Backpacking through Europe in 1994
Introduction 6
The Last Weekend
September
This iconic photo of the Dome Crew was taken on Sunday, September 5, the day after Kyle’s wedding. We were all in the wedding, supporting him in various roles.
Kyle Gilson, Curt Vance, Doug Brunnert, Tim Skrastins, and me, leaning up against the Cadillac Doug had rented to drive to the wedding, and behind that is “Stuck”, Curt’s always reliable 1978 GMC Jimmy. Always reliable, that is, to get stuck when 4-wheeling.
This is the day we all ended one chapter of our lives and began new ones. We had been roommates throughout the formative years of college, lived together, eaten together, played together, stressed out together, pulled all-nighters together, gone on road trips together, and of course, partied together.
A couple hours after this picture was taken, we all went our separate ways and started new lives.
However, not only has the Dome Crew remained friends through the years, we have grown closer as we have gone through the trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows of life together. These are my Brothers.
I will always define the chapters in my life of “Ending College” and “Going Off to Europe” with this photograph.
Later that afternoon, Curt and I climbed into “Stuck” and drove the two hours to Pam and John’s house in Omaha. The next day he would drop me off at the Omaha airport for a one-way flight to Ireland.
When I landed, I had no idea what would happen next.
Holy shit… this is really happening!
A note from 2026
Curt Vance — the healthy, vibrant guy in that photo, the one heading off to the police academy — was one of the friends who turned down my invitation to join me in Europe. He regretted it for years afterward.
He became one of the biggest advocates for me telling this story. Last year he read the early drafts and was always the first to reply: “I love these stories, T-Dog. It takes me right back to college.”
Curt passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack on March 18, 2025, the day after his favorite holiday, St. Patrick’s Day. He was a fearless police officer, a devoted husband, a father of two teenagers, and one of the best men I’ve ever known.
Losing him rocked all of us. It was another painful reminder that we don’t know how much time we get.
I’ve felt like I’ve been living on borrowed time ever since that awful night in August 1993. That feeling has only grown stronger with time.
And now, this story has become my virtual Time Machine — one that I get to take you on, back to 1994.