Beak, Beav, and Slick

In the fall of 1987, I left my home state of Maryland for college in Missouri. A big step for someone who was still 17 and didn't turn 18 until November.

Arriving at school not knowing a soul, I didn't know how I would fit in. My roommate was from Michigan and I had never talked to him. The next two people I met after I dawned the door of my room have changed my life dramatically.

Beav was 16 from Connecticut. He lived in the room next to mine and his parents had just dropped him off in his room and drove back home. The first thing that he did when he came in my room was look at my tape collection and we immediately hit it off. We became best friends pretty quickly after that point. Because of his age, he was originally called Beaver which got shortened to Beav. We ate over 750 meals together in college and have a cadre of private jokes that could fill a vault.

Beak was 17 from New Jersey and my suitemate. His laugh and other physical attributes eventually led us to call him Beaker from the muppet show which was then shortened to Beak. We were probably the only two on our floor who studied regularly so we bonded over academics, sports, and not-so-great food in the cafeteria that Beak lauded for its quantity not quality!

Then there was me, 17 from Maryland, who got nicknamed Slick early our freshman year. I was scared and excited out of my mind for that first week. What I didn't know is that I found two of the best friends in my life in one day.

They told us at New Student Orientation that the people we were hanging around with that day would likely not be there when we graduated. Not so for me. I have been in both of their weddings. I feel very fortunate that in the last two days I have talked to both of them.

The older I get, the more thankful I am for friends who have known me through the ups and downs of life, who have the long view of my life.

My guess is most of us have a Beak, Beav and Slick in our lives. We would not be the same nor would our lives be as rich without them.

So to Beak and Beav, I owe you a debt I can never repay. But I get the feeling payment isn't necessary. The inside jokes and the moments of laughter are enough.....