Herndon

And what a day it was! On the cool side, but bright and comfortable - at least for those of us with sweaters on! The cannons went off at 1:50 and the attack of the monument was underway. There were waves of Plebes assailing the obelisk. Over and over the crowd gasped and cheered as it looked like the deed would be quickly done. But repeatedly the pyramid sank and the goal again became just out of reach.

Almost!

Close!

Nearly There!

The Plebe strategies shifted and everywhere in the crowd parents and onlookers offered their versions of how it should properly be done. There was the "everyone for themselves" plan. There was the organized double ring at the base plan. They linked arms facing forward. They linked arms facing backwards. There was even a plan for tying T-shirts in a giant ring around the monument to create hand holds. Would the Plebes ever get up there? Someone in the crowd wondered aloud if Herndon had ever been called on account of darkness? All the near victories and frequent falls Col. Allen attributed to the fact that they had not had advanced engineering yet! One determined red-headed Mid made us tired just watching her unbounded energy and dexterity! About 1 1/2 hours in we began to see some real organization with football and wrestler types locking arms and forming a base. Lard and water showered down on the crowd below.

Team Work!

Hoorah!! DONE!!!

Victory came at 2 hours, 7 minutes and 41 seconds when 5th Co.plebe, Dan Knott, hung by his fingers without any support as the pyramid beneath him collapsed. With one hand he clung to the monument and with the other hand he tore off the duct tape holding the dixie cap under all that lard! Finally, he caught and put up the new cover to crown the monument. Hooray for 5th Co which also became the Color company and clamed the plebe who designed the 05 class crest!

The crowd went wild. The throngs cheered and the jubilant Plebe was swept up the steps of the Chapel. The throng carried him on their shoulders. Mid Dan Knott received his prize from Adm. Ryan--a plaque of an admiral's shoulder board. His assistants were equally proud and deserving of the status of victors. It is never one Plebe who conquers Herndon. Only one takes the plaque, but he did not reach to goal on his own. They all shared in the glory.

And the onlookers began to disperse. The crowd thinned and the Plebes went off to find clean, dry clothing. The bottom of the Herndon monument was a pile of cast off greasy shirts and socks. Sneakers were piled everywhere, not in pairs, but in singletons. There were photo opportunities for everyone to showcase their Plebe on the base of Herndon.

When the cleanup began, a missionary group collected all the sneakers to take back to their headquarters. There the sneakers would be cleaned. Then they would be reassembled into pairs and donated to a worthy cause. This is a great improvement over years of piling them in dumpsters for removal. The shirts and socks were hopelessly stained and torn. The pounds of grease made them unlikely to be willingly laundered. They got collected for trashing. The whole area was back to its former state within a matter of minutes. The grass looked quite the worse for the wear, but the Plebes were jubilant. And then the exodus began. The line of cars to get out Gate 1 extended back for blocks. The streets of Annapolis were crowded with Plebe-No-Mores and families and friends were happily on their way to dinner. It was a glorious day!