Famous Last Words...The Big Goodbye

"All things end badly, or else they wouldn't end..."

It's been said that the four years you spend in college are the best four years of your life. Whoever first said this is absolutely right.

College can be summed up as four years condensed down into one big party. Not just any big party; the best party you've ever seen. The people you've met, the experiences you've shared...simply priceless. So imagine those four years as the best night of your life. But, inevitably, the party has to end. Everyone has to leave at some point. The post-Graduation time that follows is that "morning after." For me, this summer has been the "hangover summer"...the end of the party...the headache and nausea the following morning. And no matter how many aspirin you take or how much Gatorade you drink, you still feel like shit.

There are the optimistic people who tell me that post-Grad life should be an adventure, and that the best is yet to come. No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to share their vision. In fact, I can say that I've been depressed nearly every day since I graduated.

I've made some incredible friends here. I saw BU win the Beanpot twice. I met some celebs, saw countless baseball games, and I partied with Playmates. And through it all, I drank enough to kill a large Asian family.

How does one put four incredible years into words? Please understand that there really is no way for me to recall everything from the past four years. As the saying goes, "I'll cherish the nights I'll never remember with the friends I'll never forget." Through it all, it's been a blast. And I'll do my best to write about those people and times which truly meant the most to me...

What can I say about Sami and Dan? To say that I'll simply miss them would be the definition of understatement. There isn't enough room to write it all. I've known these guys since Day One, and they've been some of the best friends that I've ever had. They weren't even friends; they were my brothers. It's hard for many to believe that Seed and I are so close, being on opposite sides in the Yankees-Red Sox War. We didn't even start off on the right foot. At Orientation in June of 2000, they asked everyone what they hoped to see or do during their four years at BU. When it was Dan's turn, he said, "I want to see the Red Sox win the World Series," to which I blurted out, "Yeah, well good luck with that." As for Sami, well, he turned the words "boner" and "taint" into pieces of our everyday vocabulary. He could always make me laugh, no matter what. I'll never forget that Saturday in September: IHOP, whiskey drinks and baseball, and Krispy Kremes. I'll never forget paintball in the summer of '03. I'm glad that we all had the chance to live together at 49 St. Marys this year. I'll miss the times we'd sit around to watch Nip/Tuck or Family Business. I'll miss the times we played catch or Pepper out on the BU Beach. I'll miss the nights we'd go to the bar and get shitty. I'll truly miss it all...

And then there's Greg and Jon, who helped to complete our "home" at 49 St. Marys. I'll miss boxing and beer pong, the parties and "100 Proof at 1 PM." I'll miss Greg's compulsive spending on kitchen equipment, and I'll miss Jon's obsession with lesbians and pre-teens. I'll miss Patty, the unofficial roommate. And I'll never miss "the Russian" or his filthy Tampon Queen whore of a girlfriend...

I'm going to miss the "family" of Dave "Fletch" Fletcher, Matt Martinelli, and Joe Keiley. Those three guys were as inseparable as brothers. Fletch was the older brother, bold and rebellious. Martinelli was the middle child; quiet and reserved, nearly neglected, until he was drinking and started trouble (see also: "What? I had a dream that I got in a fight with that kid."). Joe Keiley was the responsible younger brother, always having to bail out the aforementioned duo. And even though he didn't live with them, Andrew Hass was a sort of step-brother or cousin to that family. I'll miss these guys. I'll miss our nights spent playing trivia at T's as the team "Gaylord Fletcher." I'll miss a drunken Matt putting Hass into a headlock. And what can you say about Joe Keiley? Looking back, I can't think of a time when he ever said "no" to a trip to T's or the Dugout. He wasn't even necessarily drinking...but he never turned you down...

I'll miss Jimmy C, one of my closest friends since Day One. I'll always remember those times during sophomore year when we'd meet up for a coffee and shoot the shit in the dead of winter. I'll miss Jon Goldstein and Mike Gaines, two of the most creative people I've ever met. I was honored to be a part of one of their film projects, and I know they have nothing but success on the horizon...

