The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

He Was a Fratboy . . .

Posted on | September 17, 2010 | 45 Comments

. . . and I still remember his name, but that’s not the point. See, it was first day of class in summer semester during my sophomore year in college, and I’d noticed this cute new blonde freshman out in the smoking area before our political science class.

 This was 1979, when I was still a long-haired 19-year-old dopehead partying my way through school, planning to be a rock ‘n’ roll star. And this blonde girl in the smoking area did not seem entirely uninterested. We talked briefly, long enough for me to learn that she was a brand-new freshman from Mountain Brook.

But this fratboy was all good-looking and smooth-talking and a member of the Student Government Association. A regular winner, see?

So the blonde girl went on inside to the poli-sci class, while I stayed out in the smoking area for a few more minutes talking with my buddies. When I got inside, the blonde freshman was sitting next to the frat-boy, who was talking to her in a very cool, slick SGA-member-in-a-fraternity-jersey kind of way.

Ah, tough luck for me. Can’t be helped.

A couple hours later, I went be-bopping into the Student Center to get some lunch and shoot some pool and . . . “Hey, Stacy!”

My buddy was sitting at a table and — my, oh, my — among the three or four other people at the same table was that little blonde freshman from Mountain Brook. So I got my lunch and joined them. The conversation continued, I told a couple jokes, one thing led to another and . . .

Can’t tell the whole story here, but I’ll tell you this: She didn’t spend the night with that fratboy.

What is the political relevance of this story, you ask?

See, I was over in the comments at the Hot Air Green Room and some guy was ranting about how Christine O’Donnell is “a nutcase and is unfit to serve as senator.” And I asked myself, why was I gloating about how the Tea Party “nutcase” beat nine-term Congressman Mike Castle and embarrassed all those smart guys who said she couldn’t win? Where did this hell-raising stick-it-to-’em instinct come from?

That’s when the fratboy came to mind.

You see, there are always these guys who’ve got it all lined up. They have every natural advantage. They’ve got the system figured out and the odds are stacked so overwhelmingly in their favor that, by all rights, there’s no way on earth to beat ’em. They’re winners.

Yet there are rare occasions when the luck just tumbles the other way. The winner loses, and the loser wins.

It’s always a beautiful thing.

P.S.: It didn’t work out for the Mountain Brook girl and me. We dated a couple a months, then I dropped out for a year. When I came back to school, she was dating someone else. She eventually dropped out of school or transferred, and I struggled on through graduation, and never have seen her again.

I married a beautiful brunette and Lived Happily Ever After, of course.

Still, it would be sure-enough funny if I ever ran into that blonde from Mountain Brook, who would be nearly 50 by now. Because I’d just like to ask her one question: Do you remember that fratboy who was talking to you the first day in political-science class?

Bet she doesn’t.

But I guarantee she’s never forgotten me.

Category: Alabama

Comments

45 Responses to “He Was a Fratboy . . .”

  1. cc
    September 17th, 2010 @ 2:48 pm

    One of the most appealing things about this blog is your modesty. Heh.

  2. cc
    September 17th, 2010 @ 10:48 am

    One of the most appealing things about this blog is your modesty. Heh.

  3. Garym
    September 17th, 2010 @ 3:19 pm

    Narutoboy is morally bankrupt. His idea of argument is making a point and tagging it hateful remarks with whom he argues.

  4. Garym
    September 17th, 2010 @ 11:19 am

    Narutoboy is morally bankrupt. His idea of argument is making a point and tagging it hateful remarks with whom he argues.

  5. Joe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 3:23 pm

    Christine O’Donnell was not always the Kathryn Lopez of sexual morays. I have heard she had a few wild times at Fairleigh Dickerson before finding Jesus. And I suspect that included a few less than charitable (or self affirming) frat boy interactions. I do not know if that is true or not, but if true it would be revealing in a good way–rather than being a prude, it shows she grew up. And that is interesting.

  6. Joe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 11:23 am

    Christine O’Donnell was not always the Kathryn Lopez of sexual morays. I have heard she had a few wild times at Fairleigh Dickerson before finding Jesus. And I suspect that included a few less than charitable (or self affirming) frat boy interactions. I do not know if that is true or not, but if true it would be revealing in a good way–rather than being a prude, it shows she grew up. And that is interesting.

  7. KingShamus
    September 17th, 2010 @ 3:47 pm

    People who were born on third base and think they hit a triple are douchebags, plain and simple.

