This Weekend is a mini-reunion from High School...
Wow...time sure is fun when you're having flies.
I've often wrote about how awkward I once was as a kid...I had a big head (and little arrrms), a bigger mouth, and a complete lack of what was funny or acceptable. I had friends but I was more of the 'tag along' then part of things. It was a good time...high school probably at one of its best for me...and when they all graduated (I was a year younger)...my senior year didn't seem the same.
We hung out a bit during summers in the 90's. I think the last time we all hung out was when Denise's family was selling her house so we had a party over there (if I remember correctly)...but since then we all kinda went our seperate ways. Staying in touch with a few but for the most part moving on.
Fast forward to the last year when Facebook blew up. All of a sudden we found ourselves talking and remembering. Some with rose-colored lenses...but for the most part enjoying the shared experiences. Then Denise finally up and does it. "We're having a reunion...let's get a date" and arranges the whole thing (with Kim and John and Mike I believe). They set a date in May of July 11...to coincide with Betsy being home (she moved to Germany like 5 seconds after she graduated)...and I marked my calendar.
Now it's July 10...and for some reason...I feel a slight sense of trepidation.
My Goodness...I'm going to see people I haven't seen in 18 years...some who I may have wronged and some who I only remember as wronging me...what if...oh man...
So I pulled up the guest list...and this is what I saw...
Mike: Not always my biggest fan...but a guy who always welcomed me to his home when I came...an artist and no doubt funny dude. He was the Steck for whom Steck parties were named.
Addie: Rides home DAILY for a long time in her Trans Am (word of advise...always make friends with the chick with the cool car. JK), time spent at her parent's hanging out for parties whatever, stair skiing. She and I shared a lot of laughs.
John: A genuine guy...funny he just has this way of looking at things that make you laugh hard. Helped me a lot with acting...and finding a character (though I don't think it worked with Joe Hardy...really...picture me playing a hunkish baseball player. Yeah my voice got me that part.)
Erin: May not even remember how she was so important to me on one particular day. When I found out my grandmother was sick and dying of cancer...I was sitting at a picnic table and kinda crying ...she came out and talked to me for like a half hour. Really helped a lot...after that she was always kinder to me.
Denise: What can I say about Neesie? We were tight even through college...a lot of memories were with her and I in college. I wronged her once...and she forgave me for it (after about 2 months of awkward stares in the dining hall)...she was a close friend to me for a lot of my late teens early 20's.
Betty: My sister who at times made me cry out in pain (literally) but never stopped being my hero when we were kids.
Betsy: A REAL person. Never unkind to me (unless I deserved it...and only then to try and help me be less...Billy-ish)...always smiling. I remember doing shows with her and just soaking up all the advice she had to give about almost anything. Bets seemed to be far more intellectual than a lot of people in the room...but never flaunted it.
Kim Kendall: We started on the wrong foot...and it just kept restarting. We shared a lot of the same friends...and at first I don't think either of us 'got' the other...but over time...I saw what others saw...that she is a genuinely kind person with a lot upstairs. She seemed more mature than most of the people we hung around with (and with my rampant IMMATURITY...no doubt I made her seethe once or twice)...but she was another genuine person. Now she's a Mom and about the most kindest person around.
Kim Kimble (may not be coming but I hope so)...what can I say about Kim? Her senior year we hung around almost daily. We spent a lot of time either hanging at her house, or going for Denny's with a group of peeps. My biggest memory was when she and Steve Currier went with me and my Prom Date to my Junior Prom together. She was AWESOME! Her parents were just great to me. I hope she makes it out...
There are others coming...but for me these are the people who when I think of those days pop into my head immediately. When I looked at the list...I remembered these things first...and all the other crap second.
I sat here thinking and was astonished. In a way it's so much easier to remember our childhoods as this time when noone 'got' us. For me...it's this romantic notion of being a loner...few friends...fewer close ties. Made it easier for me to 'etch-a-sketch' myself when I left Canandaigua. However...I did have friends. Sure I mighta been a little persistent...and at times invited myself to places I maybe shouldn't have gone...and there was one time...nahhhh...that's the past and I need to get over that.
Tomorrow isn't about validation. I'm validated. I have a beautiful wife, a good job, a Creator who is a daily source of comfort, strength and unending love. I have a strong family, and support system in the friends I have made...both 20 years ago and 2 days ago. To worry about tomorrow because I may have been a stupid kid when I was a stupid kid is dumb.
So tomorrow I'm gonna put on my least 'fat looking' clothes...bring my beautiful wife, grab some chips, and dip and soda. Pick up my kid sister and go to Kimmie's house to see these people...smile, laugh...show them who I am NOW (cause I certainly ain't the same Praise God)...and make some new memories with a group I ain't seen in awhile. Most of all...I'm gonna have FUN. I'm gonna ENJOY IT. When we were younger...we didn't ever think we wouldn't see these people...and for 18 years...we were proved wrong. Tomorrow...we start fresh. Reconnect and hopefully stay a little more in touch this time. These people are part of what made me who I am...for good or bad...and that's just awesome.
