I Live In Aggie Country...And I Don't Mind One Bit

 Back in the mid to late 1980s, the entire state of Utah was BYU Cougar Country. At least, that's how it seemed to me when I attended the University of Utah. Even in Salt Lake City, where you'd think the U would have flags and signs and banners at homes, I remember seeing a lot of blue.

That didn't really make me happy.

I kept thinking that there should be a place where U of U pride could be displayed, appreciated, honored. But, I kept seeing Y stuff, Y flags, Y banner, Y bumper stickers all round the Salt Lake Valley.

When the U began to dominate (yes, I wrote--and meant--dominate...) the Y in sports, that's when Salt Lake began to bleed red. Utah County was, and in my opinion, always should be a place for all things cougar, but I was glad to see Salt Lake County begin to show it's Ute colors. It took a long time--a very long time--but it happened.

Fast forward a decade or so and we moved, moved north, moved to a land where once again the color blue hung in storefronts, except the letter changed from the second to last in the alphabet to the first letter of the alphabet...

A...for Utah State Aggies.

A few days ago we had to run errands in Logan and the bold blue A was plastered everywhere. I loved seeing it. Even in the small town where we now live, you can see Aggie flags, bumper stickers, banners, and license plates. Personally, I love pretty much everything about USU. It was where I first went to college decades ago, where my brother, father, uncle, and many many friends attended and graduated.

Sure, it's not red, but seeing so much Aggie Blue is fine with me.

Not Somebody That I Used To Know...But Some Place That I Used To Live

 We've been doing a lot of driving lately. That happens when you're about to move seventy miles to the north. It's a whole new world up there, a world we don't know very well. For decades I've known about a mountain pass linking Tremonton to Cache Valley, but I've never taken it.

That' changed last week.

We needed to be at the new house for some installations. We had time between appointments so we decided to take a little drive. That upper pass sounded like a perfect trip. It was beautiful. I've been to Logan Utah and Cache Valley numerous times, but I never drove west of the main drag. It's an amazing world out there, one I didn't expect.

Because we were in Logan, I had to drive past my first college apartment, just below campus and Old Main--a tri-plex built probably around the 1950s or 1960s, maybe even earlier. I moved into that apartment (bottom left, under the stairs...) the fall of 1984, a few months after I graduated from high school. I had three roommates who I knew very well--my brother, my brother's best friend, and a mutual friend from St. George and Lagoon.

My first college experience was a lot of fun. I was not a stellar high school student and I carried that reputation over to higher education. The classes were tougher, but I enjoyed them. I loved the purpose of learning, of being educated. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but since I was only going to be there a couple of months, I didn't have to worry about that.

Back then, Utah State University was on the quarter system. My first college experience only lasted about ten weeks, then I left for my LDS mission to Denmark. I hope I never forget that almost broken-down place that didn't have a proper shower (so we made our own...), and where Corn Jelopy was made at least once a week.

I can't imagine how many students have lived in that particular apartment since December, 1984. It's almost a dizzying prospect to think of all the degrees, the broken dreams and hearts, of triumphs over completed courses, of new loves, of degrees earned and goals achieved.

The building still stands...a place I used to live.