It's a Dukes thing

When you're an alum of James Madison University, you know you came from arguably one of the best college campuses in the United States. It's truly an amazing place, which I think you do realize a bit when you're there but moreso after you graduate. You go off into the big world and experience lots of new things and new people... and then you run into another JMU alum and it's like you're right back in Harrisonburg. I feel like with other colleges you run into alums and it's like "Oh cool, we went to the same school." JMU alums run into each other and it's like running into a long lost best friend. It happens all the time and I haven't met anyone from other schools with stories like ours.

So this was my night last night! My friend Stephanie (friend since senior year of HS and we also went to JMU together) invited me to Le Poisson Rouge for the Old Fashioned Piano Party hosted by her friend from JMU, Kevin. I remember seeing him in shows at school but we didn't know each other. She and I actually wanted to go for awhile but never got around to it. Last night Stephanie said we had to go because there were quite a few JMU alums that would be performing. When we walked in, it was just as I described. It's like being at a crazy awesome family reunion. They were all musical theatre and theatre majors and I was SMAD, which do overlap sometimes & I started at JMU as a theatre major, so those that I didn't know before last night at least knew a lot of the same people.

Corey, me and Stephanie at Le Poisson Rouge

Of course all the Dukes sang amazingly wonderfully. Stephanie and I had a very nostalgic moment when Mike and Jessie sang a duet together. The very first show I saw at JMU my freshman year was You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. I saw it with Stephanie and Mike and Jessie, who were seniors, were both in it. Watching them sing together took us way back to age 18, fresh faced and ready to conquor the college scene. That's nearing 10 years ago, folks!

JMU Dukes in NYC... spanning about 10 years of time at JMU.

Crazy fun times with all of them. The time FLEW by and all of a sudden it was nearing 2am. Even though I didn't have to be at my internship today, it was probably a good time to head home. We all said our goodbyes, which of course included promises of Facebook friending and hanging out again soon. I woke up this morning still smiling and basking in the glory of the amazing night before - and when I talked to Stephanie, she said the same thing! Hanging out with all of them is like a little slice of Heaven here in the city. Or at least a slice of Harrisonburg!