas...," but it's more than that and we all know it. Sitting in the airport on Sunday afternoon awaiting my flight out, a friend stated that the Marriott is like a hotel filled with ghosts of your past and present self. The performer turns to instructor and the instructor turns to judge. It's a place where the circuits from around the country convene and all of us from the alumni just there to watch to the people who work so hard to make sure each guard is given the same chance to succeed, assemble in this one place to say,"Hi'  and "I've missed you." Some of us even use the dreaded "L" word. You know that word...LOVE. We see that friend who stood by us in all our ups and downs and we say,"Oh my God how I've missed you. I love you!"

Life is a constant moving wall for me, It goes up. it goes down, it goes up...it stays up. Don't show to much, don't share too much. I've recently realized that there really aren't many people who know me...really know me. I do what we all do. Only show the positive side or the successful side. Only show that you're happy. Be witty, be smart. I have found throughout time though, and most recently that my system...well my system of personal interaction sucks. It seems to me that it's in Dayton where my full range of emotions emerge and sometimes it's scary and sometimes it's freeing. The wall comes down and in an unforeseen fashion the real me appears...if only for a moment. I love emotion and the smiles you see on the faces of long lost friends and the tears from a friend over that one drink where they finally stop lying to you and say, "No. Things aren't going that well in my life." My guess is that it's a mixture of stress, lack of sleep, a flood of memories, and too much alcohol, but whatever it is, I'm glad to say I'm a part of it when the walls of those I love come down.

Throughout the week in room 148, things became ridiculously funny. Ongoing inside jokes of years past and the jokes of the present  made me laugh so hard that in one instance I fell backwards out of a chair. 148 was filled with music of shows of the past and the dream of shows to come. We also had serious conversations about life and even cried once or twice. In 148 no one is off limits. You better have a sense of humor and be able to laugh at yourself. 148 isn't the room for you if you expect an early bedtime or noiseless experience. At one point, someone asked the question of how many rooms we've all collectively seen throughout the years. How many strolls have we made down those hallways to find the doors with a latch holding it open welcoming an unfamiliar set of strangers to become new friends? How many people have shared in room 148, but who are no longer with us? How many are sitting at home longing for the connection of pageantry days of the past? We are so lucky!

Upon checking into 148 on Thursday afternoon, I had a sense of welcoming as if I was walking into the past of an old childhood home. The room was clean and beds were made. That would be the last time we would see it that way. When I awoke on Sunday morning to empty liquor bottles from the two night party strewn around on tables and cabinets, outdated itineraries, and used tickets from finals the night before, I couldn't help but think, "Wow...it's all over. Another Dayton in the books." For just a moment it made me a little sad and already longing for next year. Reality would come back soon and the wall would go back up. It was Sunday morning that made me realize that sometimes we forget to enjoy life when we are sitting in the middle of it. Buddha stated that the trouble most humans have is that we think we have time. We always think there is more time to live and laugh, but one day there won't be another Dayton and someone else will have checked into room 148.

The great Billy Joel once said:

Though I'm living and I'm singing
And although my hands still play
Soon enough it will all be over 'cause
Tomorrow is today 

While in Dayton, from the time I land to the time I take off again, I'm looking at the clock. The time ticks away and as Wednesday passes to Sunday, I realize how precious our time together is. I don't want to see Saturday night end and I fight sleep for as long as I can. Sometimes I think, "Should I be allowed to be this happy? How did I get this lucky? How did I win the universal lottery?" It seems almost unfair, but then I think that we, all of us, created this world and by each passing year we recreate it all over again. There's a quote I once heard from the 18th century french writer Vauvenrgues. I have always loved it. He said that we discover in ourselves what others hide from us, and we recognize in others what we hide from ourselves. It seems to me that Dayton brings out the hidden truths of our hearts and minds. All that we hide and the fronts we put up come crumbling down in Dayton as the raw emotion allows us to open up to those that have always loved us. 

So to all of you my friends, I will see you next year and keep you in my heart throughout the changing seasons and I hope you will do as I promise to do and keep the "O" in the "K."