Back to high school – 10 years later – the reunion!

10 years. It has been 10 years since I graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Oh how the time flies. I was reflecting on all the things I’ve done since high school. It’s too much to list in this entry, but it’s a lot. High school almost seems like another time in history, my history anyways.

I have only kept in touch with 3 special friends since high school and they are Sean Gross, Lindsey Demerritt, and Crystal Ferrara. But, guess what? These 3 didn’t go to the reunion. So, I was questioning, literally days before, whether I would go or not. So, finally I decided to choke up the $100 for the ticket (and probably another $100 for food, gas, and drinks) and go – all by myself. I was a bit nervous about that, and then I walked into the first event on Friday night at Mango’s in Fort Lauderdale. Would I remember anyone? Would they remember me?

I walked in to the registration table and thank the Lord they had name tags for everyone! During the course of the weekend, I would say about half the people looked the same and maybe half the people I didn’t really recognize, so the name tags helped. Then, the memories came flashing back. All kinds of memories – from classes we shared, to parties, sports, concerts, and retreats.

Everyone I saw and talked to seemed really nice, mature, grown-up, and laid back. You often hear that at high school reunions people are trying to “impress” each other. I saw none of that, at least not that I could notice. People generally were interested in each other and in what everyone was doing, where they were living, and what they’ve been up to for the past 10 years. Many people, including myself, mingled with about as many people as they could, exchanged business cards, phone numbers, and emails and said, “let’s keep in touch” or “I’ll look you up when i’m in (your town)”. Sometimes you wonder how much people really will keep in touch, but I’m sure that a few will with me and with others.

The first night was designed to be a happy hour that was supposed to last from about 5:30-8pm. I was there until 10:30pm! And, when I left, probably half the people were still there. I could have probably been there another 2 hours. The next day they had a beach cookout, which I missed to attend a family function for my cousin Kevin who is entering the marines. But, I did make it back for the dinner at the Riverhouse (restaurant) in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday night. That event was really nice, with some good food (served buffet style) and plenty of drinks to keep people socializing and in good spirits.

We have lots of talent in my class – people in Hollywood, working at CNN and for Turner Broadcasting, performers, athletes, and even a few involved in politics. There were also a few police officers, fire fighters, and a host of teachers and those involved in the business world. About 150 of the 360 from our class made it to the reunion, and of those, I would say about 30-40% of them were married. Of those, a handful had kids, which they brought to the “tour of the school” (10 years later) on Sunday morning, which was followed by a Catholic mass at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs across the street from STA. The numbers significantly dropped for the mass/tour. Probably only about 25-30 people came to that on Sunday morning.

There were about 5-6 couples from our class that married within the class. Pretty neat. I couldn’t remember if some of these folks were dating while in high school or not. I assume some were, but I couldn’t remember. All in all, it was an awesome experience and I have already been in correspondence with a number of people from the class who I otherwise would not have had the chance to reunite with had I not gone.

The experience of going back was at first mildly uncomfortable to walk into, but I felt confident there would be plenty of others in my same boat, and there were. Strangely, that kind of sounds like the first days of high school. It was good to be back. There’s probably no other stranger, yet interesting and worthy experience to have than a reunion. That’s what life is all about – connecting and reconnecting with those you know and those you don’t know. Uniting and reuniting is certainly an essential part of the human condition.