Toby Mug Friends
Five decades ago
when we stood in the chancellor's back yard
we were strangers all.
The U C Davis was growing
and growing fast
and we were the shock troops.
We saw and recognized each other
over the years.
We danced at the Christmas
Goose Stew.
We drank good wine together
at the fall wine-tasting.
We dressed as hicks
for the annual Steak Bake
and ate more than we should.
Big steaks, beans
and corn on the cob
slathered in butter.
This gourmand feast
washed down with
multiple bottles of regional zin.
We proved our proletarian roots
by the demolition of the
old redwood chem building.
And once a year we became
true Aggies on the Work Day
where we cleared weeds and mended fences.
We served together on faculty committees
over the years.
We watched the Aggies win over and over
from our annually reserved seats.
We retired on VERIP together.
We had become
more-than-nodding colleagues.
Yet we were mostly still strangers all.
Then we started to attend funerals
of our colleagues.
First the faculty pictured in the 1949 El Rodeo;
then some of our backyard crew of five decades ago.
And each time we turned over
a Toby Mug on the virtual mantel,
our friendship grew.
Now chance meetings
at the Nugget Market
become an occasion for celebration.
We are still here and glad
others are also.
Subscriptions to the Enterprise
are mainly for the obit column
to see what dear friend gives us reason
to turn one more Toby Mug.
It is not ours yet, old friend.
But I hope to win
the bottle of very old brandy
and toast the turning of your mug.