Hunter’s Stories

“The Pass Back” by JASON reif

I have many fond memories of my friendship with Hunter, but there’s one memory that’s sticks out and that I will always laugh about. If you know Hunter, you know he wasn’t very organized—for example, I would say he lost his student ID every 1 to 2 weeks, and I’m told by his Mom that he was billed for five replacement IDs freshman year! We lived on the same hall and were together a lot, going to meals, walking to class, and the like. So whenever Hunter could not find his ID he always used my ID to get into our dorm building or the dining hall. Our ID photos looked reasonably alike but what made it kind of problematic was that we were usually trying to enter the same building together. Using the same ID.

That’s when the “Pass Back” was born.

Hunter and I would walk into the dorm and I would flash my ID at the security guard and keep walking. Hunter would check his pockets more and more frantically and say “Hey Jason, I think you have my ID card!” Then I would stop and go through the motions of checking my own pockets and exclaim “Hunter, you’re right, here’s your ID!”

Surprisingly, this worked all too well.

We developed such expertise with the ”Pass Back” that it became our game and we used it almost everywhere we went—we got into every single dorm, the cafeteria and even the bars! We thought it was the funniest thing and we eventually wanted to see how little effort we could use to pull it off. I would walk in, show my ID, and Hunter would say “Hey Jason do you have my ID?” and right under the security guard’s nose I would hand Hunter the same ID I had just used.

This method worked as well! Except the one time it didn’t…

That particular time Hunter had lost both his ID and his driver’s license, which could sometimes be used as a substitute for the ID. We tried doing the ”Pass Back” but the security guard seemed to be on to us, and recommended that if Hunter had lost his student ID she would let him sign in with his Driver’s license. Which of course Hunter did not have, so under the table I slid him my own Driver’s license. Hunter then presented it to the security guard. She obviously knows what we’re doing, because she looks right at me and says “Mr. Reif, these are both your IDs”. Never one to admit defeat, Hunter protested “But I’m also named Jason Reif!”

We didn’t get into the building until that security guard’s shift was over. As small and insignificant as the ”Pass Back” was, it was very typical of the way Hunter approached life. He could turn almost anything into a game or contest and he loved to see the funny side of things. As cliche as it sounds, he liked to make every day an adventure and he liked to perform. If you were doing things with him, he wanted you to have fun. The ”Pass Back” turned the most routine part of my college day into something hilarious.

Hunter was one of the best friends I will ever have. A huge part of my life is now missing but I’m so grateful I got to spend as much time as I did with him.

- Jason Reif