Greek Momentos

When I first started my college Greek experience in the late 90's and into the millenium, the idea of having a paddle was always important to me.... They seemed so permanent, so artistic, so individual, so natural, so traditional....

It started with the one I made for myself.....

of COURSE I needed to have a grand paddle... because of COURSE I never thought I'd have a lil bro or lil sis that would make me one that I LOVED.....

boy, was I wrong.... incredibly wrong.

I tried to incorporate as much teke imagery onto my paddle as I could fit...tastefully.

Everything on the paddle says something about the fraternity and i feel it clearly explains where I was at the time.... FULLY INVESTED. :-)

(and notice the convenient shotglass holder at the bottom) -- always prepared ha!

and then came the lil brothers and sister

From my first lil Bro, Shawn "Joker" Newton

I must admit..... when I first received the paddle, the baby in me said "That's it?!" But when I hung it up on the wall it was PERFECT!

My lil Bro Shaun is still in my life and I am very happy that he created this piece of art... stark contrast to my overwhelming and busy monster-of-a-paddle, this one was very representative of the "Strong and Silent" me.... (Yes, that side exists people...... and YES I know that I am not silent very often!). It was a paddle that balanced me out.... just as Shaun always has.

This paddle is the only one on display...

(at my mom's house.... when I get the

dreamhome, the others will join it).......

Thank You Lil Bro!!

From the best Lil Sis EVER, Lizzi "Rambo" Beduya...

Lizzi and I have connected on many levels.... at this time, we were heavy
into the colorful cluster of characters that cultivated youth called Ravers.....
the fun we had.... the nordic-trackin we did! hahaha

there's no way for you to know, but, the entire texture of this

creation is shiny and glittery... LOVE glitter... :-)

Thank You Lil Sis!!! It has been my honor

and from my lil Bro that left the brotherhood.... Marc "Crazylegs" Bai

Marc was a funny guy .... extremely tall, awkward, shy, but crazy when he got drunk.... he was on his way to eventually opening up....

We had a definite connection and I saw the fraternity as something that would break him out of his shell and embrace his awkwardness...

Marc went in and out of his desire to be a fraternity guy and I persuaded him to go through with it.... I knew he would go far, enjoy it, make connections, and absolutely knew that our friendship would last forever......

again... I was wrong. Shortly after initiation, and beyond a few meetings, Marc disappeared..... and I haven't seen him or heard from him since...

I look at this huge paddle..... and I am very appreciative of it, but it doesn't feel the same as it does when I hold the other two..... the memory is there, but the love is not attached...

it's very strange.... but still a beautiful paddle.