Who attends high school reunions, and what's been your experience? I have the opportunity to attend my 50th this year. I've never been to one in the past.

My 50th is also this year--this month, in fact, in Dallas, and I'm not attending.

Part of the reason is simply logistics--Jacksonville is too far away for me to drive in a day comfortably, and airfare (plus a rental car, etc) gets expensive. Not that I couldn't afford it--I'd just rather spend my $$ on other things.

But there's another reason, and that's because I really haven't kept up with any of my high school classmates over the years. After graduating from A&M and then grad school at TT, I came on active duty for 20 years, then retired from the Army in Atlanta in 1991, then moved to JAX last year.

Haven't been back to Texas except for a few short visits since 1971.

All my old friends from Texas that I talk to by email, or visit occasionally, are guys I knew at A&M.

Aggies bond for life.

I'll find any excuse to make a trip to College Station. Dallas, not so much.

I did attend my 25th HS reunion in 1990 and while it was OK, I really didn't have that great a time.

I think if you stayed in the same town/city where you went to high school, and kept in touch with classmates over the years, a reunion might be a fun event.

On the other hand, if you have lived somewhere else, you might enjoy catching up with people you haven't seen in 50 years. Could be a good time either way.

It's just not for me.

My wife's reunion came up a few years ago.

The greeter and her were looking for our name tags all of which were on a long rack all the way to the floor. I spotted ours and reached down and got it.

They said: "How did you ever see that way down there?"

I replied: "I have 20-13 vision, that's how I picked out this beauty here."

If went with my wife to her 25th. It was held in the school gym. About 20 minutes after it started, the "townies" were in one corner and the country kids were in another. Neither group had anything good to say about the other.

Hopefully I well be going to my 40th this week end I went to all but one and had a great time.

The 30th was the best told the wife I would be home by 8 didn't make it back till mid night had a great time.

I found out it is what you make them.

But the FIL past today I might be out of town for the funeral

For me, the most compelling reasons to not attend one of those things are:

1. With one exception those whom I would love to see again are dead.

2. I strongly prefer to remember people with whom I attended high school, and remember fondly, to remain in my memory as I remember them. Reality would be unbearable.

Oddly enough, Naphtali, you have a very good point. After 50 years there will be "zero" facial recognition, for sure. I looked at some photos of last year's reunion and I remember one woman that I thought was the most beautiful girl in the school. Now of course she is just a 70 year old lady. Reality sucks!

It was shocking enough to learn this week of the deaths of some friends that I assumed were still above ground. Some had died back in the 80s. Life's hard.

I'll probably go because I would like to see one woman in particular. She had been a really good friend in high school although we never dated, and my brother was best man at her wedding about thirty years ago.

The funniest situation is that there is a guy that back in Jr. High his parents held him back a year just so he could compete in athletics against younger boys, and excel. He was consumed with his looks and his athletic achievements in high school. Thought he was quite the ladies man at the time. Apparently he hasn't changed in the last 50 years. He still looks like he's trying to appear to be a young athlete. In his biography he carried on about his recent athletic achievements as an adult, including a game winning homerun in some obscure senior league. Sounds like that was the high point in his life. I thought it was just sad.

I attended a reunion several years ago and I was surprised that a few of the pretty she's had become very butch he's. Oh well, that's southern California for you.

Never been to one, but my 40th is coming up and nostalgia or something has me thinking about attending. I've had virtually no contact with any of my 52 high school classmates since graduation. Not sure why I would want to go, but I'm thinking about it.

I have found over the years that the contacts one makes in high school are fleeting while those made in college seem to be for a lifetime. I know it is true in my case.

Here's my two centavos' worth on this issue. I have attended one high school reunion-my 20th. Nothing fun or special about it, and alot of the folks were still acting like they were in high school. My 45th was a year ago and I had no desire to attend. After seeing photos of the 45th, I knew that I had made the right decision. And, once you graduate three times from college (Bachelors, Masters and Juris Doctor), high school is really small potatoes, especially when you realize that you have developed more lasting and satisfactory relationships with your other college professionals.

Well I well not be making my 40th after all my FIL pasted and the I am out of town to bury him today.

Well never know how the reunion went.

When they handed me my HS diploma it was under the condition that I never return. I believe the term they used was "hopelessly incorrigible".

Now that I have had decades to reflect, I believe they were correct.

No reunions for me. Not interested in visiting the past.

I did not attend my 50th a couple months ago. Simply because I never look back and have not kept up with any former classmates. I have reconnected with a few on facebook, people I did not know well in HS who are good online friends now, like some on AR.

