This is the time of the year for reunions, family reunions, class reunions, military unit reunions, etc. I have already been to one reunion this year, and still have three more I could attend. I will probably go to only one more, which will be my 50th class reunion for the school from which I actually graduated.
First let me discuss the one reunion I attended last week. It was the 50th class reunion for the graduating class of 1959 at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Now I did not graduate with that class, but I did attend elementary school with these students. It was a privilege to be invited to their class reunion. I was amazed at how well we all remembered things from the time we spent together. And I was amazed at the ones I could still recognize. Many had changed to the point I would not know them, and a few had turned into their father or mother, who I would have recognized. There were three of us who attended, who had graduated elsewhere. The immediate acceptance by the class was truly astonishing. We had a great time reminiscing about the old times, spent time remembering those who had not lived to be with us, and generally renewed old friendships. Given the opportunity, I would recommend that all of you, who attended schools other than the one from which you graduated, should go to those reunions. I thank the Fort Sumner class of ‘59 for the invitation and the great time I had with them.
In July we will have our annual family reunion. I have decided not to go this year. Each year we see family that we have not seen all year, but the truth be known, many are now so distant in kin that I really don’t know them and it is getting more and more difficult to communicate with them. Those that I do enjoy seeing, and can communicate with well, are slowly dying off or in poor health and cannot attend. I had the opportunity to visit with most of those in April at my uncle’s birthday. Maybe next year.
The Clovis, New Mexico class of ‘59 will have their reunion in August. I will attend this one. My classmates have done an outstanding job of communicating over the years. With an outstanding web site (http://rednett.com), a great network of email, and some on twitter and facebook, it is a fairly tight class. Of course, we still talk about the same old events from school, but do manage to talk about other interest a little more than may occur at most reunions, because we communicate all year long.
Then there is the VMF(AW) 542 reunion. These Marines served together in El Toro, Calif and in Iwakuni, Japan. I joined them in Japan. I have not been to their reunion since it is in Branson, Mo. It is usually scheduled at a time when it is hard for me to get away, and cost a little more than my meager pocketbook really does allow. Although these were a great bunch of guys to serve with, I was never really close to any. Maybe in the future I will take advantage of their reunion, but the time is not right for me now.
In general, I really do recommend that you attend all the reunions you can. Part of our lives are wrapped around all the people we have been associated with over the years. Some were good and some were bad experiences, but all shaped who we are today. As I get older, I realize the importance of those in my life. Also, I think that the knowledge that old friends and acquaintances still care about us, and with that knowledge, it makes the days, weeks, months and years a little less lonely when we feel a little blue and neglected. It attributes to our mental health to be able to reminisce about old times and old friends. Memories are forever.
God Bless and keep you.
I too will be attending our 50th class reunion in August and am very much looking forward to it. And I must say I also look forward to your blogs. You do such a great job of communicating, I hope you seriously consider writing a book – and soon.
As usual you have done a great job of putting your feelings to paper. At the same time, you have expressed what many of us feel. I, too, did not graduate from the school celebrating our 50th reunion – I went to school with these classmates for 10 years before my family moved away. The closeness I feel for these classmates is much stronger than what I feel for those I actually graduated with. I’m so looking forward to seeing everyone here in August. I do hope you are able to speak in such warm and glowing terms about our reunion. See you in August! We’re gonna make more memories!!