High School Reunion....

[Mikej]

View attachment 1307771

My 50th high school reunion is coming up next year. They've called me. I had a nice convo with the wife of a guy I knew pretty well. I didn't remember the wife though. Of course I went to my yearbooks! Amazing how many names pop into your head! And even more faces you recognize. I guess that's the way it goes when you went through 12 years of school in the same semi-rural community. Also got an e-mail from another person I knew. I recognized the vast majority of the names of people on the list of the whole class of '73. They sent the email in hopes that other class members may know the whereabouts of those they couldn't find.

I haven't been to any of the others. Seems every 10 years the shindig has all been at fancy venues. Not a fancy venue guy myself. The people that are organizing the shindig, seem to be the most popular, the best football/basketball players. Smartest, the usual I guess. LOL I knew them all.

I hated school for the most part. Never did well. I was a "Geek" but unfortunately, not the smart kind. But I think the thing about growing up in semi-rural Utah was, there weren't many "Mean" kids. The stories I hear from the wife, who grew up in NE pdx, Irvington/Alameda, kids here were mean. She's 7 1/2 years younger than me, whether that makes a difference?
The way I disliked school I feel lucky, that in high school, I snagged two periods a day in sports. I was a "Football Manager"! And my two best friends were too. One friend was a basketball manager though. There were something like four managers? Maybe six? Two each for Sophomore, JV and varsity teams.

There is a LOT of work that was done by the managers. A lot of fun to be had too. Best part was not being in a classroom!.......

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[The Heretic]

I went to one reunion and didn't go to any more. I think it was the 20 year. It wasn't much, just an evening get together at a semi-outdoor low rent venue. I wasn't particularly impressed with their lives - they more or less little progress from what I could tell.

Not a single person from high school has bothered to get in contact with me since, not even on FB/etc.

Nor do I know anything much about them. Every once in a while I do a search on a few names, but it is hard to know whether they are the same people or not so I haven't had much success.

I stay in contact with one person who was a close friend, but moved away so wasn't in my graduating class. I had to go out of my way to renew contact with him about 30 years ago. Now we stay in contact via FB.

I did have FB contact for a year or two with a guy I served with in the USCG, but he faded away. I have not gone to any of the CG reunions - for the most part they were semi-bubblegums. I tried to do some googling for some of them and had little success.

Meh.

 

[Mikej]

I went to one reunion and didn't go to any more. I think it was the 20 year. It wasn't much, just an evening get together at a semi-outdoor low rent venue. I wasn't particularly impressed with their lives - they more or less little progress from what I could tell.

Not a single person from high school has bothered to get in contact with me since, not even on FB/etc.

Nor do I know anything much about them. Every once in a while I do a search on a few names, but it is hard to know whether they are the same people or not so I haven't had much success.

I stay in contact with one person who was a close friend, but moved away so wasn't in my graduating class. I had to go out of my way to renew contact with him about 30 years ago. Now we stay in contact via FB.

I did have FB contact for a year or two with a guy I served with in the USCG, but he faded away. I have not gone to any of the CG reunions - for the most part they were semi-bubblegums. I tried to do some googling for some of them and had little success.

Meh.

Kind of sad how that happens. I feel like there were a lot of high achievers in our high school. I don't remember if the the kids I hung with, kind of a parking lot crew, were a year younger maybe? I don't remember seeing their names on the list. Maybe they dropped out, and I never realized it?

 

[P7M13]

I stay in touch with two friends I have known since 1st grade.
As to everyone else, I didn't GAF about them then, why should I start now?

 

[Mikej]

I stay in touch with two friends I have known since 1st grade.
As to everyone else, I didn't GAF about them then, why should I start now?

Out of the 4-5 close friends, that I fished with, camped, partied, traveled, rabbit hunted with, only two are alive. Pretty funky now thinking about that day in fifth grade. Mrs Parker teacher, when my new neighbor, Steven Bolliger, ( who's folks had bought the property next door to us from an old lady. Dug a hole, put in a foundation and moved a house from 25 block away and set it on the foundation) walked into class and was introduced. We became very close. His family were fishin', huntin' and outdoorsy animals! He passed away at about 55. (12 yrs ago)

 

[P7M13]

Out of the 4-5 close friends, that I fished with, camped, partied, traveled, rabbit hunted with, only two are alive. Pretty funky now thinking about that day in fifth grade. Mrs Parker teacher, when my new neighbor, Steven Bolliger, ( who's folks had bought the property next door to us from an old lady. Dug a hole, put in a foundation and moved a house from 25 block away and set it on the foundation) walked into class and was introduced. We became very close. His family were fishin', huntin' and outdoorsy animals! He passed away at about 55. (12 yrs ago)

One of those friends just texted me a picture a few days ago of an old Rapala knife I gave him in 4th grade, saying he still uses it.

 

[Vendor Hidden]

My 40th reunion hit in 2020, right in the middle of the Plandemic, so it got cancelled.

Probably for the best, as I was planning to go, but got into a heated online argument about the Kung Flu and early treatments (I was for hydroxy, vit D, zinc, and healthy living, exercise and eating well; he was for… whatever the media said we should do) with a classmate which ended with me telling him to f-off. That's not like me, but it was a weird time.

Anyway, I put the kibosh on attending the re-reunion in 2021 because I didn't want to get into an actual fight with that clown. At 58, that's no way to go through life, Son.