  8. KingShamus
    September 17th, 2010 @ 11:47 am

    People who were born on third base and think they hit a triple are douchebags, plain and simple.

  9. Obi's Sister
    September 17th, 2010 @ 4:10 pm

    In ministerial circles, those stories always start out with …”when I was building my testimony….”

  10. Obi's Sister
    September 17th, 2010 @ 12:10 pm

    In ministerial circles, those stories always start out with …”when I was building my testimony….”

  11. Wondering Jew
    September 17th, 2010 @ 5:02 pm

    Stacy– I’ll do a but of a mea culpa on the politics here. O’Donnell’s win has thrown the establishment into such a panic, that that alone might be worth risking the seat over. And it’s clear from her post-primary fundraising that she has that “it” factor in the same way that Palin does. Win or lose, she may have a bright future in conservative politics.

    But I’m still really concerned about the substance here– in terms of her personal responsibility and behavior– and scanty accomplishments– and the way she has been trashed by a lot of folks in Del who know her better than you or I do.

    Being in the rule 5 politician hall of fame and the ability to give a good stump speech may be important positive attributes, but, in and of themselves, they don’t make a good conservative Senator.

  12. Wondering Jew
    September 17th, 2010 @ 1:02 pm

    Stacy– I’ll do a but of a mea culpa on the politics here. O’Donnell’s win has thrown the establishment into such a panic, that that alone might be worth risking the seat over. And it’s clear from her post-primary fundraising that she has that “it” factor in the same way that Palin does. Win or lose, she may have a bright future in conservative politics.

    But I’m still really concerned about the substance here– in terms of her personal responsibility and behavior– and scanty accomplishments– and the way she has been trashed by a lot of folks in Del who know her better than you or I do.

    Being in the rule 5 politician hall of fame and the ability to give a good stump speech may be important positive attributes, but, in and of themselves, they don’t make a good conservative Senator.

  13. richard mcenroe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 5:44 pm

    Breaking News! Woman had sex in college, now thinks it’s a bad idea. Grease the stocks hinges! CHASTISE THE HARLOT!

  14. richard mcenroe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 1:44 pm

    Breaking News! Woman had sex in college, now thinks it’s a bad idea. Grease the stocks hinges! CHASTISE THE HARLOT!

  15. richard mcenroe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 1:50 pm

    Wondering Jew — What could she say or believe in that’s crazier than “We have to spend our way out of debt”?

  16. richard mcenroe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 5:50 pm

    Wondering Jew — What could she say or believe in that’s crazier than “We have to spend our way out of debt”?

  17. Wondering Jew
    September 17th, 2010 @ 6:03 pm

    Richard–She couldn’t say anything crazier than that– I’m not concerned about her policy positions– or even her social views– which Stacy has ably defended.

    But if the person putting out views that I like behaves in a way that is personally discrediting, than those views are, to some degree, discredited as well. The Jury is, to me, very much out on whether O’Donnell can succeed as a Senator and be a public asset to conservatism.

  18. wombat-socho
    September 17th, 2010 @ 6:03 pm

    Richard: You done nailed it.

  19. Wondering Jew
    September 17th, 2010 @ 2:03 pm

    Richard–She couldn’t say anything crazier than that– I’m not concerned about her policy positions– or even her social views– which Stacy has ably defended.

    But if the person putting out views that I like behaves in a way that is personally discrediting, than those views are, to some degree, discredited as well. The Jury is, to me, very much out on whether O’Donnell can succeed as a Senator and be a public asset to conservatism.

  20. wombat-socho
    September 17th, 2010 @ 2:03 pm

    Richard: You done nailed it.

  21. Adobe Walls
    September 17th, 2010 @ 6:09 pm

    Being a US Senator is not rock science. I submit that all freshman Senators receive some mentoring from Senators who’ve been there awhile. As long as she listens to Jim DeMint rather than Lindsey Graham.

  22. Adobe Walls
    September 17th, 2010 @ 2:09 pm

    Being a US Senator is not rock science. I submit that all freshman Senators receive some mentoring from Senators who’ve been there awhile. As long as she listens to Jim DeMint rather than Lindsey Graham.

  23. DaveP.
    September 17th, 2010 @ 6:18 pm

    I’ll remind those talking about ‘scant accomplishments’ that it was teh political experts that led the GOP to defeat in ’06 snd ’08, and who prevailed upon Ronald reagan to take George Herbert Walker Bush as his running mate.

