College Roommates

Around 10 AM today, I walked over to the BP with Joe. The BP has a Subway restaurant in it. I can get a 6" flatbread sandwich with egg, ham, and shredded cheese, for $3.21. It's a good deal. The employee who made my sandwich asked me if I ever lived with someone I didn't know in college.

That made me think about my college roommates.

1. Freshman year, I had Dave as my roommate. He was from western Iowa. We didn't know each other before we became roommates. I think he flunked out, though I admit I do not really know. We were signed up to be roommates in our sophomore year, but he didn't return. I remember he would get a new girlfriend, I'd become friends with her as well, Dave would make the girlfriend mad, and I'd still have her as a friend. It was a good situation for me, but not for Dave.
2. Sophomore year, I had Jon as my roommate. He was from a town north of Cedar Rapids and went home nearly every weekend. We didn't know each other before we became roommates. I liked Jon as a roommate. We used to watch soap operas in the afternoon.
3. Junior year, I had Randy as my roommate. He was from Cedar Rapids. We were friends in the spring of our sophomore year. However, we were not friends as roommates. Honestly, I think he was struggling with trying to figure out if he was gay. He was an usher in a wedding where I was a groomsmen. Years later, I learned he died from prostate cancer. I did not attend his funeral. I have a lot I could write about him - what it was really like to have him as my roommate - but I am not going to write about it today.
4. Senior year, I had Brian Rock, Brad, and Chad as my roommates. I became Brian's roommate because he had lived with a mutual friend, Gary. I needed a place to live so I asked Gary if I could live with him next year. He said that was fine, but I should go ask Brian. I have zero recollection of ever speaking to him ever before. I said, "Hey, do you care if I live with you next year?" He looked at me and said, "Hell, I don't care." The first night we were roommates in our 2 bedroom on-campus apartment, we knew Brad was going to be our third roommate but we didn't know him. We decided to share a room. Later that night, I locked our bedroom door. Too bad we didn't have a key. It was a rocky start to what has become a really good friendship.