It was not what I expected. It was surprising, gratifying and sobering. It was a reunion of sorts – my high school graduating classmates of ’65 celebrating turning 75 years of age. OUCH!
The two evening get-togethers were greatly aided by the committee’s foresight in having our name tags not only sport our maiden names along with our married ones, but our high school pictures too. Below is my senior year picture and my husband’s.
The vibe felt different this time than past reunions – less
one-upmanship – less competitive.
I didn’t hear chatter of our kids’ “great jobs” and successful lives. I didn’t see classmates whipping out pictures of grandkids, forcing those in close proximity to ooh and ah incessantly. Ditto for luxurious vacation homes and trips to Italy. Were people eyeing how others dressed and who had the latest designer bag? Didn’t appear so to me.
What did we focus on?
Personal reminisces and observations:
Remember when your parents caught us….
I loved coming to your house because….
My favorite party was….
Omg I look in the mirror and I see my mom…..
I’ve turned into my dad….
Curfews, 3.2 beer, make-out parties with Johnny Mathis’ records playing in the background, and crushes
The guys were more emotional than the ladies. A friend who my husband grew up with put his arm around me, choked up, and thanked me profusely for taking such good care of my husband (his long-time friend).
Lots of hugging too – especially among the guys.
I looked around the room.
This was My Tribe.
It felt like I was in a room where everyone had my back.
It felt comfortable.
People picked up, as if it was just yesterday that they had been eating lunch together in our high school’s oversized cafeteria – not decades.
We were a class who lived to dance and loved to dance.
Unlike past reunions, there was no DJ that night. No bogeying to TheMamas and Papas and The Beatles.
The reunion committee had decided people would rather catch-up than dance
And many weren’t in good enough shape physically to twist and turn and shimmy.
The only true shock I emanated from a conversation with a high school acquaintance who I considered both intimidating and a “Brainiac”. So taken by her remembrance of a presentation I did in American History, I actually recorded her memory to send to my adult kids to show I wasn’t just a superficial teen-age girl – shallow and silly!!
Here is a condensed version of what she said: I am a clinical psychologist who has given 100’s of IQ tests and know what academic and intellectual ability is. Iris is charming and flirtatious, but what many people didn’t know about her is that she is also incredibly smart, articulate and well organized. I have never forgotten the speech she gave on packing the Supreme Court. It was the clearest speech I’ve ever heard anyone in our high school give and very interesting…
It was a sobering thought to realize that our next high school reunion – no matter when it will be – will have more of us listed in The Memory Book and less of us present at the reunion.
That’s what made the two evenings so poignant and so meaningful. As one classmate said, “It was just good to see so many continually smiling faces.”
The Class of ‘65
Woodward High School
Cincinnati, Ohio
Oh, the memories that bind us to each other.
Oh, the shared experiences that made us who we are.
As my husband and I walked to our rental car under a canopy of trees just beginning their fall transformation, I had but one thought: We are a lucky, lucky bunch.
And we know it.
Keep Preserving Your Bloom,
Iris Ruth Pastor
PS: What’s your high school reunion experience?
