The 4th alongside Hurricane Chantal
old friends brave the storm
3/4 of the Relay crew spent the weekend in Charleston, South Carolina in celebration of the 4th of July. The group consisted of a combined 70, give or take a few, years of brotherhood/friendship. Sounds like a lot when I put it in that framing. We do our best to take one of these trips once a year. Since graduating college and dispersing to varying areas of the country, we haven’t missed a year yet. A fact that we are all proud of.
Stay tuned for an upcoming Relay Photo Essay on our time in Charleston.
It should be known that I have comically bad luck when it comes to airplane travel. It’s a running meme in the group. So, I typically start the week of each of these group trips with a sense of apprehension. Nervous until I’m securely through the airport scanners, sure that I’m not going to miss the flight or forget some key item. Worried that some untold disaster will strike (it has happened before) that throws a wrench in our plans. But each time, once there, the apprehension fades. Replaced by a sense of familiarity and belonging seldom felt elsewhere.
The travel nerves hit potential all time highs this trip as we woke Saturday morning to texts and weather alerts reporting that we would soon be brushing shoulders with Hurricane Chantal. Southwest Airlines recommended we look at possible other options to get out (our Uber driver the next day informed us that many of our traveling compatriots took this early route out). We deliberated on our options and came to the conclusion that at worst we get a taste of Chantal and our trip extends a day or two. No matter which way it went, we were going to be fine.
Too often old friendships fizzle and crack as new chapters of life begin. They take diligence and effort. Coordinating dates with big groups is hard. Scheduling travel in places that works for everyone’s individual situations is no easy task either. Even just getting ahold of old friends in everyone’s crazy lives proves difficult on some days. It’s no wonder they fizzle.
I was reminded this weekend, not for the first time and I am sure not for the last, that all of the coordinating and the travel woes that inevitably come (being stuck for multiple days in random cities due to flooding or in this weekend’s case our close brush with Hurricane Chantal) are always worth it.
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