Skip to main content

Flashback

Why am I so excited about my 20th high school reunion??

I hated high school.

But as the weekend approaches, I find myself giddy with anticipation. My mom already warned me -- don't get your expectations up, thinking it's going to be something it's not. Actually, I'm not sure what I think it will be.

I should've lost another 10-15 lbs. in preparation. I wish my hair was longer. I wish Tim and Henry were going with me. But all in all, I'm happy with where I am in my life. I'm fairly stable and confident, I have a good job, and mostly, I'm stoked to see these people I haven't seen in two decades. Many of my closest friends from high school didn't come to the 10 year reunion, but most are planning to this time around. In fact, my fellow bass clarinetist Kim and I have been organizing some pre-reunion get togethers on Thursday and Friday nights. Drinks, dinners, live music, chitchat, mirth and merriment. Don't you wish YOU could be there too?

I'm hoping to catch up with the former right-wing religious friend who's seen the light and is now a hippie liberal chick. And with the funny, smart boy who became a preacher. And with the motorcycle-riding new mama who I think just got married a week ago. And with all the folks who used to be the preppies or the stoners, the band geeks or the theatre nerds, the athletes, the cheerleaders, the magna cum laudes...all the people who formed the fabric of my world from kindergarten through 12th grade.

I think what I'll notice most this weekend is that no matter what we were back then, now we're all just people trying to make it in the world, working, raising a family, volunteering for our passions, making our mark. Most of us probably spent years trying to escape what we were in high school, to get away from our labels and our awkwardness and our teenage angst. For the next few days, for some crazy reason, we'll try to get it all back, reminiscing and listening to hair bands and catching up on what we've done since we said goodbye to our fellow MHS Wildcats in May 1990.

I am SO not the person I was back then. Or maybe I am. Maybe I'm just more at peace with it these days.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Holy Separated-At-Birth, Batman!

Gary Oldman...meet Uncle Knit-Knots from Imagination Movers.

Is it OK to own a Canadian?

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a U.S. resident, and posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative: Dear Dr. Laura: Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them. 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexic...

What's in a name? Everything.

I'm appalled. You can call it King or Duke or Princess or M'lady of Everloving Windsor. But you cannot call it Queen. It is not Queen. Will never be Queen again. Freddie Mercury was the heart and soul and voice and face and pianist and songwriter and co-founder of that '70s & '80s phenomenal English rock band. Yet, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor have trotted some singer named Paul Rodgers on stage, on tour, on a new album, and are calling themselves Queen. Technically, they're referring to themselves as Queen + Paul Rodgers. I'm sorry, but two washed-up has-been musicians and some former singer for Bad Company does not somehow magically make it OK to blaspheme Freddie like this. The band HE fronted was the one inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. MTV named Mercury the second greatest singer in the history of popular music. I realize that many bands suffer this fate as members retire or die and others t...