Auctions; Careful What You Bid For
I when I realized what I had actually purchased at the Theta Chi auction, I knew I could be set for more than a lifetime. On the other hand, it possibly could be the death of me.
I’m not an overly zealous alumnus like some of the guys I know.
Oh sure, I root for the football team and I take in a couple of games every year.
I usually don’t answer those seemingly endless solicitations for money though!
They really bug my ass.
Barely missing my wallet!
I figure, sending 2 boys to my alma mater and paying the full load in addition to helping pay for a grandchild’ s 4 years of video games, coed twister, beer and occasionally yak shaving in a classroom — was enough.
The one thing that I do to help support the academic continuum is try to attend my old fraternity's auction every year.
I joke to my grandchildren, I’ve been going to the auction longer than it took me to graduate.
I’m a year shy of 80 years old — you do the math.
Over the decades, I‘ve been the winning bidder on: gift baskets galore, travel packages, an endless amount of tickets to university sporting events, cooking classes, night courses, dancing lessons, my will drawn up by a local lawyer, even a sky diving chance that I let slide by — unused.
The point is, the frat brothers run around town and secure commitments on these things that are donated by the university and the merchants in the village to offer at the event. The brothers hound grads who have vacation homes in desirable places to donate for a week or 2 stay to the lucky bidder. Lots of work!
All for a good cause.
The money raised goes to a fraternity sponsored scholarship to a couple of worthy students every year. Usually there’s enough money raised to help pay all tuition, room, board and books for the duration (provided the “duration” is a consecutive 4 years).
Typically, there’s even a bit left over for the charitable maintenance of the Theta Chi house.
