From TexAgs Sponsor, Hudson Oaks:

Aggies Across the Map

We love the stories we hear from our Hudson Oaks residents about running into fellow Aggies in the most unexpected corners of the world.

So now we're curious, Ags:
Where's the wildest or most random place you've met another Aggie?

JULIET COCKRELL
Executive Director
jcockrell@nemanagement.net
3345 University Dr. E
Bryan, TX 77802
979.450.7114
LiveHudsonOaks.com

One time owner of The Dunvegan hotel/restaurant/bar in St Andrews, Scotland was an Aggie. His wife recognized my Aggie ring and had him come out to meet us. After she played the Aggie War Hymn and Spirit of Aggieland on the sound system.

Ran into the Traveling Aggies at a hotel I was staying at in Dublin, Ireland.

Auguas Lindas in Brazil and Jerusalem

Quark's Bar, Deep Space 9.

We had several rounds of synthehol before getting into the blood wine. Won the SEC championship game in the holosuite.

Blackjack table in Quito Equador

In a Hotel Restaurant in Qatar . I was working for an oil company and have living there at the time. I notice his Aggie ring an had lunch together. Aggie rings start a lot of conversations no mater were you are.

What prize do I win?

Walking down the street in Abu Dhabi in 1994, I noticed a lighting store with beautiful chandeliers. I walked inside just to have a look. As I made my way around the store, I passed by the owner's office. He was sitting at his desk andover his shoulder was his A&M diploma on the wall. I said "Gig 'Em" and when he looked up, he said "Gig 'Em to you!". We had a coffee and talked for about an hour like we were old friends. Good times.

Walking around Bratislava, wearing an A&M hat, random eastern European guy stopped me to talk about his time in Aggieland. I had to catch a train so didn't have time to talk much, but probably would have been an interesting conversation to have had

Was on a European vacation and ran into an Aggie in Transylvania while walking up to see Peles Castle. Spoke for a few minutes, he had on an Aggie hat and saw my ring as I walked by.

Kimble county jail . It really was a fun story… would do it again

Small little bar/cafe in Bayeux (I think), France. We were walking there to meet our Normandy Beach tour when I saw a group of younger sounding guys, close cropped hair, discussing who would go on the tour as their group was too big. I commented they "looked/sounded like a group of Corp Fish"... They were. Turns out a few of them were Rudder's Rangers and the older cafe owner excitedly brought out his old, French speaking father who had been living there during the liberation. He translated a bunch of stories for us, very cool.

October, 2001, we were in New York and had gone down to Ground Zero. Still in the process of early clean up and I went to step up on a planter to see over the hurricane fencing. A man reached down to help me up and we both noticed our Aggie rings...

I was a cook on a ship in Antarctica.

At the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire.

Sintra, Portugal at a little shop getting pastel de nata. He was bouncing around w/4 buddies, wife & I on vacation. I wear an A&M hat everywhere.

Sunlight Peak in the Chicago Basin Weminuche Wilderness Colorado

backpacking Europe in 2002, was taking a tour of St Peters Basilica in Italy and ran into a group of Aggies at the top of the dome who were studying abroad.

North Sentinel Island. Ran into a native with an Aggie ring and Mark Farris jersey.

International space station playing NCAA 26

I was on an MSC fleet refueling oiler refueling a US Navy minesweeper in the Arabian Sea when I recognized the voice on the radio as an Aggie buddy of mine who was temporarily assigned to that ship while his ship was in drydock. Completely random and chance encounter.

Summer 2013, Paris, France. Across from pont de l'Alma Tunnel (watching Tour de France). Another Aggie noticed my Aggie Ring and said just this…."Johnny ****ing Football!!"

MyAgBride thought it hilarious.

In the 90's, I was an expatriate to the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago. On one of my American Airlines flights to the States, I had missed a connection and was put on a Delta flight instead. During the flight, I noticed an Aggie ring on one of the flight attendants hand and mentioned it. She turned around and, to my surprise, she was an old acquaintance from my days at Aggieland! We exchanged contact information and kept in touch. She wrote my name and number on a note pad she carried while working.

About a month later she called with a crazy story. She had been working a flight out of Salt lake City and the pilot noticed her ring and asked if that was an Aggie ring. He mentioned that he had a close friend from his days in the Air Force who was an Aggie and he learned to recognize the ring. He was shocked when he looked down on her note pad and saw my name! They became acquainted and discussed how they both knew me. She provided my contact information to him and later I received an email from him saying that he had left the service and was flying for Delta and living in Salt Lake city with his family. We also kept in touch after that. Two friends of mine from different chapters in life had met all because of the Aggie Ring!

I was living in Israel and met an Aggie that was attached to the US Embassy. He arranged a trip to bring the corp of cadets to my place of business. It was a great experience to see so many Aggies in a foreign country.

Bora Bora

Baghdad, Iraq Muster 2005.

Tangier, Morocco

I drove to the Strait of Gibraltar from Sevilla, Spain in 2007. I boarded a random small bus in Tangier and ran into some people I worked with in high school that happened to be Aggies.

We ended up traveling Morocco together and had a great time.

Summer of 2007, walking down a dirt road in the El Valle mountains in Panama. One of the guys in our group had an A&M shirt on. A car drives past us, stops, backs up to us with the window rolled down, and an old guys sticks his out to say "howdy".

I was wearing a hoodie in Germany at Neuschwanstein Castle. There is a long trail you have to walk or you can take a carriage. Across the trail, I hear a loud Gig em Aggies! And a bunch of Europeans in a carriage waving and giving me a thumbs up lol

Hunting guide in New Zealand

Sidewalk cafe in Venice having my apertivo. He saw my ring and came to say howdy.

On a business trip in downtown Denver in 2006 and walk into a huge packed Starbucks with a few of my coworkers . Place my order and walk over to a window to wait and then get a tap on my shoulder…a beautiful blonde steps up and asks if I went to A&M. Said yes, and she flashes her ring, and another proof of the Aggie spirit that travels regardless where you are occurs. Coworkers were tceh and Okie light, and couldn't believe it. I think that story got repeated dozens of times thru the years after. Aggie Spirit is real

In a bar in Canmore, Canada.

In the Bangkok airport in 1986. A group of college students asked me to take their picture. When I lifted the camera they spied my ring. Of course, they were Ags. One of them was even dating my boss's executive assistant's son who later became a friend and coworker.

cop car

At the Red Frog Resort on the Island of Boca del Torres. It turns out he owned the resort.