The floor I lived on in my college dorm was nicknamed the Squirrels From Hell (this was the name of the soon-defunct intramural team, which was based on an actual psychotic squirrel who somehow made his way into the dorm via an open window). I discovered the Squirrels one night during my very first semester when my then-roommate had "sexiled" me. I went upstairs to hang out with some people I knew and wound up meeting the rest of the members of the floor. I then began spending all my free time with the Squirrels, sitting in an area known as The Swamp, marked by a large plywood plank that read "The Swamp" in dark army green paint which hung above a rotting sofa. (I was told the sign had been painted with a sock. It looked it.)

I was made an honorary Squirrel until the day I moved in with the girl who bacame my roommate for the rest of my college career -- and eventually, my Maid of Honor -- and I finally gained full Squirrel status. I have the t-shirts to prove it. (see above)

Being a Squirrel was more than just living on a floor; it was a way of life. The Squirrels were…interesting people. These were people who:
*hogtied you and threw you into a cold shower on your birthday
*danced together in the hallways to LOUD '80s music at various stages of morning
*organized a midnight underwear jog around campus (in December. brrr.)
*danced naked in their window with a blow-up doll during Finals Week
*were vocal fascists
*had their own hammock in their room
*grew questionable plants in the lounge, including hydroponic watermelons (seriously)
*brewed their own alcoholic cider (okay, these last two were the same person, but whatever)

The Squirrels are the reason I loved college so much. We would sit together in the Swamp for hours and discuss things like quantum thermodynamics, theoretical physics, vampires, and sex – all in the same conversation. We laughed a lot. We drank a lot. And we got very little sleep. It was some of the best times of my life.

Recently, I received a phone call out-of-the-blue, as they say, from a former Squirrel who I had not heard from in 12 years. Last weekend, we finally got together, and it was fantastic! We reminisced, we talked, and we wandered around lower Manhattan together for 8 hours (I destroyed my shoes doing it, but it was worth it!).

When I asked him, towards the end of our day together, why he had thought to call me in the first place, he thought for a while and his answer was, “Well, I remember how well we got along -- we never got into any fights, and we always had fun together. And also because there aren’t a lot of people I’m in touch with from the old days, and it’s nice to connect with someone who was there.”

And it certainly was.