weeks. Very cool - 4 of us reconnected during the final four (not in Minneapolis - we're from the early '80s, the last great UVa hoops period, so we all nervously sequestered ourselves in our homes so we could engage in our individual game time rituals free from prying eyes). We were dorm mates first year, housemates second year, and two of the three of us were housemates our last 2 years. Two of us from Long Island, 2 from Virginia, and now we have one in Richmond, one in Birmingham, one in Boston, and me in NY (Westchester).

Richmond and I are probably pretty simpatico politically. We were both Reagan repubs and I think he, like me, feels that the repub party has moved away from him. Birmingham is what you might expect of Birmingham - while he hasn't mentioned Trump, he is clearly a Birmingham style repub. Boston is stereotypical Boston - Noam Chomsky type liberal. I've had some sharp email debates with him over the years. All of us are politicos to a degree - even back in the day we used to spout off about it all the time.

I think the message of your post will be important when we meet up two weeks from Friday. I doubt we'll avoid politics, so the question is, can we disagree as buddies as we always did in our late teens and early twenties, or are we leaving Cville as enemies? Ironically, Boston has stayed in closer touch with Birmingham than either Richmond or I have, so I'm hopeful.

Bigger point of your story - if we get to the point where we can't even associate with parents we disagree with, how far away can civil war be?