From Liam Humphreys on November 9, 2009:

Tony Neidenbach found a mid-1980s GW newsletter. This one is rather tame and business like--edited by Dave Balasco--and was not full of barbs, stooge slaps, and paragraphs that were like fur balls coughed up that were characteristic of other editors--Jeff Brown comes to mind! Click here for the newsletter that Tony found.

Here is an article submitted by Keith Conway remembering a game on Randall's Island in New York City.

Here is a quote sumbitted by Christopher Coburn about the exuberance of coming onto the rugby pitch:

"Outside the door I am aware of the darkness and the wind as
deliverance. I breathe as deep as I can, and feel the breeze in my face,
warm and soft as never before. Thoughts of girls, of flowery meadows, of
white clouds suddenly come into my head. My feet begin to move forward
in my boots, I go quicker, I run. Soldiers pass by me, I hear their
voices without understanding. The earth is streaming with forces which
poor into me through the soles in my feet. The night crackles
electrically, the front thunders like a concert of drums. My limbs move
supply, I breathe the air deeply. The night lives, I live. I feel a
hunger greater than comes from the belly alone".

All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque p. 26 1928

After reading this literary quote submitted by Coburn, Mr. Dynes remembered the words of Henry V (as written by Mr. Shakespeare) to his troops just prior to the Battle of Agincourt. The actor Kenneth Branaugh makes these words come alive. OK, battle is not a rugby game but there are parallels and especially his allusion to a band of brothers and older men looking back:

...That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart. His passport shall be made,
And crown for convoy put into his purse.
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian [a Roman feast]
He that outlives this day and comes safe home
Will stand o' tiptoe when this day is named
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall see this day, and live old age,
Wll yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors
And say tomorrow is Saint Crispian.
And then he will strip his sleeve and show his scars.
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in the mouth as household word,
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.
This story shall the good man teach his son,
And Saint Crispian shall ne'er go by.
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered--
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now abed
Shall think themselves accured they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks
That fought with us on Stant Crispin's day.

Memory submitted by Patrick Dynes:

I had a memory of rugby road trips the other day as I was in my car and following an All About Town (AAT) bus and breathing its diesel exhaust. I remember a bus trip to play Norfolk in the early 80s on an AAT bus. Driving one of these busses did not pay well and was a lousy job. A better job than being an AAT bus driver would be a roofer. The next worse job would have been serving time in a state penetentiary. We always went with this bus company because they were cheap. And we received budget service. I remember waking up at a truck stop somewhere between Norfolk and Washington, DC and thinking that we had arrived home because the bus had come to a stop. Not so! The bus had a flat tire and the driver had no funds to repair it so he was passing the hat among his rugby passengers to collect money for a tire repair or replacement. Another time on an AAT trip to play Old Maroon at NYC's Randalls Island the bus driver turned the bus around on the pitch as we arrived for the game. It was our welcome hello to the team we were just about to play. Return trips were always fun with a $2 fine for sleeping payable immediately and Judge O'Grady running his monkey court for minor infractions or character flaws exhibitied during the day. Keyvan would deliver the sentence in Farsi (Persian) and we all laughed heartily!

This story is submitted by Neil Conway (also known by his ancestral name Niall of the Nine Hostages):

The GWRFC toga party in the late 70s rivalled the animal house version. No pictures can be found, perhaps destroyed to protect the guilty. While it rendered most of the participants too hung over to perform the following day, Steve Rukavina scored a couple of tries, even though he couldn't get his "Roman" make-up off. The defeat of Philly Whitemarsh was memorable, as I remember Al Little,  Whitemarsh scrum half, describing Ruk's break at the party back at the club. "I seethis guy break, and I knew right away, we had no one that fast. I yelled to Skipper 'Dive, Skipper, Dive!' He didn't listen. Cost us the game. He never listened. " The shameless rugby house that hosted the toga party was on 30th Street N.W. in Chevy Chase, DC. Toga hosts/roommates were GWRFC's (1) Jim Hunt, engineer, of Utica, N.Y., a center/wing, and formerly of Tufts University RFC, Stanford University, and several clubs in Iowa. (2) Steve Rukavina, legislative asistant/sales, center, of St. Paul, Minnesota, and a former football receiver for the University of St. Thomas, Rhodes Scholar, and member of the Minnesota's collegiate rugby select side. (3) John O'Connor, 2nd Row, of Ballymena, in the North of Ireland, formerly of the London Irish RFC and St. Mary's College, England, and an employee of the British Embassy. (4) John Marcus, television production, wing, of Detroit, Michigan, former rugger for John Carroll University (played in Notre Dame and Penn State upsets), Cleveland Grays and Loyola University of California. (5) Joe Groff, attorney, center, of New Jersey, played as football safety for Tufts University Jumbos, toured England with GWRFC. (6) Neil Conway, law student/auditor, mostly fullback, of Cleveland, Ohio, played for John Carroll University and the Cleveland Grays. Captained a team of American law students in England as an exchange student. (Tackle by appointment only.) Most memorable rugby moment was finally making a drop kick against West Potomac after years of chickening out. Unfortunately, his disbelieving roommates were on tour in England with GWRFC.

Story submitted by Patrick Dynes:

The GW guys participated in the filming of an airplane commercial in the 1980s. This was one of John Marcus' clients. Of course, the airline collapsed long ago--undoubtedly due to the commercial GW players appeard in. Real celebrities were not available so industrial strength individuals like rugby players were used. We worked cheaply! This story is going to be told in more detail by Tommy Hartney. Here are photos of Tommy, BJ Jones, and Phil Turner who can independently document this tale.