Leftover Ink: Class Reunion, Part 3 of 3

Now, there were some old-time moments, especially when hearing about how Julie’s daughter is in college and how Marco’s son has just joined the Air Force. How old does that make me? But for the most part, it really did make me feel young. It was just like high school, except that we are all a little nicer and a little smarter. A few of us are a little rounder, and somehow Doug and Chris are both taller.

There was a lot of discussion about kids—how old they are, and how they’re either better or worse than we were then.

It was interesting how randomly everyone ended up—many still in the area, like Sharon and Kelly (both of whom look exactly the same)—while many came to visit from far away. There were also a wide variety of jobs. I meant to ask Allen how he became an aircraft broker. Our old guidance counselor, Ms. Wesburg, must have liked him better. Cherylyn did one-up him as Miss FabuNOLA.com—and she is definitely a booster for the Big Easy.

There were lawyers and doctors—and as you might imagine, a large number of tech people.  Kevin, Matt and I talked music on the patio while everyone told Chrissy (or should have told her) how her planning skills and attention to detail made it a wonderful night.

And then the police arrived.

As it turns out, when you reserve a room until 11:30 p.m. and your DJ is still playing the '80s stylings of White Snake at 1 a.m., the hotel manager (who I’m fairly certain was younger than us) will eventually call the police. To be fair, they did ask us to move to the hotel bar first.

To my knowledge, no one got arrested, although not for a lack of trying by Mike and Joe.

That’s the class of ’89…still troublemakers after all this time. Those last few finally relinquished the dance floor without a struggle and joined the rest of us at the hotel bar until it was finally past our respective bedtimes.

There isn’t time or space to send my best wishes to all those who deserve it.  However, I did promise to mention that Diane looked fantastic—and she did. It’s hard not to remember and appreciate the people like Mary (who reminds me so much of her mom now, again in a good way) and Julie (who I’ll always remember as having the best smile and the sweetest singing voice.)

There was some discussion about holding the next reunion in five years instead of 10. I’m all for it, but then again, I live close by. Even so, 10 years seems like too long to wait until I get to see all these good people again.

It’s one of my go-to sayings, but Sterling Park really was a great place to grow up. The proof is in the generations of kids it produced.

I appreciated all you non–Park View Patriots who’ve stuck with me through this series. It was just a bit too much fun for just one column. I hope you take away that school reunions are more than just a excuse to roll around in the nostalgia. They really are about reconnecting with the people from your past who mean something to you—but then again, you don’t have to wait for a reunion to do it.