Is anyone else experiencing mixed feelings about this get-together?
My memories say that I felt very much an outsider in nearly every situation at NHS and I'd be really surprised if anything that could happen at a reunion could change my sense of that experience.
OTOH there's a pull to try to connect to the group of people who shared that time and place to see if there is something to be gained from reminiscing.
It's possible that my memories are biased and that I'm not remembering a whole set of good experiences.
Thoughts?
Dave Larson
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ReplyDeleteI will definitely not be as eloquent as Ed... but I really think it is the nature of teenagers to feel insecure about their place in the world (which, for us included NHS). That's why they call it "teenage angst." Having said that, I do remember having a good time in high school. I had relatively few close friends, but I still consider them friends today - even though I live a good long way from Newton. The only reunion I've attended was our 20th - and I remember it fondly. Not only did I reconnect with old friends, I also got a chance to get to know people I didn't necessarily hang out with in high school. I'm not on the fence at all - I'm in, and I hope you'll save a dance for me if you choose to come.
ReplyDeleteFROM ANDREA (MARGARET HERMAN)...
ReplyDeleteI WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO DAVE LARSON: I TOO FELT LEFT OUT OR OSTRASIZED...(I'M SURE DUE TO MY OWN BEHAVIOR THEN...) MY 1ST TRIP BACK TO MY REUNION WAS THE 20TH REUNION...AND I HAD A BLAST, ALL THE ALUMNI THAT I GOT THE PLEASURE OF REUNITING WITH AGAIN WERE MATURED AND AND IT WAS ALOT OF FUN LEARNING ABOUT THEIR LIVES, GOOD AND NOT SO GOOD, WITH PEOPLE I SHARED A COMMON BOND WITH... I ENJOYED THE 25TH, 30TH, AND AM SOOO LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 35TH... I CHOOSE NOT TO DWELL ON THE PAINFUL, WHETHER IT'S WHAT I CAUSED OR WHAT WAS CAUSED TO ME, BUT TO SAVOR THE MOMENTS OF THE NEW FRIENDS I GET TO REAQUAINT WITH... I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU ATTEND AND SEE FOR YOURSELF THIS EVENT THAT WONT HAPPEN AGAIN PROBABLY IN OUR LIFETIME... AND IF IT DOES YAHOO!
Hey Dave, Maybe I went through school blissfully unaware but i tend to only remember the good times and good people. As a father of two high school aged daughters i see first hand how these kids sometimes treat each other. I tell them to embrace the good, reject the bad and always know they can rely on their family. That being said i would like to sincerely apologize to anyone that i may have made feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. I can assure it was not personal but most likely my own stupidity.
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ReplyDeleteI'll graciously accept your apology, Tom McDonald.
ReplyDeleteOur sophomore year during that junior varsity baseball game behind the high school, when up at bat I skillfully foul-tipped the ball off home plate and straight up into my you-know-where, you stood outside the circle of teammates surrounding me on the ground and mocked me profusely. I don't think I'll ever get over it. ;-) Coach Larry Stratton had to administer a rather awkward and uncomfortable on-field examination. And Bill Rosselli later described the event to anyone who asked, "Let's just say he went down like a ton of bricks." And the doctor's diagnosis later at the hospital emergency room: "Yes, the left one does feel a bit more swollen than the right one ... just stay off it for a few days, O.K.?"
And people think aging disks in your neck are bad? It's a good thing I can still dance, or anything else, for that matter.
Hilarious! I use to walk home through the field and sometimes return to watch the games. I had no idea all of this was going on. Thanks for old and new memories from someone who was also kind of on the side lines. Dave you have to come now. You are obviously responsible for stirring up some old issues between Mike & Tom.
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteI hate to tell you but we were all laughing. In fact I think a couple of guys may have wet their sliding shorts. If you listened to Coach Zamos you would have been wearing a cup and avoided injury. Ironically that was your best hit of the year.
How come I didn't have sliding shorts? And I had a coupla sacrifice bunts that were much better than that!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'm the best one to help them resolve their differences.
