A Tribute to My Second Home

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

Two things immediately came to my mind as I read the name of that town in June of 2006, accompanied by the name, “Samuel Stapleton,” my new college roommate who didn’t have a Facebook page at the time so I assumed he was probably a weirdo.

1) “Where the fuck is that?” and 2) “Who the fuck could possibly live there?”

(Many of my readers – and by “readers” I mean family members and their peers – have complained about the language usage of recent posts. I promise I will work on that, but I’ve had this introduction in my head for weeks now, and for some reason I need the F-bombs for emphasis and self-satisfaction. I’m sorry).

Little did I know that that crazy-sounding town with an “o” after every consonant would become like a home away from home for me.

As you can probably tell, I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection over the past several months, leading up to and following graduation. And what I’ve realized, among many other things, is just how important Oconomowoc has been to me.

As many college students are well aware of, your freshman roommate can make or break your first few weeks of school, perhaps even one’s whole first semester. Needless to say, the roommate-choosing gods were on my side when they selected Sam to sleep across from me in room 472A of Sellery Hall.

Sam and I instantly became best friends, doing virtually everything together, from lifting to eating to playing basketball at the SERF. Not only that, but his buddy, Martin, also from Oconomowoc, lived on our floor. Martin – a baseball aficionado even more than myself – and I also became instant friends, which made my transition to Madison infinitely easier, setting the tone for my subsequent four years there, I now realize.

I remember Sam and Martin inviting me to play volleyball during Welcome Week with them and some other Coonies (the Oconomowoc High School mascot) down the street at Witte Hall. Right then and there, almost upon arrival, I had a new circle of friends, several of whom I currently consider some of my best friends, like Conor Farley (my sophomore year roommate, whom I also spent all of sophomore spring break with, with just him and his family at Big Sky, Montana), Jake Silkey and Drew Olson (who wasn’t present at that particular volleyball game, but I still consider one of my better friends from the past four years). Much of the difficulties in transitioning from high school to college revolve around the friend-making process. And because of Sam and Marty, I never really had to exert much effort doing that. And for that I am eternally grateful.

Not only that, but Sam’s parents, “Papa Stapes” and “Megadoo,” according to Sam, became my pseudo-parents, telling me that anything I needed, not to hesitate to call. You can’t really imagine the kind of comfort that gives an 18-year-old kid 1,100 miles away from his real parents. For that, I am also extremely grateful, lucky and humbled.

I spent July 3 of this year in Oconomowoc skiing behind Conor’s boat and watching the fireworks at night. In between those events, we went to Bergie’s (another Coonie) house for a few adult beverages, where I was greeted by all the Coonies and several of their parents. It didn’t hit me until hours later what that truly meant to me.

As Conor drove us back to shore after the fireworks celebration, I sat at the front of the boat by myself, realizing what had just happened, not only that day, but the entire four years that had just flown by. I went to a party in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and was greeted by dozens of friends and parents who knew and recognized me. Yes, I now have dozens of friends from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. How many kids from the Boston suburbs can say that? I think it’s pretty cool.

Like I mentioned earlier, Oconomowoc has been my home away from home for four years, solely because of the selflessness of the people that live there, people who welcomed me to their state with open arms when I arrived not knowing what a brat (the sausage-like food, not the spoiled kid) or a cheese curd was. For that, I can never repay any of you.

Stapes, Marty, Drew, Conor, Bergie, Fron, Nate, Hydro, Stevo – I’m sure I’m missing some names, and for that I apologize – you guys have been like brothers to me for four years. Thanks for making me one of the guys. It has meant more to me than you guys realize. I didn’t wear purple and yellow in high school, but when I’m with you guys, I feel like I did. Real friends like that are hard to come by, but they’re impossible to ever forget.

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Who the fuck could possibly live there?

I know dozens. It’s my home away from home. Thanks, fellas.