Walking through the store with my three boys, my middle child 8-year-old Sam asked a question to the group (it is not unusual for Sam to come up with questions out of the blue for group consideration…  a tendency passed on from his father), “What is the craziest thing you ever did in school?”  Without thinking, the truth spilled from my lips, “At the University of Michigan, on the last day of school, we would run naked through campus.”  There you have it.  It was out there.  The truth.  The shocking truth.

Mostly my boys giggled with stunned glee at this new tidbit of information.  My oldest son 11-year-old Jacob however looked mortified.  Trying to comfort him, I added, “It was only a mile.”  This did not help.  I could see the wheels turning in his head, as if to say, “If they do that at Michigan, I’m never going to go there for college.”  I had one more chance, but I had to act quickly.  That’s when I added one more final bit of truth, “Don’t worry, they don’t do that anymore.”  Ah, a look of relief washed over young Jacob’s face.  Indeed, the truth is shocking, but it shall also set you free.

By the way, this evening, I am especially thankful for one thing, the Internet was only in its infancy when I attended college.  #truth