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The Much Anticipated Dreaded Class Reunion
She was the first to greet me as I approached the banner hung over the room reserved for our group, smaller now, after so many years. Her lovely face, crinkled with many summers of smiling in the sun, was a bit different, but her voice and demeanor were unchanged. She was always meant to cheerfully organize these things. “I got on Facebook” she said, “And had my daughter check to make sure I did it right.” I told her that was smart and that Facebook events are perfect for us older folks. Then, I cringed.
I wandered about, struggling to recognize people. A guy approached and asked if I remembered him. I glanced at his name tag and thought I did. Wasn’t he the quiet one, who was always talking about sic-fi? He was bald now, but he sort of looked familiar. Yes, I did recognize him! Laughing, he told me that he came with his buddy, and was not a classmate of mine after all. Okay, now it feels like high school again.
Looking past him, I saw an old friend, a girl who had competed with me for leads in the plays we did every year. The separation of time melted away, and we smiled at each other, embraced, and quickly caught up with each others lives. More people filtered into the restaurant event room, and as I made the rounds, I noticed that the vast majority were currently divorced. A notable exception was a friend who had lived in my neighborhood; she said that she and her husband had “not coped well with empty-nest syndrome,” so they had adopted two children after raising four. The kids were currently under ten, so they had to leave early.
The smartest boy in class became a physician, and the girl voted most likely to succeed wasn’t able to attend because her daughter-in-law was winning Olympic medals last week. The skinny, shy boy who was really smart and sensitive, stood quietly, even though it looked painful. The girls who were popular were still popular, and got a little more buzzed and a bit louder as the night wore on. The tall, friendly guy who was a natural born salesman, had become…a salesman, and asked after my sister.
Somewhere inside, an irrational part of me pouted that I still towered over most of the boys. By nine o’clock, as conversations of the long-forgotten-and-now-remembered Past began to circulate the room, the peculiar magic of reminiscence began to work its spell and, suddenly, I was in the high school cafeteria again, looking for a place to sit.
I don’t have unhappy memories of high school; quite the opposite, in fact. My classmates were — and remain — good people. I was fortunate to have many friends and was busy with theater, speech and art. I was a good student and my teachers liked me. But for four years, I wasn’t involved in the social sphere of drinking parties and dating. For one thing, I started my senior year at 16, and was emotionally out-of-sync (to put it politely) with my classmates. So, really, it wasn’t my fault. [butterflies flapping in stomach].
By 9:30 PM, the disquietude in my heart directed me to college, er, the door, and I said goodbye. With jangling nerves and emotions I still can’t identify, I drove four hours to my happy little cottage in northern Michigan to recuperate. I added several classmates to my friends list on Facebook, and it remains to be seen if we will connect meaningfully there. A few may join Ricochet, since no one talks to me without hearing about the best place on the web (you’re welcome, Rob Long & Peter Robinson).
Am I the only one who occasionally goes to these things with high hopes that, at last, now that I’m a confident grown-up, I might be comfortable examining my awkward youth?
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My memory had played a trick on me for years-that a certain sweet girl had died in a motorcycle crash the year after we graduated. She was at the reunion, and I managed not to cry out, “I thought you were dead!”
You’re right, Lance; mystery is king. It’s actually fairly difficult to figure out details of who I m on FB. Always leave ’em curious….
A couple of the girls at my tenth had switched name tags to mess with people.
My high school has a long history of state championships, with a well-funded athletic program. Absolutely no one remembers that I was the first to attend a State Forensics competition, lol.
If you don’t show up, the party would only be one-tenth the fun, too! (I speak from Meetup experience Ricochetti)
Do you get the impression that the only people who show up at school reunions are people who reflect on their own lives favorably? Do people only come if they have plenty to be proud of?
We went to our 10th and 20th. 10 was fun (including getting lost driving there with another couple we were best friends with in HS.) But at 20 we sat with a bunch of my close friends from grade school through HS. But they were… just like they were as kids. Apparently never bothered to grow up. It was miserable.
