Duba Memories
The Coast Guard Years: One night at Connecticut College

Hey everybody, I decided today that I need to start posting some more of my memories as I realize that as I get older, I forget more. Especially the details...some of which are of absolute necessary.

So, let's walk back down memory lane to April of 1999.

The Backdrop: I had joined the United States Coast Guard Academy on July 6 1998, two weeks after graduating from Cinnaminson High School. I attended until May 10, 1999, as I realized that the future for what I wanted to do with my life would be unclear for the next 9 years (4 years of school, at least 5 years of service). Nonetheless, two of my good friends, Matt (a red headed kid who was responsible for the USCGA's swim team success that year and a native of Homer, Alaska) and Cory (a boulder of a man, who was 21, and was the onlyl freshman on the varsity football team), were leaving as well. We figured that any serious offense (i.e. wearing civilian clothes, going out on days that we did not have liberty such as a Wednesday, drinking, etc.) would take one month to process at the academy. So, from April to May, we wreaked havoc on ourselves and the USCGA's across the street neighbors/opponents, Connecticut College. Also, my girlfriend at the time broke up with me and I was in a bad mental place that involved drinking to passing out - NOBODY should ever try this. So after about a week or two of some good ol' shenanigans, we went dressed to the tilt to Connecticut College, looking for a party.

The Story: We could hear music from one of the dorms and saw people carrying beer into the building. We were curious, so we decided to hunt for the party. However, the building was protected by a sliding card system that would open the doors for dorm residents. Not to worry, as Matt had several experiences getting into places that he did not belong. He did something to the card reader and we got in. We went floor to floor, sticking our heads outside of the elevator searching for that party. Unfortunately we did not find anything until the fourth or fifth floor. What we saw at the end of the hallway was a banner at the end saying "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGELA!" As we walked to the room, we tried to come up with a reasonable story to justify our existence at this party. We had nothing good as we got to the door, but then Duba sprung into action. There she was, Angela's room mate. She asked who we were and I said, "I'm Jim, Angela's cousin." She asked where I was from and I said Boston College and that Matt and Cory were two of my friends. She did not question this (as the room mate was a little drunk). We immediately spotted the rum-filled watermelon and unloaded the fridge of beer as well as tapped the keg. About one hour passed of having a good time and getting to know Angela's room mate as well as her friends. Finally, Angela arrives. Boy was she surprised. She didn't even realize her cousin from Boston College would come all the way down to Connecticut for her birthday! It felt good doing something for the family, you know? She gave me a hug and said it was a pleasure to meet Matt and Cory.

Then it happened...

About another hour passed by, we were all riding the tide of a great buzz. Then, I suddenly hear a female voice say, "Hey Josh! This guy goes to Boston, too!" Shit. Duba, who was then isolated as Matt was at the keg and Cory continuing to devour the watermelon, was confronted by "Josh." He asked me what I was studying. I replied communications, I was in my second year and I was thinking of transferring to Drexel in Philadelphia. He then asked me where I live. The following is a script (the lines may not be exact, but the synopsis is accurate) of what transpired:

Josh: So where do you live?
Duba: I commute.
Josh: So do I. Where do you commute from?
Duba: ...Uh...The west side.
Josh: Well what town? We could party.
Duba: ...Cinnaminson.
Josh: ...Hey, you guys are from the Coast Guard!


Cory, with almost a Spidey sense like feeling, knew the gig was up. That smash, a ferocious smash/splat combination that drew everybody's attention to the back left corner of the room, was the sound of Cory chucking the watermelon across the room to make a diversion. Realizing our enemies were now distracted, Cory, Matt, and me ran out the door, followed a couple seconds later by Josh and his flunkies from Connecticut College. I was the last one out the door and closest to this mob. Matt, using every criminal instinct he had, saw a bicycle parked in the hallway. The window was partly open, but then completely opened. How else do you expect to fit the bike out the window if the window is not open? Sure enough, Matt unloaded the bike out the window. Immediately one of the goons cried out "MY BIKE!" Immediately the mass of assholes stopped to look out the window and piss and moan about a stupid bike. It wasn't like Matt threw a pregnant woman out the window. Fortunately for us, the mob did not realize that they had to get outside to provide CPR to the bike rather than gawk at it through the open window. We got out of the building, raced to Cory's car, then made it to University of Connecticut, but that's another story.

Thanks for reading my memories and thanks in advance for caring if you read this far.