Swiss Flying Longhorns Reunite in Galveston

By Dorothy Harrigan in Travel, TXEX on November 6, 2012 at 5:10 pm | 1 Comment

For several Flying Longhorns, the best souvenirs of their recent trip to Switzerland turned out to be friendships.

During the “Discover Switzerland” Flying Longhorns tour this past summer, many of the travelers were struck by how compatible everyone was. Spirits never sagged and cliques never formed.

“We all got to know each other well by sitting with different travelers at meals and spending a lot of time with each other on the trains,” says Kim Borron, Texas Exes vice president of administration. As Dean Callender, BS ’56, MA ’58, Life Member, puts it, “there were no turkeys in the group.”

In fact, the trip was so turkey-free that Dean and his wife, Marilyn, BA ’58, Life Member, decided to organize a reunion for the group in Galveston over the weekend of Oct. 27th. Twelve of the original 28 packed their bags and headed to the coast for two days of sightseeing, laughter-filled meals, and storytelling. The Swiss Flying Longhorns reminisced about Switzerland’s beautiful blue lakes, clean cities and towns, and majestic (if sometimes precipitous and scary) mountain views. Jill Davol created a photo book of the trip and presented it to the Callenders as a hosting gift.

“I think the trip was just comprised of very loving people who just happened to delight in being Longhorns,” says Carol Bray, BA ’65, Life Member. She says that sometimes chemistry just takes over.

“You can’t force it. We just happened to be blessed with 28 really sharp, funny, folks with lots of life skills.”

Photo by Jill Davol.

Tags: Carol Bray, Dean Callender, flying longhorns, Jill Davol, Kim Borron, Marilyn Callender, travel