I’m about 5 book reviews behind (yes, I read a lot), but life just happens while you are busy making other plans. I’ve been really busy the last couple of weeks, and the next few weeks will be even busier, but I just have to write about this weekend while the memories are relatively fresh.
I just got back from my 40-year reunion of my high school, and I have a number of mixed emotions from that. I was disappointed that there were a number of people I had hoped to see who did not come this time. I was a bit depressed to see how everyone had aged — with a few notable exceptions.
And I was really glad to see a few folks that I hadn’t seen in 40 years. Melissa, especially. She was one of the few classmates to age quite gracefully. I think that, if anything, she is even more beautiful now than she was when I had that awful crush on her back in my senior year. And still scary-smart. And still one of the most pleasant people I have ever had the pleasure to know. She was one of the three girls that I had a crush on (not at the same time), and the only one of the three that I actually worked up enough nerve to tell about how I felt. She was relatively gentle in disabusing me of any notion that I had any chance at all, but I was still devastated. For about 15 minutes, anyway; I had a pretty clear idea even at that time that it was a really long shot, and looking back now, I can see that she called that one about right. She had been voted the girl Most Likely to Succeed, and I asked her if she thought she had lived up to that. She replied that she had succeeded past her wildest expectations. She’s working as a programmer in linguistics applications, married to a fine artist, and has two daughters who are now grown and pursuing their own careers. She still has that wonderfully infectious smile. I can’t help but be happy for her.
Patty the cheerleader didn’t look like she had aged much, either. I never had a crush on Patty, but I did consider her very attractive back in the day. She still is. Married, widowed, and remarried, she is now doing very well as a Realtor.
Lea and Rosemary (my other two teen-age crushes) could not be there, but I did get to visit with them both at the 30-year reunion, and I’ve heard from others that they are still doing well. Rosemary is a busy family-law attorney, and Lea is making quite a name for herself as an artist. I recall that they were both surprised (and amused) when I told them what a crush I had on them back in high school.
I was really disappointed by the absence of my best friend Roy. We have pretty much drifted apart, but I really expected him to be there, since he still lives only a couple of miles from the old high school.
Zoomer was there. He now has a neurological disorder that has made it difficult for him to walk and use his hands, but he was in good spirits, and appeared to be thoroughly enjoying himself. Funny how time alters perceptions. He greeted me with great enthusiasm and a hug as a long-lost friend when I got there, but I recall that he was basically the class clown, and he seemed to take special delight in tormenting me my senior year. As a joke, he nominated me as a candidate for “Most Handsome”, which got quite a laugh (I had one of the most severe cases of acne of anybody in my graduating class). If there had been a category for “Nerdiest”, I might have won that one.
Then there was Andy. Andy just barely remembered me, but I remembered him quite well. Back in 7th grade, we got into a fist-fight. I won, which is probably why he doesn’t remember. He signed my yearbook anyway.
It was a time of melancholy mixed with celebration. It’s sobering that about 5% of my graduating class (of 438) is now deceased, and more so to realize that in ten years, that will be closer to 20%. It was interesting to drive around the old home town, but I haven’t forgotten why I left, and I have no desire to ever live in the desert again. It’s good to be back home.
Now, back to real life…