ReplyDeleteOn a semi-related note, for at least some of who might attend the is a group of near-strangers with whom we've had little or no contact over the years. Entire lives have been lived in the interim (I see grandchildren in some photos.) How do we connect in some meaningful way with this group of folks we once used to see on a daily basis?
I guess that question is about more than simply this reunion, isn't it.
I do appreaciate your comments and encouragement. It's given me some new ideas to ponder.
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ReplyDeleteI tried posting this earlier. but it got lost in the ether.
ReplyDeleteEd, Peggy, Andrea, Tom, Mike,
I appreciate your comments and encouragement. Ed, I think you have it right: leave the expectations and preconceptions at home and accept it for the opportunity it is. Get reminded of memories that have long lain dormant, share a bit about myself and the life I find myself living, (possibly) make or re-make some connections to some folks that had an influence in who I've turned into. On that basis alone, it's probably worth the time and effort. It's a bit of a stretch for me to be thinking about "small talk" and making connections, and that's probably a good thing.
i may bring a few pictures, but Harriet and Rina will probably not be coming.
Don't worry, Dave, my reunion speech will take up 4:15 of the 5 hours, and people are always riveted to it ... so there won't be much time for small talk and reminiscing, anyway. ;-)
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ReplyDeleteNow I see my problem: CRS
ReplyDeleteCan't Remember S---
My memory of that era (and most of the rest of my life) is so hazy that I don't even know what I lived through.
I helped Ed change piston rings?
David,
ReplyDeleteYou know the brain research says that our prefrontal lobes weren't fully developed while we were in high school. Tests show that teenagers read almost ALL facial expressions as angry or frightened. I think that says volumes about everyone's high school experience. I remember most of my young life as thinking, "Where are MY people, and when are they coming for me?!"
I'd like to think that now we are all our people. This is as good as it gets. . . so was 1974 only we didn't have the frontal lobes to know it!
Thanks, Maggie,
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense on a couple of different levels.
I will say, though, that it's a little odd thinking of you as a "Maggie".
How many of us have changed names beyond the somewhat expected married names or hyphenations?
I am looking forward to visiting with people I have not seen in 37 years. I look forward to reconnecting to a childhood I left in 1972.
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ReplyDeleteBack to the memories for a minute...
ReplyDeleteJeanne W. - how to drive a stick shift on an Opal Cadet in an emergency all the way to Green Twp. (That transmission was NEVER the same...)
Jeanne W. - speaking of memories! How about all those slumber parties at your house? It was actually at one of those parties in the fall of 1970 that I met Joe (over the phone). Both your sister & mine (class of 72) were at another party nearby and we called them to see if they would bring us something to drink. (They had better stuff to drink at their party and we were to young to purchase any!) While waiting to talk with one of our sisters someone put Joe on the phone w/me and introduced him as Joe Van Winkle..Upon arriving back at school the following week I then realized that mine & Joe's lockers were right next to each other on C level! So thanks for the memories Jeanne!
ReplyDeleteI went to the NHS class of 1972 reunion two years ago when I was on sabbatical. Diane (Wershing) and I had been riding horses (duh), and her husband was laid up after knee surgery, so I went with her. Ellen, I visited with your sister, among others. I knew a lot of people in that class. Dave Zamos mistook me for my cousin, JoEllen ('73) in an awkward moment...
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, Ed, there is a communion in passing through the same space & time together. I think that's part of the reason I'm enjoying reading this blog so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maggie for the explanation about prefrontal lobes. That explains alot about MY high school experiences...can I use that as a reason for my bad memory too?
Look forward to seeing you, Dave.
Ellen, as I've been reading all the posts, I'm knocked out about your goog memory! Please say hello to Diane Kemnitzer for me.
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ReplyDeleteDave, So glad you came! I didn't read this blog until today...August 1st! I hope you had a blast! You looked amazing. Seeing you at O'Reily's was awesome. Your daughter is beautiful. Hope you found your pics. I remember telling you how great I think gray haired men look! Very Distinguished! In other words...you looked HOT! I was jealous of your hiking adventure...I'm going next time! The reunion weekend was amazing. Brunch was fun! I'm sure you won't miss another reunion! Go Dave!
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