Thanks for Reading...
I've often wrote about how awkward I once was as a kid...I had a big head (and little arrrms), a bigger mouth, and a complete lack of what was funny or acceptable. I had friends but I was more of the 'tag along' then part of things. It was a good time...high school probably at one of its best for me...and when they all graduated (I was a year younger)...my senior year didn't seem the same.
We hung out a bit during summers in the 90's. I think the last time we all hung out was when Denise's family was selling her house so we had a party over there (if I remember correctly)...but since then we all kinda went our seperate ways. Staying in touch with a few but for the most part moving on.
Fast forward to the last year when Facebook blew up. All of a sudden we found ourselves talking and remembering. Some with rose-colored lenses...but for the most part enjoying the shared experiences. Then Denise finally up and does it. "We're having a reunion...let's get a date" and arranges the whole thing (with Kim and John and Mike I believe). They set a date in May of July 11...to coincide with Betsy being home (she moved to Germany like 5 seconds after she graduated)...and I marked my calendar.
Now it's July 10...and for some reason...I feel a slight sense of trepidation.
My Goodness...I'm going to see people I haven't seen in 18 years...some who I may have wronged and some who I only remember as wronging me...what if...oh man...
So I pulled up the guest list...and this is what I saw...
Mike: Not always my biggest fan...but a guy who always welcomed me to his home when I came...an artist and no doubt funny dude. He was the Steck for whom Steck parties were named.
Addie: Rides home DAILY for a long time in her Trans Am (word of advise...always make friends with the chick with the cool car. JK), time spent at her parent's hanging out for parties whatever, stair skiing. She and I shared a lot of laughs.
John: A genuine guy...funny he just has this way of looking at things that make you laugh hard. Helped me a lot with acting...and finding a character (though I don't think it worked with Joe Hardy...really...picture me playing a hunkish baseball player. Yeah my voice got me that part.)
Erin: May not even remember how she was so important to me on one particular day. When I found out my grandmother was sick and dying of cancer...I was sitting at a picnic table and kinda crying ...she came out and talked to me for like a half hour. Really helped a lot...after that she was always kinder to me.
Denise: What can I say about Neesie? We were tight even through college...a lot of memories were with her and I in college. I wronged her once...and she forgave me for it (after about 2 months of awkward stares in the dining hall)...she was a close friend to me for a lot of my late teens early 20's.
Betty: My sister who at times made me cry out in pain (literally) but never stopped being my hero when we were kids.
Betsy: A REAL person. Never unkind to me (unless I deserved it...and only then to try and help me be less...Billy-ish)...always smiling. I remember doing shows with her and just soaking up all the advice she had to give about almost anything. Bets seemed to be far more intellectual than a lot of people in the room...but never flaunted it.
Kim Kendall: We started on the wrong foot...and it just kept restarting. We shared a lot of the same friends...and at first I don't think either of us 'got' the other...but over time...I saw what others saw...that she is a genuinely kind person with a lot upstairs. She seemed more mature than most of the people we hung around with (and with my rampant IMMATURITY...no doubt I made her seethe once or twice)...but she was another genuine person. Now she's a Mom and about the most kindest person around.
Kim Kimble (may not be coming but I hope so)...what can I say about Kim? Her senior year we hung around almost daily. We spent a lot of time either hanging at her house, or going for Denny's with a group of peeps. My biggest memory was when she and Steve Currier went with me and my Prom Date to my Junior Prom together. She was AWESOME! Her parents were just great to me. I hope she makes it out...
There are others coming...but for me these are the people who when I think of those days pop into my head immediately. When I looked at the list...I remembered these things first...and all the other crap second.
I sat here thinking and was astonished. In a way it's so much easier to remember our childhoods as this time when noone 'got' us. For me...it's this romantic notion of being a loner...few friends...fewer close ties. Made it easier for me to 'etch-a-sketch' myself when I left Canandaigua. However...I did have friends. Sure I mighta been a little persistent...and at times invited myself to places I maybe shouldn't have gone...and there was one time...nahhhh...that's the past and I need to get over that.
Tomorrow isn't about validation. I'm validated. I have a beautiful wife, a good job, a Creator who is a daily source of comfort, strength and unending love. I have a strong family, and support system in the friends I have made...both 20 years ago and 2 days ago. To worry about tomorrow because I may have been a stupid kid when I was a stupid kid is dumb.
So tomorrow I'm gonna put on my least 'fat looking' clothes...bring my beautiful wife, grab some chips, and dip and soda. Pick up my kid sister and go to Kimmie's house to see these people...smile, laugh...show them who I am NOW (cause I certainly ain't the same Praise God)...and make some new memories with a group I ain't seen in awhile. Most of all...I'm gonna have FUN. I'm gonna ENJOY IT. When we were younger...we didn't ever think we wouldn't see these people...and for 18 years...we were proved wrong. Tomorrow...we start fresh. Reconnect and hopefully stay a little more in touch this time. These people are part of what made me who I am...for good or bad...and that's just awesome.
Thanks for Reading...
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