Didn't go. Didn't miss it. Couldn't care less. My life is just as full as it ever was. The end result of my online argument was some soul-searching about what I really wanted out of online involvement. In the end I dropped ALL social media accounts (too many idiots, and idiots irritate me) and started limiting my online time so I could do stuff in Real Life that I never had time for (art, hiking, managing my forest, living life, etc.)

My high school in south King County was a AAA size with a graduating class of over 400 or so. I have one classmate I've known since junior high and he lives just over the hill from me here in the Spokane area. We get together a couple times a month usually and that's pretty much all I need.

 

[Mikej]

My 40th reunion hit in 2020, right in the middle of the Plandemic, so it got cancelled.

Probably for the best, as I was planning to go, but got into a heated online argument about the Kung Flu and early treatments (I was for hydroxy, vit D, zinc, and healthy living, exercise and eating well; he was for… whatever the media said we should do) with a classmate which ended with me telling him to f-off. That's not like me, but it was a weird time.

Anyway, I put the kibosh on attending the re-reunion in 2021 because I didn't want to get into an actual fight with that clown. At 58, that's no way to go through life, Son.

Didn't go. Didn't miss it. Couldn't care less. My life is just as full as it ever was. The end result of my online argument was some soul-searching about what I really wanted out of online involvement. In the end I dropped ALL social media accounts (too many idiots, and idiots irritate me) and started limiting my online time so I could do stuff in Real Life that I never had time for (art, hiking, managing my forest, living life, etc.)

My high school in south King County was a AAA size with a graduating class of over 400 or so. I have one classmate I've known since junior high and he lives just over the hill from me here in the Spokane area. We get together a couple times a month usually and that's pretty much all I need.

Sweet! The getting together with your junior High Bud. Nobody paid any attention to me in HS.
I didn't have any one that I could have called a real friend. I was pretty much a loner, "Invisible?" Except for one, guy. I've known him since 4th grade. We became good friends in high school. Before we had drivers licenses a a guy that lived down the road a couple blocks (those rural blocks in Utah were 3-times our city blocks) would pick me up, and then pick up Irvin. When Irvin got his license then he picked me up. My dad never let me drive to school. Not even my Honda 90. Ervin and I stayed good Buds and did a ton of stuff together. Then he got married, had two kids. We drifted apart for a couple three years. He got divorced from the witch. We got to partying again! He's still in The Salt Lake Valley and we've stayed in touch and used to visit once a year when I'd go down to see the folks.
They say, if you have one true friend in your life that you're a lucky man.

 

[titsonritz]

I stay in touch with two friends I have known since 1st grade.
As to everyone else, I didn't GAF about them then, why should I start now?

That is pretty much it for me as well.

 

[CountryGent]

I used to routinely get invites to them, until I asked to stop receiving them. I barely cared then, so I really don't now. The only person I knew in high school that I have any interaction with is the woman I've been married to for 21+ years.

To each their own.

 

[albin25]

I was so happy to see the last of High School that it took 2 years of my Mom nagging me for me to drop by and pick up my diploma.
Didn't go to Grad, instead me and 3 best friends spent 2 weeks at the family cabin in Nortwestern Ontario, fishing, playing cards, drinking, swimming….
…… haven't seen or heard from those guys in 35 years, heck, I'm not even sure the High School is still standing

 

[Mikej]

I was so happy to see the last of High School that it took 2 years of my Mom nagging me for me to drop by and pick up my diploma.
Didn't go to Grad, instead me and 3 best friends spent 2 weeks at the family cabin in Nortwestern Ontario, fishing, playing cards, drinking, swimming….
…… haven't seen or heard from those guys in 35 years, heck, I'm not even sure the High School is still standing

Our graduating class was so bad they passed a bunch of us that didn't have the full required credits. Not sure of the others, but myself, I was 1/2 credit short in English. I remember graduation night. And the auditorium. Get you diploma, change your tassel to the other side, walk off the stage and up through the audience and out the doors to the main building. Then I ran like a crazy lunatic down the hall while stripping off cap and gown to the other end of the school to the gymnasium where we turn the caps and gowns in. four of us went out and got stoned, and who knows what else!

 

[Mikej]

Mom and dad wanted me to go to college. What were they thinking? I was a terrible student. Not a trouble maker, just not a "Learner".

 

[The Heretic]

Our graduating class was so bad they passed a bunch of us that didn't have the full required credits. Not sure of the others, but myself, I was 1/2 credit short in English. I remember graduation night. And the auditorium. Get you diploma, change your tassel to the other side, walk off the stage and up through the audience and out the doors to the main building. Then I ran like a crazy lunatic down the hall while stripping off cap and gown to the other end of the school to the gymnasium where we turn the caps and gowns in. four of us went out and got stoned, and who knows what else!

I was half a credit short, but did not get my diploma. My life immediately after "graduation" was similar to yours.

I am sure the admin of S. Salem HS thought I would be a failure in life.

It took a while, but 15 years later I had two college degrees (albeit A.S. degrees) and had a decent paying job in tech. Twenty five years after college I was making a six figure income as a s/w engineer. I am now retired and have a net worth of $1M

I don't count my career and finances as a successful life - it was a means to an end; that being a father to kind intelligent daughter who has her own career and is happily married.