Class Reunions.

(I was going to make this a blog entry, then decided to go with something for discussion.)

My 25th high school class reunion was this weekend. Given that out of about 215 fellow students, there's not one person who qualifies as a friend- a situation not unlike my marriage- so naturally, I did not go.

If I had bothered, it would gone along the lines like this: I would pull up to the meeting place and honk my horn repeatedly to get their attention. Then, when a crowd of balding, wrinkly, overweight former husks of human beings that used to be vibrant teenagers the last time I laid eyes on them shuffled drunkenly to the windows, I would flip them the bird and drive off in squeal of rubber.

That would feel great... for about ten seconds.

Then it would hit me that these people really have done nothing wrong to me, and it's childish for me to hold silly grudges for no real reason, so I would drive around the block and pull back up to the gathering, honking my horn once more.

Then, as soon as that crowd would stagger back up the windows, the old hatred would boil back up and I'd flip them the bird once more, peeling away in a cloud of dust.

Then I'd go home and spend some quality time with my daughter, probably making her watch the Pacino & DeNiro movie "Heat".


That's my story- I've blown off my high school reunions AND my middle school reunions, not seeing the point.

Now I give the floor to anyone else: Anyone look forward to their reunions? I imagine social media is making them somewhat superfluous, but when my 10 year reunion was being planned, I actually got a phone call on my machine about it (which I quickly deleted) and a paper invitation in the mail (which I wiped my ass with and tossed in the trash)

Anyone have similar stories? Or some stories that happened during a reunion? Let's hear 'em!

 

I keep in touch with 6 or 8 people from high school, I'm indifferent to the other 450.

I was very happy to move on past high school.. I didn't bother showing up for graduation, they mailed me my diploma.

 

I guess my 25th reunion is coming up next year. I hadn't thought about it. I won't be there, no interest in going. I guess if I lived close I would be slightly interested, but I live over 1500 miles away.

 

My HS only did a 10th year reunion, to my knowledge. I lived in town, received the invitation, but didn't go.

1. There were five or maybe six people from HS that I would've truly cared to see.
2. My situation at the time was not something that I wanted to share with anyone from HS.

 

I have 3 great pals from high school that I see regularly.
I don't Facebook or do other social mediaso the other 500 I know nothing about.
I went to my 10th, couldn't believe how old and worn out some people looked.
I skipped the 20th because the idiots had it opening weekend of deer season.

 

ive never been to mine. not sure why, just havent

 

I'm not sure we've ever actually had an "official" reunion. I don't think our former class president really cares, to be honest. There's a small group of ladies that always tries to pull something together every five years, with varying results. Fifth year was at someone's house, former husband & I showed up at the end and hung out for an hour or so. I wasn't able to go to the 10th year...I think everyone met up at the homecoming game. A group of 12 or so came into Olive Garden after the game to see me, so that was kinda nice. I have no idea what happened for the 15th (which would've been last year.) I vaguely remember the president trying to get a family picnic or something going, and there was a lot of back-and-forth about having another event for the people without kids. That might've been before the 10 year, though, now that I think about it.

For the most part, I keep in touch with the people I want to, but there are a few I wouldn't mind seeing again. I've always said that our school was small enough to do several years at once (89 people in our graduating class), but I don't see that happening anytime soon, if ever (too bad, as most of my friends were older.)

If we pull something together that's a little more "formal" for our 20th, I wouldn't mind going (though I wouldn't be heartbroken if I missed it, either.) I had an okay time in high school, and any grudges or feelings of bitterness are mostly forgotten. And I'll never turn down a chance to get prettied up and dance the night away.

 

The friends I keep in touch with from high school, I think only a few are actually from the same grade.
They are all from drama club so it is a mix of people from grades well ahead and behind mine.
I've skipped all the reunions, just don't care.
Now a drama club reunion might be fun but unlikely considering we are spread across the country now.

 

Ooh, now that's interesting. I would totally go to a reunion for our Thespian troupe, if it was "if you've ever been a member, you're invited." That would be a lot of fun, moreso than a class reunion, I think. We're also all spread out, though, and I live in a different state myself. Damn.

 

I've never been to an official reunion, but after 25 years my junior school class had a mini reunion (12 out of 28 managed to make it). As a result I was able to realise that some people I had lost touch with are actually pretty fun, and re-connected on FB etc., so it was worth it.

 

I have been to both a 10 and 20 year reunions. They are for the most part fun. It is an opportunity to see how the fat kid became skinny, which skinny kids now look like they've swallowed a cow, see who still lives in the same town etc. If you go, don't take it too seriously.

 

I didn't go to my 20th...they combined it with another class. It felt haphazard and I just didn't care. If I can, I'll likely go to the next one. As Dr. and Mr. Just because I can.

 

There isn't enough money in the world (yes there is, but let's run with this) to make me go back to my HS. I haven't spoken to all of my "best friends" HS and could give a rat's ass about the rest. I run into people now and again in town, that's about it. One conversation I had at the customer service desk at walmart with a "friend" from HS.

"Hey man, you are [real name]!"
"Yeah man... (searches burnt out memory banks) Woody, right?"
"YEAH MAN! YOU REMEMBERED!"
*shake hands*
"Oh man, how you doing?"
"Good, yourself?"
"Alright. Well, besides dealing with wife. You remember [some skinny redneck chick]?"
"Yeah (no, I don't)."
"We got married right after HS."
"Congrats."
"Yeah, I got her pregnant on prom night."
"Oh. Yeah."
"Yep, got 4 kids. You?"
"None."
"Lucky. You working?"
"Yeah, got my own place."
"That's awesome man. I'm unemployed."
"That sucks man. I heard [client of mine who hires people with no skills to do manual labor] is hiring. Check them out>"
"Thank you man! I'll see you later."
"Cya."

Times that by everyone that shows up with a few trophy wives thrown in there and you have my HS reunion. Add on to the fact that when my 10th came around, I got a facebook PM from some snobby girl I went to HS with and she told me couldn't wait to see me there. I wrote a nasty reply involving all the times she made fun of me in HS and how her BF picked on me all the time. I also asked if she remembered ducking out of a bar when I waved at her in my second year of college. I never got a response.

One out of 3 people I would talk to just connected with me and plays D&D with us on the weekend. I like her and the other two don't stay on facebook much. The rest can go fuck themselves. Most of them made my life a living hell for 4 years and helped turn me into the bitter bastard I was in college.

I did not have a good HS career.

 

I was in a school that had what one teacher described to me 20 years later as "educational apartheid" - all the kids who might ever amount to anything were coralled into the top three forms, the rest herded into the other 10.

As a consequence of getting into the top class, I got a great education, went to university and got a job where I have done ok for myself. It also means that while I was at school, I was in the group of kids that became year council members, put on plays, formed the school teams and so on.

My mother still lives in the town I grew up in, and I live two towns over. Like you, eden, I wouldnt recognise 90% of my schoolmates, and the other 10% were the tormentors of the fat showoff, or are my ex wife.

I still meet people who know who I am, and I have no clue who they are. It's freaky.

 

@Lordeden, you'll pardon the @Plan9 quote, but...

I want to party with you.

 

One good thing about living in a city with (roughly) four million people is you almost never run into former HS classmates IRL.

We go antiquing a few times year in the neighborhood where I lived during HS, have done for over 10 years. If I ever saw any former classmates I didn't recognize them.