Just got back from my 35th. Some things change, and some things don't.
People look different. One of my HS buddies came up to me and I had to ask who he was. When he said. "I'm not tellin'", I recognized the voice right away. One guy I walked up to at Johnny's Tavern asked me if I was there for the reunion. I said "I don't know where I'm supposed to be. I just drove in from Chicago". He said his name was Ben F and I said that we played in his grandfather's back yard when we were like 6 or 7. I could tell he couldn't remember, but he knew his grandfather was on Learnard Avenue.
Janet Re came up to me and said, "Did you recognize Kareen H?" I said, "No, which one is she?" She pointed and said, "Now that's not natural, is it?" I concurred that there was a fair amount of plastic surgery at play.
The homecoming queen from my senior year came up and talked to me for a while. We reminisced on the university we had attended together and never saw each other at. There was another girl there who attended that university, but she selectively didn't remember me from the high school or the university.
Sportscaster Michael Coleman was there. He was my sportscaster in Austin and he had been a sportscaster on Long Island, but finally made it big in Kansas City. He showed up with some really really young thing. He said he was thinking about me when he was recently in Green Bay. I said I lived in Chicago. He doesn't remember me too well.
One of my best buddies from grade school had about 2 minutes to talk to me. I would say "eff him" but he is so gay, it wouldn't sound right. My first girlfriend broke my heart. She was looking over a list of people they couldn't locate and she pointed out a name that wasn't me and said "He was my first boyfriend. Yes Jerry. Before you." She had never told me before. **sob sob**
The mayor's (mayor back then) daughter was telling me how happy she was that she will have a man to bring to the annual family Thanksgiving dinner this year. I was so happy for her to finally meet her guy.
The class artist was there. He wanted to know the name of the chick who sat near us in Geometry. There were 2 chicks who sat near us in Geometry. I mentioned one, he said "No". I mentioned the other, and his eyes lit up. Dunno where that's going.
One of the local radio station announcers was there for KLWN radio. I sais, "So you work for the CLOWN?" Yes. She says she gets out of her jammies at some ungodly hour and rolls down the road to the studio and starts getting paid to just say whatever she wants to say. Doesn't get paid much but she loves to talk. She was talking about the genius in music that her son is. He writes his own music and she says she is good at it.
One girl could not afford the airfare from North Carolina to Kansas. She asked on FB whether anyone could spare some tickets. One alum saw it and bought her tickets. That girl was out of town with her sick mother. She could not make it. Anyway, I picked up Teresa at the airport and got her to the reunion. She was able to find friends who would get her to the airport this sunny Monday Morning.
I saw AF3RM's (sk) daughter there. She looks like she always did. She was asking me about my radios. We made a few contacts on the dance floor. I can't forget her call sign.
When I was in line at graduation, one girl said, "This is the last time we will all be together. Someone will always have something else to be doing and they won't come." She did not make it from PA5 land. Maybe Cor knows her.
One guy is a purchasing agent for a massive bakery who makes cakes and stuff for Wal Mart. He was there with a widow from the class of '79. I learned that a semi truckload of cocoa is about $125,000. Those two were pretty clingy.
Matt is an agent for Morgan Stanley in Kansas City. He had many questions about the business I was in.
Someone took a picture of a bunch of us who had attended Kaw Valley school. I hope to get a copy of that picture.
Doug is a real estate agent and had his new sweetie there. Doug always sat there in class twiddling his pencil in his hand and very studious to get all of the answers to his questions and he needed to understand where the answers come from. Today, he is a RWN who watches Fox News and says, <shrug> How can anyone tell what is truth and what is a lie? </shrug>
Herb didn't want to talk to me, nor I to him.
Very appropriately, our class wall-flower, Cindy T, is a professional at flower arrangements. She is married. They have regular parties with unmarried people at their house.
Margy was there. A political adversary in local politics, we had a great time catching up on family. She was the sister in law of AF3RM's daughter.
Teresa, living in North Carolina, has a son with autism. He graduated from HS recently. They are so proud of him. She will be working in the registrar's office at Eastern Carolina. They were at a Scorpions concert or they were really rocked by a hurricane.
Janet is in the process of a divorce. Her husband is walking out. She is scared. I don't blame her. She was telling me about Rodney. In HS, he tried to hand her his class ring and asked her if she would go out with him. She declined and he insisted she take it and think about it. An hour later he wanted it back and said, "Who would want to go out with you?" Anyway, if skinny old Rodney was an ounce under 350, I would be surprised. Janet stood there and could not believe that this was the same Rodney. She was happier now.
Nancy has been working at the Douglas County courthouse since HS. She floats now between working at a Lawrence office and the Baldwin office.
Cindy C was there. She always looked like the little "9 year old" girl on Billy Jack except she had dark hair instead of blond. We had played clarinet in the bands. We didn't get much chance to talk but she is on my FB.
Cathy M was easy to spot. She has a light patch of bangs she combs over. She is doing well.
Don't know why I went. Peer pressure on FB, I guess.
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Originally Posted by KJ3N