  24. DaveP.
    September 17th, 2010 @ 2:18 pm

    I’ll remind those talking about ‘scant accomplishments’ that it was teh political experts that led the GOP to defeat in ’06 snd ’08, and who prevailed upon Ronald reagan to take George Herbert Walker Bush as his running mate.

  25. molonlabe28
    September 17th, 2010 @ 6:20 pm

    This is a great analogy and anecdote.

    Sometimes the conventional wisdom falls flat on its face (e.g. the Jets over the Colts in the 1969 Superbowl)

    Christine’s thumping of establishment the establishment icon certainly didn’t fit the preordained natural order of things orchestrated by the political consultants and party hacks.

    That latter group has done such a splendid job over the course of the last 10 years, which kind of begs the question of who would even admit to being a Republican political consultant.

    When it comes to politics, they perceive themselves as omniscient and their job as dictating the political agenda and the strategies necessary to achieve its goals.

    Right after the last election, I had lunch with a Senate staffer who worked for one of the least trustworth GOP Senators (Charles Grassley).

    Being a flyover country bumpkin, I asked him who was going to lead the GOP out of the wilderness (I didn’t use the word “toilet” because we were in a nice venue).

    He responded that Mitch McConnell was the man to see in the Senate and I reflexively groaned out loud (you know, the Facepalm reaction) that he couldn’t lead the party out of a paperbag.

    My lunch companion, you see, had worked on the Hill for 10 – 12 years and his mindset seldom left the Beltway.

    The issue of Sarah Palin came up and I told him that she, more than anyone I had seen, had the political core values and capabilities to lead the GOP back to its historical prominence and restore it to the party of Ronald Reagan that I knew and loved.

    He responded (in nicer words) that she was essentially a rube and that she had no political future or value.

    We politely ended the conversation shortly thereafter and moved on to some more benign topic.

    These types are ensnaired by the Beltway and they don’t understand us at all.

    And they are taken aback by the fact that we don’t want their wisdom and that we don’t seek their permission to do what we need to do to put our country back on course to its democratic republic roots.

  26. molonlabe28
    September 17th, 2010 @ 2:20 pm

    This is a great analogy and anecdote.

    Sometimes the conventional wisdom falls flat on its face (e.g. the Jets over the Colts in the 1969 Superbowl)

    Christine’s thumping of establishment the establishment icon certainly didn’t fit the preordained natural order of things orchestrated by the political consultants and party hacks.

    That latter group has done such a splendid job over the course of the last 10 years, which kind of begs the question of who would even admit to being a Republican political consultant.

    When it comes to politics, they perceive themselves as omniscient and their job as dictating the political agenda and the strategies necessary to achieve its goals.

    Right after the last election, I had lunch with a Senate staffer who worked for one of the least trustworth GOP Senators (Charles Grassley).

    Being a flyover country bumpkin, I asked him who was going to lead the GOP out of the wilderness (I didn’t use the word “toilet” because we were in a nice venue).

    He responded that Mitch McConnell was the man to see in the Senate and I reflexively groaned out loud (you know, the Facepalm reaction) that he couldn’t lead the party out of a paperbag.

    My lunch companion, you see, had worked on the Hill for 10 – 12 years and his mindset seldom left the Beltway.

    The issue of Sarah Palin came up and I told him that she, more than anyone I had seen, had the political core values and capabilities to lead the GOP back to its historical prominence and restore it to the party of Ronald Reagan that I knew and loved.

    He responded (in nicer words) that she was essentially a rube and that she had no political future or value.

    We politely ended the conversation shortly thereafter and moved on to some more benign topic.

    These types are ensnaired by the Beltway and they don’t understand us at all.

    And they are taken aback by the fact that we don’t want their wisdom and that we don’t seek their permission to do what we need to do to put our country back on course to its democratic republic roots.

  27. nathan hale
    September 17th, 2010 @ 6:26 pm

    Biden was a double plagiarist, actual fantasist, and they kept electing him back to the Senate
    for another three terms, where he became the instrument of the subprime bagmen

  28. nathan hale
    September 17th, 2010 @ 2:26 pm

    Biden was a double plagiarist, actual fantasist, and they kept electing him back to the Senate
    for another three terms, where he became the instrument of the subprime bagmen

  29. Robert Stacy McCain
    September 17th, 2010 @ 7:05 pm

    One of the most appealing things about this blog is your modesty. Heh.

    Do you want modesty, or honesty? Low self-esteem has never been a problem for me, and if I was to be all mealy-mouth about myself, it would be less than authentic.

