I've never been to any of my reunions. I always get invited. I thinks its because I know some of the organizers and see them around town from time-to-time and also I'm still in the same town, same ZIP code, heck, same phone number for 28 years. I also work at the local newspaper, so I see many of them mentioned in the paper for births, deaths, marriages, divorces, jobs, etc.... so I'm still current on a lot of them and occasionally talk to several. However, really, the only one I talk to on a regular basis is my wife. She was a year behind me in high school and we started dating right after I graduated... 34 years ago. Most of the folks have moved away, we've lost touch and I now have more friends from work, TBN, and extended family. Every few years I'll bump into someone at a store, airport, sporting event and I always recognize them and introduce myself and the first thing they say is "How did you recognize me?" I tell them their face looks the same.... their expression, eyes, their mother or father standing there with them... whatever triggered my recognition of them. And then they stare at me not knowing what to say because I am unrecognizable from my high school days. So, I ease their discomfort with a joke about the 90 pounds I've gained and the baldness and I wouldn't expect to be recognized and that lets them off the hook for the awkwardness. However, the thing that rubs me the most is they almost always make the comment "So you're still here?" because they are usually just in town for a vist. Like why shouldn't I still be here? My wife's family (and thus my family) lives here. My wife and I have good jobs here. We have good private schools here. And we are centrally located to lots of larger cities, good transportation, cheap taxes and low cost of living. They sometimes make it sound like I'm less than them because I stayed here. I doubt they mean it to feel that way, but that's the way it comes out. Anyhow, about every 5 years I get a letter regarding the next reunion, a list of folks they have contacted and a list of folks they are trying to contact. We had a class of about 250. About half are missing. I know the whereabout of about 90% of those that are considered missing. I also know that those folks don't want to be contacted by the reunion organizers for various reasons, mostly they disliked them.
4 years ago they had the 30th reunion. I did not attend, but one of the guys that came in from out of state gave me a call and asked if we could meet at a local bar with a couple guys that we grew up with, but didn't go to high school with. It was a good time and we talked for about 4 hours. He laughed because a few people came to the reunion to show off how well they have done. One of them was his sister who was also in our class. She married a rich guy and spent the night showing off her new boobs to everyone. I mean litterally, she showed her new boods to everybody... Yikes! Her whole goal in life was to marry a rich guy. Mission accomplished!
So, yes, I would like to reunite with a few folks just to see how they are doing and the experiences they have had. The majority of them are just normal folks that I can get along with. However, there are always a few that try to make people uncomfortable or small. That's why I don't go. I don't need the aggravation.
That being said, I am surprised how many folks here have said they hated high school. I hated grade school but loved high school. I was very comfortable there. Lots of different people, views, experiences, etc... in a school of about 900. You could always find a group to fit in with. Freaks, stoners, jocks, book worms... I got along with all of them. Today, I get along with almost everyone at work, my neighborhood, TBN folks.... I think it was a good experience that affected me positively. So much so, that I sent both of my children to the same high school!
