Random memory post #2,958. My blind college roomate.

@TheHorse (205635)
Walnut Creek, California
December 3, 2022 4:41pm CST
I don't know what made me think of Craig this morning, but he was my roommate one year in college. He was legally blind, but could see a bit out of the corners of his eyes. He actually played "on the line" in intramural (whatever that means) football. I was a wide receiver. Craig was a philosophy major and a good friend. One of our common denominators was a love of Gordon Lightfoot. We would sing along to his songs when I played them on my "fancy" stereo. Dynaco A-25s were my speakers in those days. I wish JJ were still around. He could probably appreciate that I had an old AR turntable and a Sherwood S-8900 receiver in those days. We played poker many nights in the Lounge of our dorm. It was nickle/dime/quarter. The biggest winner would pay the most when we went out for breakfast when the Longhorn restaurant opened up. The cards had braille on them so Craig could read them. When we would play high/low poker (best hand takes half, while the lowest hand takes the other half), either Craig or I would sing "Go My Way" by Gordon Lightfoot, meaning that we were challenging the other four or five players to "go our way." Or were we bluffing? The best low hand was a 6-4-3-2-ace in different suits. Craig married a very pretty girl. I remember him asking me "Is she as pretty as I think she is?" I responded in the affirmative. I was in his wedding party. He became a minister. I still remember his full name . Maybe I'll Google it and see how he's doing. It's been decades. I'll attach a link to our favorite song. Gordon Lightfoot is a wonderful songwriter.
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13 people like this
12 responses
@DWDavis (25812)
• Pikeville, North Carolina
3 Dec 22
I hope you're successful in learning about your old friend. Gordon Lightfoot is one of my favorite singer/songwriters.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205635)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Dec 22
"Why are so many of the best American songwriters Canadian?" --The Horse
2 people like this
@DWDavis (25812)
• Pikeville, North Carolina
3 Dec 22
@TheHorse Perhaps because they have long, cold, dark winters during which to sit around and do nothing but write songs.
2 people like this
@xFiacre (12594)
• Ireland
3 Dec 22
@TheHorse Maybe it’s a bit like the best English writers are Irish - Joyce, Beckett, Swift, O’Shakespeare etc.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
4 Dec 22
I miss JJ too. hear that Gordon Lightfoot is touring right now, but the closest he seems to be coming to here is Southern California.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (205635)
• Walnut Creek, California
4 Dec 22
I am glad he is still out there making music.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (205635)
• Walnut Creek, California
4 Dec 22
@spiderdust I did not even know he'd had a recent stroke. I remember that he had some kind of "palsy" going back to his 20s or 30s. He's a trooper.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
4 Dec 22
@TheHorse Yes, especially after that stroke he had a few years ago.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (169894)
• United States
4 Dec 22
That's a neat story, and he sounds like a neat guy. My college roommates were colorful to say the least.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (169894)
• United States
4 Dec 22
@TheHorse I really have no idea,although I wish I would have stayed in touch with a couple of them.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (205635)
• Walnut Creek, California
4 Dec 22
I hope they are all successful. College days are/were interesting days .
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (205635)
• Walnut Creek, California
4 Dec 22
@snowy22315 I wish I'd stayed in touch with more of my college friends as well.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (457971)
• Switzerland
4 Dec 22
We all miss JJ, myLot is not the same without him. Thanks for the ling, I agree that Gordon Lightfoot is a wonderful songwriter.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (457971)
• Switzerland
5 Dec 22
@TheHorse He never said why he left and his profile myklj999 has gone as well as his other profile PhredWreck.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (205635)
• Walnut Creek, California
5 Dec 22
@LadyDuck Odd. I hope he's OK.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (205635)
• Walnut Creek, California
4 Dec 22
Did JJ say why he left? Is his profile still up? Gordon Lightfoot was one of my absolute favorites during my high school days.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325654)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Dec 22
He sounds a great guy. Wouldn't it be great if you caught up again?
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (155979)
• United States
4 Dec 22
What a great story. I hope you can reconnect with Craig.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (155979)
• United States
5 Dec 22
@TheHorse I found a friend who had passed through Ancestry.com (I think that's the one I used).
@celticeagle (158958)
• Boise, Idaho
4 Dec 22
Lightfoot is good. Sounds like Craid was quite a character. I hope you are able to find him and see how he's doing.
@kaylachan (57599)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
3 Dec 22
That was random. Kind of cute, too.
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
4 Dec 22
Did you think she was as pretty as he thought she was? (I've told friends little fibs when asked that question before. Their girlfriends/wives are always beautiful, even if the "beauty" part came out of a suitcase full of cosmetics. *shrug*) You played cards all night back in your carefree days of youth? My friends and I played cards all night but never poker and never for money. (I've never really understood poker, so my friends indulged me when I was there and played Rummy or Gin Rummy. Those, I understood.)
@wolfgirl569 (95080)
• Marion, Ohio
4 Dec 22
Sounds like some good memories.
@RasmaSandra (73368)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
4 Dec 22
Love the song and many Lightfoot songs. I hope your friend it doing well in life. With his difficulty, I am not surprised that he became a minister,
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57836)
• Centralia, Washington
3 Dec 22
It would be wonderful if you could find your friend again.
1 person likes this