August 16 - Where Are They Now? Wednesday - Curt

This week’s WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WEDNESDAY focuses on my former college roommate, Curt.

His mother and my mother were life long friends until my mom died in 1997. They were maids of honor at each other’s weddings back in the 50’s. Curt and I became friends when his family moved back to Ohio in the mid 70’s. We were teenagers at that time.

Curt was a year ahead of me in school and attended a different high school. We spent most weekends together as teammates in a Saturday morning bowling league. I actually use the same bowling ball from 1977 in my 2006 bowling league, much to the chagrin of my current bowling teammates.

Curt also introduced me to the hobby of beer can collecting. It was big in the 70’s but I believe it has gone the way of beanie babies. My mother sold my collection for $75 when I went away to college. Which brings me to when I lost track of Curt.

Curt and I, along with my older brother were roommates at THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY (OSU) for my freshman year in 1980-1981. We only lived together the one-year and lost track of each other due to the size of THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY. I graduated in 1984 and moved to Dayton. Curt graduated and moved to Indiana.

Ironically, we ran into each other on January 1, 1986 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY football team was playing Brigham Young University (BYU). The BYU fans were not big tailgaters. They may have been stuck in a huge multiple bicycle pile-up on the Florida Turnpike. All the people at the pre-game festivities were OSU fans.

As I was quarterbacking a pick-up “touch” football game with other OSU fans, a by-stander came out of nowhere to blind-side and tackle me. My teammates immediately came to my defense and grabbed the culprit. As they began to pummel him, I recognized that familiar red hair and sheepish grin. I quickly saved the scurrilous intruder from my well-intentioned linemen. The perpetrator was none other than Curt.

Curt and I had a couple of cocktails, shared some old memories, and made some new ones. We then went into the game and sat at our separate seats.

OSU won the game 10-7. After the game I tried to find Curt by hopping on the back of a moving RV and looking everywhere for him.

We have seen each other a few times since that chance encounter. However I have lost track of Curt.

As the focus of this week’s Where Are They Now? Wednesday, if anyone has any information about Curt, please advise.

I need Curt’s help with my bowling. I also need some advice on the value of my Olde Frothingsloth beer cans. These are the only 2 cans that remain from my beer can collection of 30 years ago.