I’m Not Going to Any Class Reunion!

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Reunions?  No way! That’s how I felt for… ah, 45 years!  For years I tossed invitations to high school and college reunions into the trash within minutes of reading them. Why?  I’m not sure.  Too busy?  Possibly.  Too far? Well, I live 5 miles from the college where I graduated, and 90 miles from my high school.

It probably had more to do with the fact that I did not feel connected with the bulk of my classmates.

I only attended the high school from which I graduated for two years.  During those two years I was the founder and editor of the school newspaper. I participated in “Speech Festival” competition.  I made a lot of friends through through those activities, as well as my church youth program, but I had just a few close friends. One died in Vietnam while I was in college and I have lost track of the few others. Basically, I have had no contact with any of members of the Class of ‘64 from my high school, since I left.

Anyway, it kind of surprised me that I held onto the invitation I received last July to the 45th reunion of my high school class. It surprised me more when I found myself thinking of attending. Joining Facebook was a likely factor in deciding to attend as I rapidly found myself in touch with a handful of classmates.

So I went. Observations in no particular order:

• A group of classmates went to a lot of trouble to do a very nice job. This included organizing, site location, food arrangements (excellent – not of the “rubber chicken” variety at all), slide show, music, name tags (mine scanned above), invitations, decorations, and a lot more.
• Out of 186 classmates, 10 are known deceased, and 24 are “whereabouts unknown.” That leaves about 150; of those, I estimate that perhaps 50 attended the reunion. I thought that was pretty good – and a lot more than I expected.
• Recognizing people after 45 years was an incredibly difficult and strange experience.   Watching a slide show to which we contributed some pictures from the last 45 years contributed to the strangeness – I’d even say it was surreal.  Yearbook pictures were followed by a series of pictures demonstrating our evolution from virile, naive, youth into wizened seniors within 15 seconds!
• My initial impression that 75% of my class still lives somewhere on Cape Cod was wrong. I graduated from Barnstable High School, the town that includes Hyannis and 6 other villages. It turns out that only 47% of my classmates still live on Cape Cod.
• Some are naturals at networking, socializing, or simply enjoying the company of others. By implication, others find it a bit out of their comfort zone.

I found it kind of fun to meet these “new” people – new in the sense that I knew little more about them other than that they went to the same school I did. In some cases, we shared some common experiences from the past.  I guess it is too soon to determine whether “new” friendships will emerge from the experience.  I hope so.

I found a few funny (or serious) thoughts about reunions from other people.

The future is built on brains, not prom court, as most people can tell you after attending their high school reunion. But you’d never know it by talking to kids or listening to the messages they get from the culture and even from their schools.   - Anna Quindlen

Never go to your high school reunion pregnant or they will think that is all you have done since you graduated.   - Erma Bombeck

In the class, there was a core group of 50 to 60 kids who went through all 12 years together.  This is more like a family reunion than a family reunion.   – Jim Anderson

False friendship, like the ivy, decays and ruins the walls it embraces; but true friendship gives new life and animation to the object it supports.   - Richard Burton

In addition, for your enjoyment….

The 19 best movie quotes for your high school reunion, all from the lips of actors like Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, and Robert Duvall.

A daring personal story of attending a spouse’s high school reunion.

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The SWERJK travelers sent a brief report from Rothenburg Ob der Tauber.  Available hotzones for connecting the iPhone to internet have not been as frequent as hoped.