At the beginning of my third year in Memphis a group of us moved from the friendly confines of Rhodes' campus to a duplex a short distance from Rhodes.
Stacy, Jimmy, Greg, and myself rented the upstairs of a families home. Probably not the best idea for either group but it worked out fine. I mean why could possibly go wrong with four 19-21 yr. olds living above an elderly couple?
It was much cheaper to live off campus and Rhodes was feeling a housing crunch from its growing enrollment so they actually threw in some incentives such as parking and free lunches.
There were a lot p great memories. Listening to Greg and Devan practice their music, always an easy ploy to entice the fairer gender to our abode, watching Ren and Stimpy with Rojo who would walk over from Rhodes on the weekends. Many of held part time jobs for some extra cash. Stacey worked at the Squash Blossom and I started working at Fino's (Jo Ann hired me even though I showed up with a recently acquired Mohawk inspired by a dare at Mardi Gras).
The owners of Fino's, Terry and JoAnn, gave me a job and a home away from home. I worked their all through my college days and even on and off for a few more years as it helped finance my semesters abroad and multiple travels. JoAnn and Terry started as employers but quickly became friends and family. Terry accurately predicted the professions of myself and Rojo despite our ardent protests of his prognostications.
Yes, there were some epic "celebrations"; it was college, use your imagination. We all did a lot of growing up at the Hawthorne house. The friendships of the residents and our frequent visitors grew stronger. I even met one of my future co-workers over a decade before we would work together when she used to date one of the lads, proof that Memphis is the biggest small town.
We lived on the second floor. The place seems to have held up pretty well.
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