We Are the Aggies…

Mr. Gray’s family has always been pretty Aggie. I have always been more of an Aggie than a Longhorn, but I never thought I would be “brainwashed” if I went to A&M. Little did I know, I’d be right in the big middle of it all! I found out last week, that my family’s Aggie legacy runs a lot deeper than Granddaddy’s two-week stint at A&M. 

There is a diploma hanging in Grandmommy’s house from A&M College that my great-great-grandfather earned. It’s signed by Sull Ross, who was the president of A&M at the time Barber (as Grandmommy calls him) attended. For years, I didn’t understand the significance of that piece of paper on her wall. Last year after Muster, she told me Mr. Gray and I could have it, and I couldn’t have been more pleased. In that same conversation. She also mentioned she had a copy of “A&M’s first annual” from Barber’s college years. I didn’t think anything of it. 

Fast forward to this past Friday. I had gone over to show her photos, the wedding program, and some other mementos from our Block Island trip, and she pulled the “first annual” out for me to see. Not only was she absolutely correct about it being the first one, but Barber was a very active member of the class of ’95 and on the editorial staff of the Olio

I read it cover to cover Friday and took everything in; obviously things had changed with time, but it was so neat to see how many things were the same (traditions, familiar names on campus). My favorite thing in the whole book was a page that listed each man’s religion, political affiliation, and favorite feature in a woman! Can you imagine how that would go over these days? 

For more information about the Olio online, you can check here and here

To top my Friday off, I got to have lunch with my dad and a couple of Old Ags who enjoyed hearing about the yearbook I was still so excited about. That prompted them to tell some stories of their own! WOW! It’s amazing how grown men, years later still talk so fondly of their days at A&M. Once we finished up our lunch, I headed to the frame shop to take Granddaddy’s Corps pins (circa 1939) to be put in a shadow box. 

In other Aggie news, I had a strange dream that my Aggie Ring fell off in a river. When I pulled it out of the water a few seconds later, it was all beat up and the diamond had fallen out–I was devastated! Thank goodness when I woke up it was perfectly in tact!

Also, I found out yesterday that Baby Gray is due two days before A&M’s birthday. So he has the option of being a Come & Take It baby, an Aggie baby, or having 10.10.10 as his super cool birthday! We’ll see when he decides to make his debut! Any of those (or the surrounding) days are fine with me–I’ll take him any day!

Last, but certainly not least, Aggie Football begins in 39 days! WHOOP! (Remember, I wasn’t going to be interested in any of this…)

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