Monday, August 11, 2008

Home Again

after a 50th high school reunion for a school I went to from first to fourth grades. Amazed that anyone still remembered me, some I hadn't seen since 1950 when I moved from the small mining town of Eureka, Utah to a very large Los Angeles, Calif. with my mom. There were 12 students in Eureka's graduating class so they invited anyone who had ever attended the school since first grade. I recognized many.

In comparison five years ago I attended my 45th high school reunion in California which had 330 graduates in 1958, and I only knew a few students who were the student body leaders and more popular ones (not me).

10 comments:

  1. How wonderful for you to be able to attend a class reunion. I tend to avoid mine. My graduating class was just shy of 1000....Robert and I went to the 5 year reunion and everyone acted the same as they did in HS and that was too much for me. Since then, the reunions' attendance have gotten smaller and more manageable and more of my friends. So maybe next time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very interesting poem with lots of poignant insights. I've not gone to our reunions either, just like Susan. The reunion committee just sent me a 60th birthday reunion invitation for next year but I don't know what I'll do now that I'm back in Hawaii. I'll see...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I went to my 40th HS reunion last Oct. I live in a different state now, but my 'bestest' friend[and the only one from HS that I am still in touch with] was on the planning committee. So I said I would go. I probably won't go to another one.
    I could definitely relate to the reminiscing of your entry. Welcome home.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice that you went to your reunion, I have never been to one of mine. Are things better today? Medical advances yes..but so many other things are worse...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm going to have to chew on this one for a while before I comment. There's a lot to digest. I want to give it time. It is odd how many of us have such strong feelings about high school. Good, or ill... the memories of those experiences do linger...

    Anyway, I'm going to get back to you on this post, Lin. I want to give it the time and energy I think it deserves.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Lin, good to have you back. Hope you enjoyed it all. I missed you while you were gone. The poem is great, reminds me of the times and things that were happening then. Good post.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey Lin, me again. You are welcome to use the links and my info.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I was in charge of our 40th last year. Our class graduated 56, which was a record large class at that time. Four of us married within our graduating class and several married a year older or younger, so we know everyone. It was fun to see a few that hadn't been back for a while.

    Of course most of us haven't changed at all.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, I do like to drive with books on tape, but I've found that some work better than others. I love Janet Evanovich on tape, but not all authors translate verbally as well.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Okay... I think I'm ready to talk about this now. I agree with much of your poem, Lin. I enjoyed the stroll through the hallowed halls of San Gabriel High School as I read it. I do, however, take slight exception to small sections of it... I think.

    The body shapes, hair and facial structures change...some radically. But, I noticed that the high school personalities seem to stay pretty much the same. The cocky ones are still cocky. The confident ones are still confident, and the insecure ones are still insecure. What I find particularly odd about this is that in the adult world... the confident ones may have fallen flat on their toothy grins. And the quiet ones may have gone on to succeed in careers and marriages and be full of positive thoughts about themselves away from the old high school gang. But, somehow, and for whatever reason, we tend to revert to whoever we were as juniors and seniors when we are gathered together at a re-union.

    It is just strange that high school can have such a hold on so many for so long. I've known men who were football or basket ball stars who still talk about high school as though they were the best years of their lives. Something is terribly wrong with this picture.

    I don't think aging outdates us. Maybe our clothing and choice of music become outdated for many, if not most of us, true. And there are those few faded prom queens who can't give up their glory days and still try to look like their graduation picture, also true.
    But, most of the classmates I'm aware of ... and most of the friends and associates I have, are more in tune with the world around them now than they ever were at seventeen. Discarded? No. Outdated? I don't think so. More keenly in sinc with issues of the day and more important to the conquering of societies ills than ever before in our lives.

    Now, a word about the former student body president that "came out" and tossed his wife and children aside like old textbooks. That is something I simply can't believe is true. I remember what it's like to get out from under the pressure of studying boring and difficult textbooks. It was a joyful thing to throw them in the air, kick them aside, and shout "never again!!" But, I've seen many men who have felt the need to lay their families aside to take up a life that they knew would be hard and lonely. It's gut wrenching for them. Few of these men make that choice easily. Few of them are ever really happy and content with the choice. A good number of them lead miserable lives. That's been my experience and observation in working with the gay community while directing the HIV/AIDS program for the American Red Cross.

    The last two stanza's fill me with nostalgia and with sadness. We as a community of human beings have taken some giant strides towards obliterating tenderness and patriotism in our young people. That is a tragedy. But, I also think that as a general rule, people today are much as we have always been. When we read history books, scripture, words of the ancient philosophers, we see that mankind has always had great good, and great evil, scattered among it's members. I don't think we are a whole lot worse now... I think we are more readily AWARE of the mean spiritedness, and the willingness to hurt others than we used to be... but, Rome fell... the flood waters carried all but Noah and his family away...

    Wickedness has prevailed before our time.

    Don't think I didn't love this post... I truly did!!! But, it is just one of those times when your writing made me THINK, as it so often does. And once the wheels start turning... you know how I get. You are a miracle, my friend. You have unbelievable depth of character and depth of thought!

    ReplyDelete