After a few days I have finally digested the 36 hrs. we spent together. I realized that during my 4 years @ HPHS I roamed around trying to figure out which 'group' I belonged in. I never really could figure it out. But now I understand it. All of you have so many wonderful qualities & I just couldn't decide on a specific group. So 50 years later I found myself flitting around for the same reasons! How sad that we missed out on so many relationships because we sought the safety & need for a label back then. But how amazing it is now to have gotten to spend time with you all sharing our memories & realizing how much we had in common.
Best moment _ the marching band surprising you all. What fun we had!!!
Thoughts?
Gerry, it was fabulous. I had not idea ahead of time what a blast it would be. THANK YOU and all for the best party of the 1/2 century!
Take care and hope to do it again,
Jenny
Gerry, thank you to you and everyone on the committee for a wonderful reunion. It was so much fun, especially seeing people now as adults, letting go of the old insecurities and enjoying all the complexities of who we are now.
Terrific weekend. Much thanx and many kudos to the committee for all of your work, of which I am certain that we out-of-towners only saw the tip of the iceberg. But couldn't you have done something about the rain and cold? Following up on some other comments, fortunately for me, fitting in was never much of concern. I either did or I didn't much care about it if I didn't. Maverick genes I guess.
One the most interesting aspects of the reunion which no one has mentioned yet was being with so many people who share the same historical memories. By that I mean things that we grew up with beyond HPHS and beyond Highland Park. Things that people a scant ten years younger have no clue about: JFK assassinated the very year of our graduation. 1968 – the absolute worst year in domestic political history since the Civil War. All that later generations really know about RFK and MLK is that airports and roads are named for them. OK, that's probably an over-statement but you get what I mean. And how many people know anything about Malcolm X except that he probably looked like Denzel Washington. And how many people younger than we are can walk past “The Wall” in DC and shed tears as they touch the names of friends – real people who are longer with us.
It's not just high school memories that we share but life experiences whether we were in the same place or not. Things that we lived through separately and together – close by or thousands of miles apart.
OK, enough maudlin stuff. Thanx all for a really memorable time in so many ways.
It was arm, wonderful and fun, wasn't it? Surprising to see so many people look just the same...just a tad older...and then so many people who look quite different! And underneath it all, a revived genuineness, an authenticity at age 67/68 that harkens back to our earliest years when we were just who we were.
Something else no one has yet mentioned on a public forum though several of us talked about it on the weekend, was how well and how much we remember one another's parents and siblings. Especially for those of us who have lost part or all of our family of origin, it was comforting and healing to know our parents and siblings were remembered so fondly.
George, Ida & I were discussing exactly what you mentioned about the 60's. We left our sheltered lives in HP & immediately were faced with a loss of innocence with Kennedy's assassination. What a series of shocks we experienced that decade. Even the moon landing with all its awesomeness scared me. All the rules were crumbling around us. And suddenly I was enthralled, thinking we could make the world better...that even I could make a difference. Then it all settled down & nothing much had changed. We were too early for Woman's Lib & too late to ever go back to where we were.
Yes, it was quite a weekend, and the committee did an amazing job throughout. I didn't know anyone well in high school (outside of the Music Department), and, not surprisingly, I didn't know many at the reunion! But what a blast seeing my old Oak Terrace comrades, and a few from Mrs. Massover's session. My observation/question for you is this: I came away with a desire to reconnect to the potential that I--all of us--had 50 years ago. Let's face it, another 50 years is not in our future, but another 10 or 20 just might be. I returned to my life, not a bad one mind you, with a desire to know myself and everyone else on a more honest level. Stop obfuscating my age, for starters! Write those articles/books that have been in me for decades. Re-dedicate my life to leaving behind something that matters--or, if nothing else, a cohesive self for those who matter. Who knew a reunion would stir such thoughts?
Speaking of thoughts: Thanks to Ricky Jacobs for organizing the Philosopher's Cafe! I have so many questions I want to ask everyone (hindsight being what it is), I'm wondering if we could not continue the discussion online? No, not THAT discussion--but perhaps one of how each person traversed the personal and cultural phenomenon of our time, and what/why remains on your bucket lists. I loved finding you all, and perhaps want to keep the communication going.
Again, thanks to the committee, who put on so many proms and stunts and...now this!!!! And great food and low cost. Couldn't be better. Like Joan, I would like to continue the sharing online --- finding the message board a little cumbersome, I would like to explore perhaps a yahoo group, an easy emailing kind of ongoing online presence...waiting for the committee and online administrator to debrief and consider....in the mean time, everyone post photos in the Photo Gallery here! It is a little difficult, but please add names in the Description of your photos so, especially those who did not attend, can begin to recognize us!
For those who would like to relive the reunion, Rick's welcome speech and the three videos are available online. Click 'Reunions' at the upper left of your screen. The words for HPHS My Favorite Things are linked from there too.
