50th High School Reunion

I went to the 20th and everyone was amazed to see me dressed in Western attire, but that's the way I came. At that time, I had just started Team Roping, but was also a Horse Trainer for a friend of mine. There have been a few Reunions since that one in 1988, but financially couldn't attend. I've followed each one on Facebook where our class has it's own page, set up by a classmate.

Anyway, since we took a trip to both northern Colorado and into Wyoming, we financially couldn't make this Reunion. I found out that I wasn't the only one. There were some others and even the Class President couldn't make it.

One of the classmates put pictures of this last weekends Reunion on Facebook and I was truly surprised at how some of my old classmates looked, even though I do have a DVD of one Reunion a few years ago. If it weren't for the name tag, with graduation picture on it, I definitely wouldn't recognize most. Then again, those that don't follow Facebook, wouldn't recognize me today either. I'm not the skinny, short-haired nerd I was back then. There are those that have the same hair style and face (just older) that they had at graduation. That is stunning to see also.

Seriously don't think I was missed at all. I'm the only one that turned out as somewhat of a cowboy. I would have dressed the same way (Western attire) as I did for the 20th/19// Reunion.

Ever go to one of your high school reunions?

 

Nope.

 

Godsakes no.... I hated school... why would I want to go back and remind myself of it all over again?

 

Often thought about going, but it's in Hawaii and never seemed to have the time or extra money
when it rolled around.

Sure I wasn't missed.

 

I went to the 5th reunion and that was it. Lived too far away after that to attend. That's my excuse anyway, and I'm sticking to it!

 

My 50th is long past. 50th college is next year. No interest whatsoever in high school. College is still up in the air.

 

@Beatrice Taylor
I greatly like, and (hopefully) greatly understand, the extreme amount of thought and consideration which went behind your answer!
Frank

 

@Nancy Hart
Your "excuse" is greatly important, to you, as well as us! You need not be upset about not attending later ones.

Imagine the plight of one who failed to graduate........

Frank

 

I wrote about my class reunions a bit in the thread High School Sweethearts. We've had reunions every 5 or 10 years. No big things with dancing and staying overnight as some people have. Just normal get-togethers in private rooms or booths of a restaurant.
I even watched myself arranging the biggest one for about 20-25 people including the homeroom teacher. Wouldn't have thought I'd ever do that but discovered a sentimental streak in me even though school time hadn't been a picnic.
The first one was after 10 years and was as you'd expect: some refused to come, others were bored but did attend nonetheless, others started to brag about their accomplishments and some old battle lines were visible again and old wounds were being reopened. The most interesting one was 10 years after the wall had come down providing an insight into how everyone managed to find their feet with conditions having been turned upside down. The last two were quieter. People had become more mature and some had had to cope with blows of fate.
Money was no real reason for not attending because most class mates still live in the same city and the others had to travel between 120 and 350 miles and could afford that.
There's no reason why I shouldn't go to the next one if I'm still alive. As Ken was saying, we'll all be in one booth then for sure.

 

Funny, but my BIL (wife's brother) told me that he's never been to one and won't go to one. His quote, "I want to remember what we all looked like back in 1969, not today."

I think if we would have had the finances, and not had already taken a week of vacation out of the state, we would've gone.

I wasn't that popular in H.S., but did get a 4-Year Perfect Attendance Award during graduation. Got called up on stage and given. Graduation was held in a gym that had a stage.

Heck, I'm still shocked at how many of my classmates look today. Lots of gray hair and weight. Even some of the thinner ladies and men are now heavy. No gray hair, but, since graduation, put on 128 pounds. So, I joined those that are definitely heavier in weight.

 

At our school, once you pass the 50 year reunion mark, they lump you all together in the "Over 50 Class Reunion," because there aren't many left. Since 2014, my mother, and her brothers and sisters, and I, could have gone to the same reunion, because we all graduated from the same high school.

So many of our H.S. graduates moved to Florida (from Ohio) in the 70's, they held a separate reunion down there for some time, just for Floridians.

 

Really surprising just how many of my '68 classmates still live in the area we graduated from. I know of at least one that was running, and living on, the same farm his parents and him worked on while we were in high school. Other than myself, there is only one other classmate that lives in Florida. Some of my classmates will tease someone about living in Florida or the South. "Oh, you can't handle snow anymore, such a terrible thing" is said with much sarcasm by them.

If I keep the photos of the classmates that were there, I'd have to match up our Year Book photos with each one. Most look so different, just as I do.

Weird, but most of my classmates are still alive. A few have some real health problems, but still alive.

 

I went to my 50th High School reunion back in 2004, and some of my classmates had passed away at or before their 67th or 68th birthdays.

The ones who were still around looked like hell.

Hal