There's really only a couple of guys from HS I'm interested in talking to, and I do that without going to the reunion. I passed on the 10th and 20th, and intend to keep right on ignoring them in the future.

im planning our 40th HS renunion for next yr... we were a small class... 17, I think.... some stayed local, others moved away... I returned to the area 3 yrs ago, rekindled old friendships, I have the feeling that if I didn't initiate this, it won't happen... and getting any $$ from the "class" probably won't happen either.... so i'll kill a couple goats, buy a keg, call in a couple favors for a band, and enjoy seeing a few friends....

Meeting AR member at DSC would be 1000 times more fun that going to my high school reunion. I barely remember anyone from High School and barely knew them in high school why would I want to meet them 25 years later.

Mike

Mike, isn't a HS reunion restricted top those who graduated? :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Mike, isn't a HS reunion restricted top those who graduated? :-)

Yes it is.

And my high school to preserve its 100 percent pass rate in the Indian ISCE standard held me back one year (9th grade) to make sure I was prepared to ISCE in the 10th grade.

Why would I want to hang out with a bunch of guys and girls like that !!!!! I will hand out with the AR crowd in DSC

Where I can drink whiskey with the Admiral.

See Biebs get his jollies hand delivering Buzz his new swarovski glasses and keep talking about it as he sell Blasers under his claim of marksmanship

See guys who spend $20K-$40K on hunts bitch about cab fare to the AR dinners and try to share cabs.

Check out the best blow dried lions at TAM safaris.

Stay away from Ken Busch and Chris Sells and not impulse buy a double.

Screw high school reunions - I am going to DSC.

Mike

Norman,

I have no contact with anyone from high school.

I have no contact with anyone from college.

I have no contact with anyone from law school other than the occasional time we have a case together.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
Norman,

I have no contact with anyone from high school.

I have no contact with anyone from college.

I have no contact with anyone from law school other than the occasional time we have a case together.

Got a call from my high school, no thanks, a lot of water has gone under that bridge.

Grizz

As I said in my post, above, my high school reunion was this month--it was held last weekend.

I didn't attend.

Even while the reunion was underway, photos and comments were being posted on Facebook.

Now, a couple of days after, even more posts, a video montage, pictures--and with few exceptions, I can't recognize anybody.

But I can see that the people who were "popular" back in HS are the ones who are hanging out together at the reunion, and posting comments about how great everyone looks, what great memories have been shared, etc.

All I see are a bunch of fat old guys and, except for one or two who have either kept themselves up or had some serious make-overs, a bunch of fat women.

I would have had a lousy time. Probably me, not them, but I'm still glad I didn't go.

Well, I'll buck the trend.

I went to my 25th years ago and just stood around talking with a few friends when a guy came up and introduced himself to me as James H., I must have looked puzzled because he said that he was a quiet nerdy kid in high school that never made any friends but he'd always remember that when we were on a group project in Chemistry class that I was nice to him and treated him with respect and included him in the group. He said that people noticed that and started treating him better and it made his last couple of years in high school a lot better.

It made the whole reunion worth going to, knowing that I had a positive impact on him but I honestly don't remember it at all.

My 30th was in 2011. I didn't go, just like I didn't go to the 10th or the 20th and I have zero interest in going to the 40th. Frankly I never really cared for most the kids I went to school with. I'm not much of a person for "clicks" and I was pretty much a loner. The 2 or 3 people from that part of my life I care about I am still in contact with. The rest simply aren't very important to me.

Since I graduated from high school I spent 25+ years in the Navy, did 9 combat deployments, visited 51 countries, have been to all 50 states, have hunted in 13 states/2 Canadian Provinces/5 African countries, and obtained 2 college degrees. What could I possibly have in common with those people? Besides, I teach high school now so I've got all the "high school issues" I need right now.

You can save a great deal of money by spending 8 straight hours at a nursing home over going to your fiftieth anniversary.

Imagine all those hotties from HS at 66 or 67 years old. All wrinkled and overweight, and aarp members.

And, looking around, you notice that you fit right in...

Mine is coming up and I think I will just hunt Africa one more time, and post pictures on classmates.com instead.

I went to 30th, next year is 50th.

Did not miss anyone in the intervening 20 years and use the net to correspond with those from that era that still interest me.

Getting to be a crusty old fart that actually is beginning to understand why folks went off in the mountains and seldom came out.

Just returned from my 50th. My wife and I enjoyed it much more than we thought we would.

Some particulars:

There was over 800 in my '65 class. This years senior class is about the same size, only scattered between four high schools instead of just one in my day.

Ninety-nine classmates are now deceased.

Seven were lost in Vietnam. (They got what we all hoped for; a form of immortality.)

The reunion included:

Meet/Greet cocktail/buffet party at a famous local restaurant.

Memorial service at Veteran's Memorial honoring those lost; with service including six-man honor guard, three volleys, taps.

