Why I Consider Myself an Honorary Aggie

My grandfather is a class of 1943 Aggie. Yes…WHOOP! I attended my first football game when I was in Kindergarten, and since I diagnosed myself with ‘sensitive ears,’ I sobbed every time the cannon was fired. A&M slaughtered whoever their opponent was.

Fast forward a couple of months and it was Christmas season. I was hoping with my whole being that Santa Claus would bring me a goldfish. I was so happy to wake up Christmas morning to find that my wish had been granted. Goldie floated in a classic round bowl on the coffee table in the living room as my parents carefully guarded him/her? from our Golden Retriever, Belle, who seemed to think this gift was actually for her.

Fast forward a few months more to the summer. My sister had a friend over at the house. Of course Goldie was one of the attractions that had to be shown off. I made sure to supervise this interaction. In case you didn’t know I was INCREDIBLY shy when I was little….like it was debilitating. Anyways, Megan’s guest took great interest in Goldie. She asked if she could feed it, and I granted her permission. The young girl began to dump teaspoon-sized portions of fish food into the bowl to my utter horror. I didn’t know how to stop this madness. Then, to my great shock, she picked Goldie up! I don’t remember exactly what I did. I’m pretty sure I just ran to my mom in tears. About eight hours later Goldie was upside-down at the surface of the water. His/her? stomach was bulging from the excess food.

That night I was supposed to spend the night at my grandparents’s house. When dusk began to fall, and the sorrow of my great loss began to manifest itself within my soul, I began crying and sought solace in my grandfather. He hoisted me up onto his lap and began to tell me a story. It was the story of the first Reveille. I learned that she was just a mutt, but that the young men of A&M adopted her and loved her dearly. I learned what great joy this dog brought to these Aggies. My grandfather then began to tear up as he recounted the end of Reveille’s life and how sad all of his classmates were to lose her. He made a point of telling me that just because she was physically gone, she had made an impression on him, and he was sure this was true of every single other Aggie, and that was what truly mattered.