I'd have never gotten that phonetic spelling right on the SATs, let alone last weekend at my 25th High School Reunion.
Merriam-Webster says that reunion is the reuniting [Note to MW: Don't define a word with the word.] of persons after separation. Practical experience might lead one to add "every five years," but since there was no 5th; and I missed the 10th and 20th (was there a 15th??), this one was a whopper.
High School puts alot on a kid. One minute you're an awkward goofball with a rebelling body that's doing things you can't understand and 25 years later you're a bald awkward goofball with a rebelling body that dosen't do the things it used to. And the cliques that used to stake out their areas in the cafe--broken up by a quarter century, marriage(s), kids, 9/11, the iPod and hybrid cars--now stake out their areas in a half-banquet hall, having snapped back with remarkable resilience.
I observed things:
- "You haven't changed a BIT," is more likely to be taken as a compliment by a woman than a man. Especially if you're a man walkign around with MY yearbook photo on your lapel.
- "Boy, you sure have changed." is more likely to be taken as a compliment by the man than the woman.
- When several people come up to you and a long lost friend and say, "Well, you two guys must certainly have kept in touch," it brings a pang of regret and the realization of an opportunity.
- Dexy's Midnight Runners? Men at Work? Ab-so-freaking-lutely!
- The nattering skinny kid that everyone used to avoid has grown into a nattering older guy that YOU still avoid, but geez, the girls sure are talking to him tonight...
- You CAN, with certain people, pick up where you left off.
- Never, EVER, cover up your name and say: "Remember me!?!"
- The parents of teenage kids use the memories of exploits of yore not for kicks so much as for prevention.
- Rare are the non-alum spouses that enjoy themselves.
- Where did the time go?
You remember. You enjoy. You laugh. You marvel at the couple who made it from Senior year, through marriage, relocation to Florida, though cancer and who are dancing together with a joy that evokes the King and Queen of the prom and brings renewal of spirit and a twinge of shame for what you take for granted.
At the end, you make the same promise that you made 25 years ago. Only now, instead of saying it inside a yearbook cover, it's by Classmates or business card. And if you're lucky, you come away with a few treasures that make it easier to read all the "I'm so glad we finally got to know each other senior year" inscriptions in your yearbook Sunday morning.
Where did the time, go, Dan? Let's meet those expectations this time. That way I can I join the carpool!