“Old days, good times I remember, fun days, filled with simple pleasures.” (Chicago)
My 40th high school reunion took place October 11th and 12th. I wanted to take a few days to gather my thoughts on what was a fantastic weekend hanging with my fellow Class of 79 pals.
First off, the entire reunion committee did an amazing job in getting the word out on the weekend’s events. For several months they planned this deal down to the smallest detail. Countless e-mails, phone calls, social media postings, in person meetings and more helped set the foundation for all Class of ’79 grads to feel welcome and enjoy meeting up with old friends from way way back. Those committee folks were incredible!
The attending alumni are 58 years old now and this reunion was like a time machine peep show that showed the physical transformations we’ve all gone through. Some of my peers barely changed at all! Most of those who look young as ever were women but there were a few guys who appeared to be barely 25 years old. Either these folks have great genes and took damn good care of themselves or they pulled a Dorian Gray and traded their souls for youthful looks. (I’d bet on the former and not the latter on that one)
Me? Yeah I’m much fatter than my younger days but have no facial wrinkles and retained about 70% of my hair, albeit gray, but it’s still there. I can still lose weight but spouting new locks only happens in fantasies and the offices of hair transplant doctor’s offices.
Away from the superficial minutia, the two days of meeting, eating, drinking and laughs (lots of laughs) were a reminder of how lucky we were to know each other at York and often times for years before arriving to the home of the Dukes. Some of the friends there I’ve known since kindergarten and there was a great bond between many of us men who played in Elmhurst’s Little League Baseball program. We all remembered what teams everyone else played on and those memories go back half a century! Several former ballplayers remembered my pitching to be much better than it really was. So what’s wrong with the hands of time re-shaping history a bit, right?
MY FIRST LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM, THE ORIOLES. MARK FREDRIKSEN IS IN THE FRONT ROW 3RD ONE TO THE RIGHT, KEN ROHN IS IN THE SECOND ROW, 4TH ONE TO THE RIGHT AND THAT’S ME IN THE THIRD ROW, FIRST ONE ON THE LEFT.
Moving forty years past high school, all of us hit various milestones. Marriages, divorces, kids, grandkids, knee and hip replacements and the passing of spouses were all covered. Some alumni made changes in careers and appeared to be happy with their new paths taken. I can tell you firsthand that it’s a blessing to have a ‘second act’ in life and who knows, maybe some of us have a third act to try as well.
On Saturday night, the most touching scene to take in was the photo display of classmates who’ve passed away. After a requested moment of silence, classmate Father John Balluff read each deceased person’s name. There were gasps and stunned faces when the crowd heard of former peers who are no longer with us. Father Balluff then offered a prayer for those departed and to those of us still here. We’re all getting older and this was a sobering reminder.
Throughout the weekend I smiled when seeing all the warm embraces everyone was giving each other. Of course the women are more open with their ‘happy to see you’ hugs and kisses, but we men were doing plenty of hugging it out too with each other. We’re talking about big bold bear hugs between men because after going through forty years of post high school life, simple firm handshakes or fist bumps just don’t seem to be enough.
The best phrase I can come up with for this reunion weekend would be “Joyous Contentment.” So many of the attending alumni glowed with remembering the days of high school and sharing with each other what’s gone on in their lives since graduation in June of 1979. There was plenty to cover!
It’s easy to equate our existence to the four seasons of each year. There are bright warm sunny days, rough dark storms and winters to endure and lots of adventures & misadventures throughout it. What happens in the next ten years is anyone’s guess, but no matter what, those of us who are lucky enough to still be around will once again gather and laugh & remember the days we shared together in high school and beyond.
Until then I’ll wish my fellow former classmates the Irish word for ‘health’, Slainte!
NEXT WEEK’S BLOG: Have You Ever?– A Checklist of Lifetime Achievements.