A Memory with Allison

It was the night before I was supposed to move away from College Station. I had gone out with the girls to karaoke night at Shadow Canyon. The worst singer ever gets up on stage and begins to sing "American Pie."
The crowd grows tense and silence fills the room as this horrific singer begins to butcher this classic song. The tension grows as the man fumbles on the words and fidgets awkwardly on stage.
And then he hits the chorus, "And they were singin' bye bye Ms. American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry..."
Suddenly, a few members of the audience start to sing along. A muffled humming sound takes over the room. People start to dance a little bit.
The man hits the chorus again. "...Them good ole boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin' this'll be the day that I die. This'll be the day that I die."
By the end of this chorus, people are full out singing along to the song, swaying back and forth in one collective motion, toasting the horrible singer and just having a generally good time.
I remember exchanging a look with Allison and almost starting to cry. We both knew at that point that life was changing. We would no longer live in a world where even bad singers get toasted by the crowd and where having fun is the top priority. College life as we knew it was officially over.
Something about that moment really summed up that part of my life in a way that I could never have put into words.
I often wonder if Allison still remembers that moment also...