Alenka Figa::  We're ready.
Laura Korach Howell::  My name is Laura Korach Howell, and I currently live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I am a member of the Grinnell College class of 1973, and the question that stood out to me was how did I meet my spouse. My husband was Kit Howell and he was in the same class, 1973, and we were the only, as far as I know, the only two Texans in that class, and we met. We went out on a date on Valentine’s Day and we were together for the next 3 ½ years.
Laura Korach Howell::  And he was troubled and his drinking got worse and worse and it was a time when everyone was drinking. And none of the students, including me, thought it was any big deal. But, by senior year, it had become a big deal, and... I left after graduation. I went to Circle in the Square Acting School in New York and he went home to Dallas, and... I was glad to separate from him.
Laura Korach Howell::  But then two years later, I decided that he was the only person who knew me, really knew me, and we got back together again in Dallas and he became a Unitarian Minister and cited his Grinnell experience and also the experience of AA, which got him sober and kept him sober. We had a wonderful marriage and two children and he died in 1996 of lung cancer. He was 44, and...
Laura Korach Howell::  Being back on the campus is hard in many ways, because everywhere I turn, I see us back then. And.. I went on a little excursion last night looking for freshman dorms, and remembering where was Kit. Ah, and he was in Cowles Hall, and he lived with a bunch of crazy guys, crazy- almost scary crazy. Yeah, actually, a little intimidating. Some older men on that floor.
Laura Korach Howell::  And I met one of them last night. I found one of them, Rodney Gleysteen, and I think he’s two years ahead of us, and he always scared me. And I s- I looked at him and I said “Rodney,” he said “Laura! Yeah! Yeah, and I was so sorry to hear about Kit,” and I said “Well, I'm was glad you know about him." And he said, “Freshman year," he said, "we always wondered why was Kit smiling all the time? And then someone said 'Well, did you see Laura?'" I said, "Ooh, that makes me feel so good.”
Laura Korach Howell::  And I said, “Rodney, you were the guy who bit me on my butt. I was standing in line at Cowles dining hall and you bit me on my butt and.. scared me and I thought- and at that point I thought ‘How rude!’ and I still think that was really rude of you!” And we were laughing, and he looked at me and he said, “Well, yeah, of course I did.” He said, “There’s this character from this book and I was enacting The Sand Pebbles,” and I said, “OK ,so I didn’t make it up,” because some memories I’m not quite sure, how real were they? But, ah, that was verified.
Laura Korach Howell & Alenka Figa::  And he lived with Kit and all those crazy guys, and I just wanted to share Kit’s presence. I'm- this is my first reunion, and it’s been.. It's been really wonderful, reconnecting with some people and meeting new people, and just remembering. So thanks.
Laura Korach Howell & Alenka Figa::  Yeah. That's great.
Laura Korach Howell & Alenka Figa::  Yeah. Thank you.