Tour of the old/renewed high school.

Dinner/Dance at Country Club (60s music)

Brunch at old Jr. High (stunning home cooked food)

The committee that planned this did a phenomenal job.

I really enjoyed visiting with some of the "kids" I knew. Shared some old memories others had forgotten. One "kid" told me he owed me a dollar since 1962, and it had bothered him all these years.

As expected, had trouble putting some faces to names; others just jumped out at you. (The girl that had the prettiest eyes in '65, still does.)

Spent some time with people I never spoke to when we were in school, and found they were very nice. Others, I had no use for back then, and still don't.

No egos were in attendance. A lot of surprises though.

Some "kids" that you thought would never amount to anything became lawyers, military officers, engineers, professors. Others didn't exceed expectations and seemed to be stuck in some strange time-warp. Then there was the wild "kid" who became a preacher, and the party-girl who became a lawyer, and judge. Go figure??

It hurt to see a few in wheel chairs, or with canes and walkers, or talking about their pacemakers.

Some of the ladies aged very well; some not so much. I had the feeling that some probably hit their prime when they were 15, and some may have hit it at 65.

I was surprised at the number of "kids" that moved away, but after thirty or so years, moved back "home".

All in all, the reunion was a very nice experience, and I would do it again if they have a 55-yr. (Wished now that I had gone to my 30th.)

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
Who attends high school reunions, and what's been your experience? I have the opportunity to attend my 50th this year. I've never been to one in the past.

I didn't like high school, moved on at the first opportunity, and have never gone to one. I did go to one college reunion. My wife didn't like it and if I go to another one, she can stay home.

quote:

Fjold: I went to my 25th years ago and just stood around talking with a few friends when a guy came up and introduced himself to me as James H., I must have looked puzzled because he said that he was a quiet nerdy kid in high school that never made any friends but he'd always remember that when we were on a group project in Chemistry class that I was nice to him and treated him with respect and included him in the group. He said that people noticed that and started treating him better and it made his last couple of years in high school a lot better.

Nice story!

I went to several for my wife. They were all the same an expensive, some very expensive, meal, a lot of drinking and some socializing. Really boring even for her.

Two years ago I went to my 50th. It was planned for Friday and Saturday. On Friday we had a tour of the old high school to see the changes. It literally was more like a high level junior college than high school with all the new advanced programs. The old core building we all knew was there but everything had changed. There had been tremendous financial investment made, some from local tax incentives, other from donations from alumni who had achieved extremely high paying jobs such as the professional athletes funding a very expensive power weightlifting building with equipment. That tour was followed by attendance at that years homecoming football game.

Second night was a sit down buffet dinner, a bit crowded followed by an entertainment
program put on by former classmates who still lived in the area.

I am sneaking up on the 25th. I have yet to attend one, I grew up in a small town with a high school class of 75. I don't even know if I am friends with anyone from the high school on facebook who wasn't in the military. I was on deployment in Afghanistan for the 10 year, and working at an embassy overseas for the 20th.

I served 20 years, the majority of it overseas. My brother in law was a junior when I graduated and married my sister the next year. They are the only association I have with where I grew up, as my parents moved away a long time ago.

I can't imagine what I would talk about. Last week I did a safety inspection on a military hangar for a new fighter aircraft.

One of my buddies from high school is a millright at the wood mill. He has never left Montana ( sometimes I think he is lucky).

We ought to do a AR get together, at least we would have something to talk about.

I don't think I am better than them, and sometimes life is complicated enough that I would imagine working at the mill has quite a few advantages. It's been a long damn time, and I am an outsider now. That is why I don't go.

How's this for situational irony?

I ran into a school mate I only see once in a blue moon. The topic of reunions comes up. He said he didn't go. I said I never got an invite to any of the reunions. He said there was a list of people they couldn't find and my name was on it. Funny, I live 2 miles (as the crow flies) from the high school, even closer from the grade school, on the family farm where I've lived all my life. Same road, same address.

A week after that situation I found a bright yellow envelope in my mailbox. Turns out it was a reunion invite for a classmate from another school with the same name but a different middle initial and my street address but for the class of 1972...six years after I graduated. I pondered sending in the RSVP but decided the real classmate would get cheated out of HIS rightful invitation if I did. So I sent along a note telling the committee they needed to keep searching for their classmate as I wasn't the one they were seeking. I never heard back from them just like from my own school.

You did the right thing.When your end comes,you have only yourself to answer to.Leave being true.

Never really had a desire to go. A friend asked me to go to my 20th, several years back. I politely declined.

I am not against them. The people I want to talk to, I talk to. Those that want to talk to me are more than welcome to call me!

I am perfectly content as is!