I'll miss all my friends from Claflin 7: Jon Lewis, Mo, Aatish, Chaitoff, Dave, Cheryl, Andrew, Adele, Liz and Sara. I'll miss all the bullshitting and just screwing around. I'll miss the nicknames and the immaturity. I'll miss the times that Canner and Graham used to prank-call Jupe. And I'll never forget that even though they had graduated, Liz and Sara came back to town for my knighting...

I'll miss my broadcast classes. There was nothing like spending an afternoon at the Pub with Scott Robinson, Leslie, Seed, Alan and Joe Keiley after a few hours of class. I'll miss the times that Kristin and I would sneak into the edit booth to slip Bailey's into our coffee on Friday mornings. I'll miss Scott's dry sense of humor, as he stated on the last day of class, "You know, statistically speaking, either me or O-Train will probably be dead by our 20-year reunion"...

I'll miss Alan Mac and Hillary, two people I was fortunate enough to meet and become good friends with during my final semester. My only regret is that I had to meet them so late in my collegiate career...

I'll miss Dave Coakly, the bartender at O'Leary's, and arguably the best barman I ever met. O'Leary's was always the best place to sit and have a quiet pint. During my last visit, Dave greeted me with a glass of my favorite Irish whiskey and said, "This one's on the house, for old time's sake"...

I'll miss the BU Pub, the only place where anyone has ever called me "Sir." I'll miss T's Pub, home to the best Lynchburg Lemonades in town. I'll miss Tuesday Night Karoke and the time we brought the house down with "Hey Ya!" I'll miss those 2 AM McDonald's runs with Joe Keiley. And I'll miss all the times that Scotty would "Barge it!" on the way home...

I'll miss Terrier hockey. Some of my best memories were from those games. I'll miss the Beanpot, one of the only times you'll see everyone you know drunk at 5:00 on a Monday. I'll miss Walter Brown Arena, the only real home of the Icedogs. I'll never forget my last home game as a student, a 3-3 tie against UNH. After that game was the first time I actually ever sat in my season ticket seat. I'll miss Goldberg's intensity and knocking back beers with Cardamone and "Degerman." I'll miss Midnight Mania, Craven's cheesehead, the Facepainters and the FREEP guys, the chants and the camaraderie, and all the large beers. I'll miss counting down the start of the "BC Sucks!" chant, "Ole" on the power plays, and "Oh when BU goes marching in." There's nothing like an entire section chanting "M-A-I-N-E...Fuuuuuuuuuuccccck YOU!" I'll miss the banners and the low ceiling of Walter Brown Arena. I'll miss the electricity in the air before a BU-BC matchup, and the raucous atmosphere that followed. I'll miss Jim Prior booming out, "...the teams are ready...sooooooo let's play hockey!" I'll miss Ed Carpenter patrolling the Press Box and his wife's coffee cake. I'll miss road trips to the opposing arenas, and I'll miss calling Jerry York and Dick Umile a "horse's ass." I'll definitely miss Sasquatch, but not the dancing Ethan Clay.

I'll miss roaming the halls of COM. I'll miss my "stop and chats" with Julie H and Jill, who would always brighten my day with a smile. I'll miss seeing Scott Wintner pacing through the halls, stressed out over something in COM. I'll miss my two favorite professors, Thistle and Falla, who made learning fun and taught me more than any other profs. I'll miss the COM Prom...this year's was one of the best times I had in four years...

I'll miss Intramural Softball. We had three great teams with some truly great guys...Brandwein and Thomson, Brochu and D'Onofrio, Rubin and Syed, Leavitt and Coslov. To this day, Trevor Nugent's catch during sophomore year is legendary. Even though we never brought home the Championship, I wouldn't have ever wanted to play for another team. I'll miss that closeness that we had through our six-game seasons, and how we all came together to play as one. And I don't care what anyone says, I'll definitely miss Jupe...at times my nemesis, but always my friend...

I'll miss those times that Hillsdon and DeVita came back up for a weekend...even though Hillsdon was an awful influence at the bar, and DeVita was a curse at hockey games. And I'll miss the times that Spiro made the trip over from Northeastern to hang out with all of us...

