One thing I love about VMI is the culture of unity. When you enroll, you’re not just another warm body, you’re family—for life. And this doesn’t stop with the students; it extends to the families. I will be forever grateful for the parents of upperclassmen that took Thomas and I under their wings and helped us navigate the ratline. And the only thing they ask in return: pay it forward—help a rat family in future years. Definitely! But we had the opportunity and privilege to do something this year.
The last week of November was Thanksgiving Furlough at VMI, which meant Tommy got to come home—the first time in three months! We’re about a three-hour drive from Post (campus), but others are much further and realistically have to fly to get home. The fact that there’s really not a major airport nearby and rats are not allowed to have a car make this task even harder.
A while back, Tommy mentioned that one of his BRs (Brother Rats) had this exact problem. He’s from out-of-state and would be flying home the day after Thanksgiving Furlough began. The airport he’d be departing from is only half an hour away from us. The solution to Thomas and I was a no-brainer: Tommy’s BR will come home with us on Saturday, spend the night, then we’ll take him to the airport Sunday.
I was able to get in touch with this Rat’s mom (so she won’t worry) and got his return flight info for his return to school. We’ve also made similar arrangements for Winter Furlough. Of course, she thanked us. If I’m being honest, it really doesn’t feel like we’re doing much, I mean, we’re having to go to VMI to pick up/drop off Tommy, anyway. But that’s what VMI families do. We help each other when and how we can, no matter if it’s big or small.
After dropping both rats back at Post so they can finish the semester, it was time to get into the Christmas spirit. Last week, I was browsing our streaming platforms to see what holiday specials are available. One was an old movie from the 1960’s called The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t.
I think I was about ten when I first saw it. I’ll admit, it’s a little cheesy. The movie was shot without live sound, so mouths and vocals don’t always line up, making it appear to be dubbed at times. But it’s still a cute movie, and I hadn’t seen it in years, so I decided to watch it.
The basic premise is there’s a rich man who wants to stop Christmas, so he buys up all the land in the North Pole and charges the Clauses an exorbitant amount for rent. The money is coming due, and if Santa can’t pay by midnight Christmas Eve (technically the beginning of Christmas Day), all the toys for the children will be taken as payment. And of course, if that happens, the children will have no presents for Christmas.
Santa and a friend try their best to raise the money, but in the end, it all falls through, and two hours before the rent is due, they have exactly one dollar. All is lost. Christmas won’t happen. Santa and his friend are sitting in the town square defeated.
Then a little boy walks by and learns of their predicament. He yells out for all the children to get out of bed and bring their pennies—Santa needs the money to pay the rent! Every girl and boy flips back the covers, climbs out of bed, and grabs their piggy bank. There’s a scene where the cobblestoned street is filled with children in their night dresses (remember, this is an old movie) going to Santa to have him all their hard-earned money. You can guess what happens from there.
As I said, I’ve seen this movie before—several times, in fact. But it wasn’t until I watched it last week that something clicked. Those children were giving up everything to help someone else. And no one person (or even a few) could do it alone. They all had to contribute and sacrifice to make it happen. When I watched it last week, I didn’t see children walking down the street, I saw (VMI) Rats.
Wait, what? Let me fast forward for a moment. In early 2026 (likely February or March), the VMI Rats will “breakout.” This is when a Rat becomes a 4th Class Cadet. But this privilege isn’t given—it must be earned (everything at VMI is earned). And the Rats do this by coming together as one unit. The wants and needs of the individual are gone, and the focus lies squarely on the group as a whole.
That’s exactly what the kids in the movie did—they sacrificed their own want/need for money and gave it to Santa so in the end, everyone could benefit (Santa gets to keep the toys and deliver them to the children of the world).
Like I said, one thing I love about VMI is their culture of unity. Whether it’s giving a ride to someone, buying them a meal, or just taking the time to listen to a concern and being a sounding board for the solution, it’s all something beyond the self. It says, “Hey, I care. It doesn’t matter if I’m inconvenienced or not—I’m gonna help you. I’m gonna give my pennies to Santa Claus.”
We should all follow their example.
‘Til next time!