A couple of weeks ago on a trip to New York, Cathy and I decided to add an overnight visit to West Point. We pulled into the parking lot of the historic Thayer Hotel, which is just outside the main gate. The flashback came as we entered the lobby.

The last time Cathy and I were in the Thayer Hotel together, was the spring of my Plebe year at West Point. Cathy came from Ottawa with my folks for a visit over Plebe-Parent Weekend.  We hadn’t seen each other in months.  We were 18 and 19 at the time, and like any young couple, looking for moments of seclusion (Was that said delicately enough?).

West Point had very strict rules about “Public Display of Affection”, or PDA as we called it, and the rules were pretty straight forward – there will be no PDA. Period.  Done.  No hand holding, no arm over her shoulder, no caressing, and definitely no kissing. You get the idea. Cathy was allowed to link her arm through mine while we were walking, but that was about it. You can bet that the rules were enforced. If caught, you would get demerits, room confinement, or have to march punishment tours.

After a dance one night during the weekend, I escorted Cathy back to the Thayer where she and my folks were staying. We entered the lobby and wandered around. There were signs at the stairs and the elevators: “CADETS NOT PERMITTED BEYOND THIS POINT”. Hmmmm that direction’s no good…   We poked around here and there, and then got lucky. We found a large room where the lights were off, and there were lots of couches and stuffed chairs. Maybe a storage room? Maybe a part of the hotel that was closed up for that period of time? It didn’t matter. It was perfect.

It turns out that we were not the only couple that found the room. You could hear whispers (and other sounds) coming from various corners of the room. Cathy and I found our own corner, where we planned to engage in some private displays of affection. We were there for about ten minutes and making progress on our plan, when all of a sudden the door opened, and the lights turned on. In the door stood the Duty Officer of the Day.

Scrambling to my feet, I looked around the room. There were seven or eight other Plebe couples. More importantly, there were several other doors. I grabbed Cathy’s hand and we ran for the closest one. The other couples were doing the same thing. I’m sure we all looked like rats deserting a ship, or cockroaches scattering when a light comes on. 

I don’t know if the Duty Officer pursued any of the other couples, but I do know he didn’t pursue us. We made our way back to the main lobby, where it seemed like the smart decision was to get out of Dodge, and say good night. I did so pretty quickly, and headed back to my own room….

The flashback was as clear as glass in my mind. While checking in at the hotel, I was thinking about it and chuckling to myself. I started telling Cathy why. I didn’t have to say much before she was laughing as well – she also remembered that night. We got our key and proceeded to the elevator. We were heading to “off limits” territory and looking forward to it.