Skipped 30, and this year 40.
We are #neverfacebook.
We live about 1/2 mile from the high school, BTW.
Perfect topic for a post-mortem.
Yes, my son married his high school (and only) sweetheart the weekend before my reunion. Alas, I’m pretty old, but enjoy the luxury of a good esthetician, and have stayed out of the sun most of my life. (Thank you for your kind comment) In addition, I am very careful about photographs, lol.
About 350 in our class. And, certainly, the people who figured they wouldn’t have a good time mostly didn’t show up. But the percentage of classmates who did show up was, as I understand, much higher than normal.
I would have remembered your forensics championship. I only debated a couple years, but it has had a profound effect on my brain to this day. In fact, I reckon that’s a contributing factor to the fact that you’re a Ricochetta today.
BTW, 6’2″, I’m 6’5″. Tall is beautiful! Stand up straight, like your mother told you! (Now, how would I know what your mother told you?)
Over 500 in my graduating class, which is how I went to high school with my husband and we never crossed paths much. Our senior annual gets pulled out occasionally so the kids can laugh at what he wrote. We shared Spanish classes so he tried to write it in Spanish.
We also had one writing class, which came back to haunt him. He was giving son #1 a hard time about a paper I was typing for him, telling him he should be doing it himself. Unfortunately, I was in his class in 1974 the day his mother dropped off a paper that she had spent all morning typing for him.
We also went to middle school together, where I have too many memories. He was a jerk and as of tomorrow he will have spent 30 years paying me back for one year of misery he caused in 1971.
Revenge is sweet.
Indeed. I discovered the joys and advantages of being really tall years later, and would never want to be shorter than I am, but something about high school reunions can transport you backwards. I can only compare it to how Mom can “push your buttons”, and suddenly you’re 14, and you want to pitch a fit. Totally irrational because these folks were nice to me in high school – but somehow hearing a guy say, “Wow, you’re even taller than I remember.” was….weird.
Aaron, many of our class’s attendees had been through changes/challenges since – and welcomed the camaraderie and support, it seemed to me…Not a whole lot of bragging/strutting…Lots of believing/spiritually-connected folks, incidentally, fwiw…
I recommend the alcohol.
Let me go with you next time! I can walk up to people and ask if they remember me ;)
I think so- mine was around 300, and that’s a lot of people to remember. There are mega schools nearby that had graduating classes of over 1,000. One of my friends always attends her class reunions from a little town in the Upper Peninsula – her class was around 100, and she claims that everyone shows up.
Yeah! That’d be tons of fun…
Surprisingly, no. It could be because of our life stage; several of my classmates are new grandparents, and we’ve reached a philosophical, relaxed age when you start to consider the past more than the future.
Agreed -this was my experience too.
I am going to my 53 rd prep school reunion the last week of September. This year it is going to be in Pittsburgh. We move it around and make four day event of it. We have been holding it every three years or so. The class was small only 34. About 18 of us regularly attend. Some have no interest others are dead. We have a good time.
Eww…my 50th is Sept 10th, and I was planning to go at the last minute with two girlfriends. I’ve never attended my high school reunions and your comments are giving me second thoughts. It was a class of 650 kids and I was a nonenity—quiet, good student with just a few friends. My post-high school life has been fun, successful, emotionally rewarding; so why would I want to dredge up a part of my life that I was happy to leave behind?
I bet!
Unless they’re planning on locking the doors, I would go; you’ve got wing-gals to hang with and leave with, if necessary. You might be pleasantly surprised, and I’d love to hear the after-report!
Mine was around 980.
Oh, and the guy voted Best Dressed Boy went to prison for cocaine dealing.
And now you know how he could afford those snazzy threads, lol.
Hahaha! Ironic that he ended up in a baggy orange jumpsuit.
Mine was 92.
I can’t even imagine that!
My high school class had about 170; my college class only had 500. So 980 seems insane…