Those Were The Days

Ah! The long-awaited reunion post. I'm sure you've all been on pins & needles in anticipation.

Let me start off by saying that, since I began this blog, I've been reluctant to tell my age. I've danced around it a bit, but I've avoided specifics. I think one of the reasons has been that, since I don't know many of you personally, I've thought that, if you knew my age, you'd have pre-conceived ideas of who I am and what I'm like, based on my age. I mean, when I was younger, I always thought that this age is OLD. But, hell, in order to maybe appreciate my reunion stories, I'm going for it.

I recently attended my 40th class reunion. Yes, we were the Class of '69 at Edison HS in Edison, NJ. There were about 514 in our graduating class, and about 160 of us were at the reunion. I also attended my 20th reunion and my, how we've changed and I don't just mean physically. I didn't enjoy my 20th. All the conversations seemed to be about what one did for a living, how much money you had, the size of your home, the car you drove, etc, everyone trying to outdo each other. I remember one woman in particular who brought pictures of her home, room by room, her swimming pool, etc.

But, as I said, times have changed. The conversations were more about "so, how's life treated you?" There were happy stories of kids and grandkids and sad stories of loss and illness. Of course, there was a ton of reminiscing. And the class clowns were still clownish and those who were voted "Best Dressed" were still stylish, the "Best-Looking" guy was still looking good and even the Class Couple were still together (the hubby in that pair was "Mr. Best-Looking." In fact, there were 7 couples of high school sweethearts still married. To each other. I found that amazing. There were some people who I recognized right away, some who looked familiar, but couldn't recollect their name and some people I didn't know at all.

The party ended at 11PM, but continued in the Hospitality Suite until God knows when. I just know I went back to our room around 2:30AM, but stayed up another 2 hours, laughing and talking with my roomies. In the morning, we had a private room, so we could breakfast and spend a little more time together. It was as if no one wanted to leave, lingering over cups of coffee until the wait staff had removed the linens from the tables and we were forced to vacate the room. There were lots of hugs and kisses and vows that we have to get together soon. I know how often I've said that to people, but somehow, it never happens. But I think, this time, we all meant it. We actually set a date.