1989 was a good year. It was the last year of the 80s. I mean, who remembers the 90s…really? Ronald Reagan gave his farewell speech in January, new owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, fires 29 year coach Tom Landry in February, the Exxon Valdez ran aground and spilled about 240,000 barrels of oil in March, Beijing students take over Tiananmen Square in April and the greatest senior class S.H. Rider High School ever produced graduated in May. What a year, huh?
This last weekend, I went to my 25 year high school class reunion. Now, this is the first reunion that I have attended and I am glad I did.
Reconnecting with old friends has kinda been a theme the last couple of years for me. Facebook is connecting me with people I thought I’d never see again. Last November, a few of the marines I served in Desert Storm with got together in Las Vegas. We had a good time sitting, talking, telling stories and remembering. Only about a half dozen of us were there but looks like the next one is getting more interest and will have a bigger attendance. Looking forward to it, I am.
Anyway, I was looking forward to my high school reunion but, yet again, I was kinda apprehensive too. I wasn’t one of the popular kids in school. I mean, everyone knew me but I wasn’t one of the ‘cool’ kids. I was in choir though. Oddly enough, in our school, everyone wanted to be in choir. Of course, when I got there, nobody recognized me without my old haircut…
One of our alumnus owns Stanley’s BBQ #1 there in Wichita Falls, so we started the weekend by meeting there for dinner on Friday night. Daron has been braggin’ about his BBQ, so we told him he had to bring his A game. He did do that! Needless to say, my diet went out the window over the weekend.
We were at the restaurant until about midnight all catching up with each other. It may have been just me but it seemed like I changed more than everyone else had. Everyone seemed to have the same personalities that they did 25 years ago. We have all grown up since school but the people themselves have stayed the same. The whole ‘in crowd’ thing was laid by the wayside for the most part. In high school, just like every generation, we thought we knew everything and nobody could tell us nuthin’. Once we graduated, the real world let us know where we stood I think…lol.
Saturday night, the venue was one of Midwestern State University’s meeting facilities. The black tablecloths with the gold glitter stars had centerpieces made from our old yearbook pages. You could tell that Lee, Marla, Michelle and Ruth worked hard to put this thing together and it turned out really well, thank y’all!
We had a nice dinner followed by entertainment by another alumnus Terry Rios, who operates R and R Entertainment. If you need a mobile DJ in the DFW area, give him a shout. Terry supplied the tunage but others provided the dance floor entertainment!
All in all, it was a very enjoyable weekend. Anyone who graduated with us and didn’t make it, you best make it next time ok? Don’t make me call you out…lol. I know Karla wants to have another one next year…and the year after that…and the year after that…
Looks like our next milestone will be thirty years. I am starting to feel old. I work with alot of folks that were not even born yet when we graduated high school…and they are old enough to drink! but I digress…
Oh, and by the way…
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