    On of the drawbacks to being so damned cocky is that people hesitate to praise me — among them, my wife, who fears that my ego might swell up so big that I couldn’t get it through the front door. In the words of Mac Davis:

    Some folks say that I’m egotistical.
    Hell, I don’t even know what that means.
    I guess it has something
    To do with the way
    I fill out my skin-tight blue jeans.

  30. Robert Stacy McCain
    September 17th, 2010 @ 3:05 pm

    One of the most appealing things about this blog is your modesty. Heh.

    Do you want modesty, or honesty? Low self-esteem has never been a problem for me, and if I was to be all mealy-mouth about myself, it would be less than authentic.

    On of the drawbacks to being so damned cocky is that people hesitate to praise me — among them, my wife, who fears that my ego might swell up so big that I couldn’t get it through the front door. In the words of Mac Davis:

    Some folks say that I’m egotistical.
    Hell, I don’t even know what that means.
    I guess it has something
    To do with the way
    I fill out my skin-tight blue jeans.

  31. richard mcenroe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 7:17 pm

    “Being a US Senator is not rock science.”

    Actually, I think that’s the altitude most of our Congressdrones hover at.

  32. richard mcenroe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 3:17 pm

    “Being a US Senator is not rock science.”

    Actually, I think that’s the altitude most of our Congressdrones hover at.

  33. richard mcenroe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 7:18 pm

    “To do with the way
    I fill out my skin-tight blue jeans.”

    Pinto beans. The bag of frozen peas was really uncomfortable.

  34. richard mcenroe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 3:18 pm

    “To do with the way
    I fill out my skin-tight blue jeans.”

    Pinto beans. The bag of frozen peas was really uncomfortable.

  35. Dave C
    September 17th, 2010 @ 8:12 pm

    On of the drawbacks to being so damned cocky is that people hesitate to praise me — among them, my wife, who fears that my ego might swell up so big that I couldn’t get it through the front door.

    Props to your wife for keeping you in check.. That must be a full time job.. 🙂

  36. Dave C
    September 17th, 2010 @ 4:12 pm

    On of the drawbacks to being so damned cocky is that people hesitate to praise me — among them, my wife, who fears that my ego might swell up so big that I couldn’t get it through the front door.

    Props to your wife for keeping you in check.. That must be a full time job.. 🙂

  37. BLBeamer
    September 17th, 2010 @ 8:15 pm

    @ Adobe Walls, “Being a US Senator is not rock science.”

    I would think that a knowledge of geology would be a useful thing when dealing with the thick skulls in the Senate.

    But rocket science? Not so much.

  38. BLBeamer
    September 17th, 2010 @ 4:15 pm

    @ Adobe Walls, “Being a US Senator is not rock science.”

    I would think that a knowledge of geology would be a useful thing when dealing with the thick skulls in the Senate.

    But rocket science? Not so much.

  39. John Doe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 8:52 pm

    The frat boy was a poor country cousin of T. Coddington Van Voorhees, VII. He’s now the President of Superior Bank and Trust, Atlanta, Georgia. And he recently was outted as being gay by the suana/pool boy of Wilhamston Mannor Country Club. And that blonde forsook all other men and is writing novels for a living and lives as a recluse in Winsook, Maine.

  40. John Doe
    September 17th, 2010 @ 4:52 pm

    The frat boy was a poor country cousin of T. Coddington Van Voorhees, VII. He’s now the President of Superior Bank and Trust, Atlanta, Georgia. And he recently was outted as being gay by the suana/pool boy of Wilhamston Mannor Country Club. And that blonde forsook all other men and is writing novels for a living and lives as a recluse in Winsook, Maine.

  41. Can someone tell me why such as story is even necessary? « Da Techguy's Blog
    September 17th, 2010 @ 6:21 pm

    […] Stacy as normal nails it: You see, there are always these guys who’ve got it all lined up. They have every natural […]

  42. Live Free Or Die
    September 17th, 2010 @ 10:40 pm

    “The winner loses, and the loser wins.”
    Political Correctness Run Amok

  43. Live Free Or Die
    September 17th, 2010 @ 6:40 pm

    “The winner loses, and the loser wins.”
    Political Correctness Run Amok

  44. Live Free Or Die
    September 17th, 2010 @ 10:41 pm

    No matter what others may say, RSM is NOT a LOSER.

  45. Live Free Or Die
    September 17th, 2010 @ 6:41 pm

    No matter what others may say, RSM is NOT a LOSER.