This Monday Heidi & I went to College Station to participate in Aggie Muster. This is a time honored tradition at Texas A&M that happened on April 21st throughout the world for Aggies. It is usually put together by local Alumni Chapters but I think that you can just do it at your home. The one at College Station was held at Reed Arena and was standing room only. I have only been to Muster once before and it was with my dad who drove up from Plainview to West Texas A&M to honor one of his college buddies. I had no idea what I was going to but was moved by the experience. Heidi had never been to Muster so I spent part of the way heading down there to explain what it was. I knew this night was going to be tough but I had no idea what was in store for me.
What is Aggie Muster? It is a time for Aggies to get together and remember there time at Aggieland and then to remember those Aggie who have passed on during that year. They do this in what is called the “Roll Call for the Absent” which is list of those who have passed away that year. There is a candle lit in honor of that individual and friends and families of the Aggie on the roll will answer “here” in there place since they are not there to answer.
This is such a powerful ceremony and it is what some Aggies call the most important tradition since it is the one tradition that EVERYONE will participate in at some point and that it is done all over the world on the same day. What makes it even more meaningful for me it that it is done to honor those who have passed away that year and that that persons name could be called at multiple Muster ceremonies throughout the world. You see the friends and family who go to Muster can add your name to the list of their local Muster ceremony and honor your life by answering “here” for you. This year we went to honor my dad who passed away on December 22, 2007. He loved his university and this was a very important ceremony for him when he was here. The ceremony is powerful as a spectator but multiply that by 1000 when you participate in it. We were fortunate that Rachel lives in College Station so we were able to have Dad’s name called at Reed Arena on campus. The ceremony was wonderful; the speaker was great in talking about the university and Muster and what it means to be an Aggie. Dad was in the Corps and truly lived out what it meant to be an Aggie. Then they dimmed the lights moved on to the Roll Call which starts out with “Softly call the Muster, let the comrade answer ‘Here’…” and they begin. They call your name followed by your class so they started out with class of 2010 and went down. As each name is called a candle is lit to symbolize that while those Aggies are not present in body, they will forever remain with us in Aggie Spirit. This is a very intimate part of the ceremony and all you hear is someone’s name, class and then “here” from people in the audience and then the reader moves on to the next person on the Roll. Some people had one “here” while others had a number of “here” called out. Some people yelled out “here” and some just worked to get the words out of their mouth. The beauty of this ceremony is that people come form all backgrounds and ways of life for one purpose…to honor those gone before us.They worked down the list and it was very interesting to hear people respond to the names being called but I knew that they were getting close. “…Class of 1975. ‘here’; Ross Turner McDow Jr. Class of 1974; ‘here’…” and as the Roll Call continued I stayed right there remembering. “Here” was the hardest word I ever had to say in my life. “Here” was such a simple work that I use many, many times a day. But on that night it took all that I had to say “here” my mind was flooded with memories, stories, & emotions. I had grieved before about the loss of my dad but it was not until Monday night everything came together. This for some reason was more important to me than the funeral. I knew that I was not the only person who was saying ‘here’ that night for Dad but Mom, Heidi, Rachel, Mark, Charlotte, Bobby, Andy & his wife, the twins: Emily & Christy who were all there said ‘here’. Dad’s old aggie buddies at their own local Muster said “here” that random person who might have recognized his name said “here” all in honor of my dad who could not be there to answer the call to Muster.
The night finished with the Ross Volunteers doing a 21 gun salute and the Aggie band playing Silver Taps and a member of the class of 1958 dismissed us until April 21, 2009. We the lights came on and we all headed back to our cars and back to our lives but for a moment we were all joined together to answer the call of Aggie Muster.
