Atttending a 50th High School Reunion

For some unfathomable reason, I attended wife Marjorie’s 50^th high school reunion – the 1964 class of Pontiac Central High School. Even though friends warned me off the event saying I faced an evening among strangers intent on impressing their classmates, I decided to accompany her to the party. If all else failed, I reasoned, I could find solace at the bar. Attending the party involved a long drive, an overnight stay, and a buffet dinner in a dark, oversize banquet room. There were more than 100 oldsters of every size, color, and temperament squeezed into the room elbow to elbow. I didn’t expect much, but it turned out to be a hoot.

 

The party planners had arranged for a first-class DJ for the evening. He had asked graduates to choose favorite music with the result that the party grooved to the sounds of the Sixties via The Platters, Elvis, James Brown, and a host of other ‘60s rock stars. The dance floor was overrun much of the evening. It was a treat to see folks dropping their canes and walkers to bebop to the golden oldies. I was tempted to shake my behind to the grooves when I thought no one was watching, but then I realized that I didn’t know anyone, so what the hey. I joined the mass of bobbing bodies and occasionally found a groove I could keep time with. Nobody seemed to care about dance skills or a lack thereof, including me.

 

Behind the DJ was a screen with a continuous loop of old photographs and movie clips playing, each extolling the golden days when we were innocent and full of wide-eyed wonder. The pictures of muscle cars and historic buildings were interesting. I pretended to be thrilled when it came time for the school fight song and cheering the school teams. It turns out that their school, Pontiac Central, had many things to brag about including two Olympic gold medal winners: US Champion and gold medal winner in diving - Micki King (1972, Munich) and track star and gold medal winner Hayes Jones (1964, Tokyo). Both athletes overcame adversity on their way to record-breaking careers with Micki King becoming a Colonel in the Air Force.

 

The planners had also arranged for a professional photographer to circulate among the guests taking both candid and staged photos for any group of graduates who wanted. The photographer loaded  all the old photographs and the newly created pictures taken on the spot on memory sticks. And, here is the best part, each attendee got a free copy of the memory stick before the evening ended.

 

The party included a program where anyone who wanted had a chance to speak to the assembled group. Amazingly, several speakers turned out to be not graduates, but TEACHERS OF THE GRADUATES. Marjorie whispered to me that while she was in school she thought the teachers were all old, but now, they didn’t seem so old, after all. One of the speakers was my personal favorite, a guy named Joe Cool. Of course, he looked anything but. Surely, his name must have been worth a million bucks. Imagine going on a job interview, “Hi, I’m Joe Cool.” Marjorie’s class also had another person with the same name as a famous journalist – Ernie Pyle, the WW II correspondent.

 

Although I thought I knew no one, wife Marjorie knew most. After being prompted by the school photo’s that each wore around their necks, but she was able to recall most folks even though her class was more than 400 strong. It was a treat to learn the stories of various folks and how they had migrated from Pontiac to places around the world. I was surprised that several are still working and some are looking for work. Late in the evening, I recognized one fellow that I had worked with at General Motors and he and I had a chance to reminisce. We were given a booklet containing the graduating class statistics. They were a bit sobering; 78 of her classmates had passed and more than 100 were unable to be located for the party.

 

The evening ended after I pooped out early. Marjorie had a good time, I had a good time, and it was satisfying to see some folks who looked older than I look and couldn’t dance any better. So, if you are considering attending a school reunion, my advice is to go, maybe you’ll find an old friend or someone with a name like Joe Cool. Imagine that.