Here’s to the Class of 82

My friend Rick and I love high school reunions.

We have been celebrating with the Xavier High School class of 1982 every five years for the past 30 years.

We graduated from a class of 190 students and we can’t think of a single member of that class that we would not like to see at our 30th reunion, which we’re hosting at the Leg Lamp Lounge this summer.

Pop culture and a few iconic movies have given a bad rap to high school reunions but I’m here to defend them.

I really enjoy getting together with a group of people with whom I spent four of the most formative years of my life. And, while I’m sure I’ll spend a little time planning an outfit that makes me look as young and as thin as possible (and increasingly difficult project), I honestly won’t sweat the details of this particular outing all that much. Because high school reunions only last one evening and no one really cares what I’ll be wearing anyway.

Far more interesting than the clothes that class reunion attendees wear are the stories they tell. After all these years, my high school classmates are still some of the most interesting people I know.

I can’t wait to see Diane, now a grade school teacher and then my chief mischief maker. I look forward to chatting with Lori, former softball teammate and current electrician and Craig, my former neighbor who now works as a time management specialist.

I count among the most impressive people in my high school class the dairy farmers, the insurance salesmen, the photographers, accountants, writers and teachers. I look forward to catching up with the personal trainers, the attorneys, the horse trainers, travel agents, business executives, doctors, parents and grandparents.

Mostly, I look forward to chatting with people whose stories continue to unfold.

If you’re celebrating a high school anniversary this summer, I encourage you to attend your reunion.

I really believe Ralph Waldo Emerson got it right with this definition:

“To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

I look forward to marking the 30th anniversary of the Class of 1982 and hearing all about all the cool ways those wonderful people have succeeded.