I'll miss WTBU and broadcasting "The Perfect Gentleman" with Sami Bull each week. I'll miss Seed's sports updates and the "How's Your News?" intro music. I'll miss all my friends there, people like Amanda and Jennifer, Steve V and Katie K, Ross and Spitzer, KC, DelBarrio and Jay. I'll miss pregaming for the monthly meetings at the Dugout. I'll miss giving my "speeches" at the General Info meetings at the beginning of each semester, and I'll never forget the time that Hillsdon dropped Jupe with a jab during a WTBU Sports meeting. I'll miss Radochia's cameos on the show, where we racked up an unknown number of FCC violations. Each week, there was another STD he'd discuss, and it was there that he first coined the term "meat pocket." I'll miss our dinners at the GSU after the show, with the coffee and donut run afterwards. Somehow, Steve made a comment each week that ruined your appetite...but looking back, it wouldn't be like Steve if he didn't...

I'll miss Hamblin and Blanchette. I'll miss all of their theme parties. Despite the blizzard, their CEOs and Corporate Hoes party was one of my all-time favorites. I'll never forget Spring Break '04, when Hammer and O-Train took on Vegas...."Baby, you don't even know..."

I'll miss Halloween at BU, where nobody was ever allowed into a party dressed as the "generic college student." Brandwein and Thomson always put on an incredible party. There was Seed as Jimmy Dugan, Hillsdon as an Oompa Loompa, Jon Lewis's cow, and Matt and Bill as the Blues Brothers. And a favorite will always remain my costume as Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker...

I'll miss Rodion (aka Borat), Nicole and Margretta, Dave and 'Bama, Nugent and Mark, Katie, Bruckner, Ali and Jenny. Best of luck in the future. And naturally I'll miss Manzi...enough said...

I'll miss all my friends I'm leaving behind who are still in school. I'll miss people like Bill Gioia and Cannarsa, Tia, Whitney and Lindsay, Jess, Alissa and Emily, Tony, Steve M and Dan. Thanks for all the great times and memories. And I'll miss Nicky, who could always make me smile...

I'll miss Tara, who for four years was my closest connection to my hometown. Our trip down Boylston Street on Wednesday night was an incredible time. Thank you for always being there through the good times and all the bad...

I'll miss all the stand-up shows at the Comedy Connection. I'll miss seeing John "Dr. Dirty" Valby whenever he was in town. I'll miss the times that Dan's cousin Billy would come up for a night on the town. I'll miss Marathon Monday and living a few blocks from Fenway Park. I'll miss 49 St. Marys Street, the first place that actually felt like a "home" in Boston.

I'll miss buying booze for minors. It was nice to give back to the system which had treated me so kindly before...

I regret not having a chance to say goodbye to everyone. There are some people I know I'll lose touch with, and those who I'll never see again. And I suppose it's as the saying goes that if you're truly friends with people, you'll never lose sight of each other. But beyond that, it's difficult to think of all the people you'd see on the street and stop to talk with, even if you were late for class or a meeting. I'll miss those random "stop and chats" with all the acquaintences I've made.

To the class of '05 and those who follow: have fun. Live fast and live it up. Go out every chance you get. If you're tired and your friends want to go out, take the trip anyways. You might not want to at the moment, but when you're looking back you'll wish that you did. Those are the times you'll really remember. As Tom Petty once said, "The work never ends, but college does."

I suppose this leads me to the end, though it's incredibly hard to sign off and say goodbye to the places and people that turned Boston into my second home. Through the past four years, I've met some great people, and all I ever wanted was to be the best friend I could to all of you. I hope that this is how you thought of me.

In trying to figure out how exactly to say "goodbye," I am surrounded by the quotes that people much more famous than myself have said. As Dr. Seuss once said, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." Ernie Harwell closed out his final broadcast with, "It's time to say 'goodbye' but goodbyes are sad, so I'd much rather say 'hello.' 'Hello' to a new adventure. Rather than 'goodbye,' please allow me to say 'thank you'." Me, I don't know really what to say except this: I don't know where or when I'll see many of you again, but you'll always be in my thoughts and memories. I hope we can keep in touch. I'll see you when we're a little bit older, whenever that may be.

So, thanks for the memory
And strictly entre-nous, darling how are you?
And how are all the little dreams that never did come true?
Awfully glad I met you,
Cheerio, and toodle-oo
And thank you so much. -- Bob Hope