62 years in time
7 hours ago
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Glory Days
I've a high school reunion coming up this summer. Big whoop. Most of the people I really liked I stayed in contact with. There are good reasons I didn't stay in touch with most of the others.
Some people loved their high school days. For me it was like being in prison. The world was full of interesting things to do and I was stuck in a boring building. Once time was served, why get together and relive it?
Enough people must feel the same way. Reunions have gotten so small that our class is being combined with the class ahead of ours. That's just enough novelty to get me to go this year. Well, that and I have some very good friends who are definitely going.
It just occurred to me that my last pair of really good slacks went to the bottom of the ocean. As a grown adult I suppose owning some decent clothes is probably expected. That's a shame as in general I live my life in sandals, shorts and T-shirts.
Forget ties. That just ain't gonna happen. I didn't even wear a tie for jury duty, so I'm not going to wear one for my former fellow inmates. I mean classmates.
The saddest people are those who've peaked in high school. Followed closely by those who've peaked in college. Some people do well in a structured environment and then don't know what to do when out of school. The freedom overwhelms them. Some find refuge as a cog in a big company or join the military where they are told what to do.
I wonder if there will be people still trying to impress everyone else with their success? One can only hope we've all outgrown that.
-Sixbears
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Never was big on reunions. Seem heavily imbalanced toward pretense and straining to remember or inflate situational connections that were tenuous at best. Still, I seem to succumb to social pressure or curiosity and go to one every 10 years or so.
ReplyDeleteYou said, "Forget ties. That just ain't gonna happen."
Soul mates! I knew it! Too bad you're big and hairy and well ... architecturally incorrect. ;-)
Ha ha, architecturally incorrect . . .
DeleteA friend of mine worked at a medical clinic. He found an obscure article in a medical journal about ties carrying bacteria. Got them banned at work. Success!
"I wonder if there will be people still trying to impress everyone else with their success? "
ReplyDeleteYup, most who enjoy such things, is my take. I went to my ten-year one. Same bunch of pretentious a$$holes as when I was in HS. I haven't been back. I hadn't talked to any of them before the reunion or since.
I have about the same level of enthusiasm for family reunions. I think it's the 'organizers', the bubbly cheerleader types, that annoy me the most. I don't give a rats patootie about your need for name tags, announcements, speeches or please-stand-up-n-tell-us-about-yourself. If we honestly cared about each other we would have stayed in touch.
I'll make more of an effort to go to a family reunion. They tend to be more interesting people than most of my classmates.
DeleteSince I moved out of state years ago, I enjoyed going back to a couple of reunions. I am too old now, don't care to go, although I do enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteI've read that the "keep up with Joneses" mentality pretty much disappears about the 40 year mark. My 40th was three years ago, and I haven't been to one yet, even though the last few have been held at my neighbor's place.
ReplyDelete