I was going to turn over a new leaf at my new school. Study first, then socialize. But I couldn’t help myself. During my first semester at Hampden-Sydney, that old leaf stayed put.

I had never heard the term “road trip” before I moved south. I had grown up in New England where everything you need is practically on the next block. Or the next town over. But I soon discovered, because Hampden-Sydney was an all-male college in the middle of nowhere, guys were always up for a road trip, in search of girls. Because there were none on the next block. And the next town over was miles away.

I’d only been at HSC a short time when the Theta Chis took a couple of car loads and a van full of guys down to Averett College, a women’s school in Danville, Virginia. One of the guys had gone to high school with some women there and it turned into a midweek mixer. We got some beer, picked up the girls and went to the woods just outside of town.

Harv and I were paired up with cute women and thinking that we’d finally discovered the meaning of college. We’d both been unhappy at the large schools we began our college careers at because we felt isolated. Now two weeks into our new school, we were in heaven. We could worry about the academics tomorrow. Although, truth be told, on that front, tomorrow never seemed to come that semester for either of us.

Harv could see that I was getting along very well with my date as he was with his. The problem was that all the couples were in the same area. The sun was setting, but we needed more privacy than darkness could provide. So we suggested to the ladies that we needed to split up a bit. They laughed and said they knew where we should go. So they began to walk us deeper into the woods.

Deeper and deeper we went. I didn’t really think about it as I had only one thing on my mind. Soon I couldn’t see Harvey and finally, no matter how single minded a 20-year-old I was, I began to think we would never get to where my new friend wanted to go. Just as I am about to complain, we came to a stream.

 “There’s a great spot just on the other side,” she said, suggestively. “Lots of pine trees and soft pine needles.”

Of course I held my complaint. We just had to get across the stream. The water was moving pretty fast and there were some pools of water, but it looked as if there were some rocks to step on to navigate the crossing.

I should been going to the library, not road tripping. I took a Dr. Crawley class every semester and you can see by the syllabus on the left, he assigned more reading than most professors. He expected you to have it read before class. The difficulty of his midterm and final exams was legendary.

I didn’t make the decision to cross the water lightly. I was wearing suede boots that laced up the side. I loved these boots from the moment I saw them. My love deepened when I slipped them on. Not only did they look great but they didn’t require weeks of break in time that other boots needed. They were conservative enough at first glance, but when you sat down, people could see that they laced up and had a little something extra.  So I could wear them for almost every occasion.

I’d never put those boots at risk lightly. But this was a cute girl, we were in the woods, we had beer and soft pine needles lay ahead – all the stars in my world were aligned. I gallantly offered to go first to test the way and would hold her hand to steady her. That was the plan and all was going well. Until we get to the middle of the stream, next to the deepest pool, about 3 feet deep. All of a sudden I was plunging into the pool of water, going completely under. I couldn’t believe it. She had pushed me. And she was running retreating into the dark night. Laughing.

Seconds before, I was in heaven with an angel. Now I was soaking wet, lost in the woods 90 miles from school. At first I thought it was a mistake. I called after her but I could only hear her laughter as it faded into the woods. Then I remembered my gorgeous boots which were now completely soaked. I tried to climb out but the rocks were slippery with moss. It took me 5 minutes before I was able to get back to shore.

Then I had the task of getting back to the group of guys. That didn’t prove to be easy. I hadn’t been paying attention to where we had been going in the woods. I was too busy being charming. But after about a half hour of groping through the woods, I came upon Harvey who had a similar story to tell. His girl had just quietly slipped away after leading him deeper into the woods. But we both wound up back at the rendezvous point about the same time. And no one was there. They had taken off. We couldn’t believe it. A night that had begun with so much promise had turned into a nightmare.

We walked a couple of miles back into town around 1 a.m., got to the main road and started to hitchhike back to HSC. There’s not a lot of traffic in and out of Danville even during the day. Still, a car would go by ever 10 minutes or so and we’d get our hopes up. We started walking just in case no one picked us up. At least we’d eventually get back there. After all, we had 8 a.m. classes. And you did not skip classes at HSC. The classes were so small – often just 10 to 15 students – your absence was noted.

It was very hard walking. Those great suede boots were very damp and no longer the soft supple slippers I loved. They were heavy, stiff and they were rubbing my feet in many different places. Each footstep was agony.

After an extended period in which we saw no cars either going in or out of Danville, we saw headlights coming from town. We had only walked about two miles and could still see the glow of the town over the trees. Before we even had to put on our “Please pick us up faces,” the van pulled over. It was the Theta Chi van, driven by Merrick. All he could do was laugh like a lunatic at our story. I was glad for the ride but did want him to shut up.

He had brought down a bunch of guys in his van, but had paired up with a girl who hadn’t ditched him in the woods. So he stayed with her and refused to drive any of the other guys back. They all had to squeeze into the other cars for an uncomfortable ride back while Merrick went parking with this girl in his van. That’s why he was leaving even later than we were. He was familiar with the Danville area and said we probably would have had to walk all the way back the HSC. There would have been no more cars that night.

Harv and I were in our beds by 3 a.m. and made it to our 8 a.m. class. But that was the beginning of the end for me. I had resolved not to go on that road trip but a lot of the guys who were going were upperclassmen. They road tripped all the time and they managed to keep their grades up. The driver of the van was well on his way to becoming a doctor.

What I didn’t realize was that because they were upperclassmen at the school, they knew what was expected of them to be successful at the school. They knew how to play and how to study. At that point, I just knew how to play.

Two weeks into that first semester and I was already behind in my classes. I did not recover. I wound up with a 1.4 grade point that fall. At least it was better than Harvey’s 1.2, who, by the way, eventually would earn a Ph.d.

I got a letter from Doom when the grades came home. Up to that time, he’d hollered at me when I didn’t meet expectations. This time there was no hollering. No threats. Just profound disappointment. And that really stung.

Doom’s disappointment proved to be an effective motivator. In the spring, I hit the books for the first time in my life. One class required reading a novel a week. Another reading a Shakespeare play every week. I took an extra class to make up for credits I lost when I transferred. I did all the readings before class, studied for every test and quiz without cramming at the last minute and handed in every assignment on time. It was all new to me, but I got a 2.9 the next semester, just missing the Dean’s list by a tenth of a point. 

Huh, I thought. I can do this.

P.S. To this day, I miss those suede boots. Much more than that missed relationship deep in the Virginia woods.

Next time: Chapter 35: I Make the Team