It Is Hard to Believe Its Been 50 Years Since Graduation

The date has been set and the meeting place chosen so one year from now I will be joining my high school classmates at the South Shore Harbor Resort and Hotel to participate in our 50^th High School Reunion.  Yep, the remarkable Pasadena High School Class of 1965 will once again all be in the same place at the same time. I suppose as long as I am able and we keep having them I’ll keep attending them. For whatever the reason, bringing my past and present together, as the Days of our lives has significance and meaning to me.

I suppose it is a strange phenomenon that people I hardly knew when I was in High School and who I have seen only intermittently over the years are so important to me now. Maybe classmate Bobby Powitzky can explain it to me at our next meeting on the weekend of October 26 2015.

I have often wondered why some people with whom I attended high school have never attended a reunion. I have over time generally narrowed it down to a handful of reasons. In fact somewhere in the past on this blog I have written about it.

Some possibly still see the class through their “high school” experience lens and feel they will not be included, recognized or remembered. Perhaps it is that same lens that causes some to stay home because they were not part of the “in group” in high school. Both of those were concerns of mine 25 years ago. I assure you we have all reached the age when those superficial distinctions have lost any real meaning. Now, as one classmate put it, “I'm so wanting to visit with old friends, share laughs over old memories and thanking each one for having made an impact in my life at a much younger age." We are no longer the "Jocks", "The Thespians," "The Band," "The Choir" or "The In Group," whatever that means. Now, we are just a bunch of folks whose lives intersected at a most important time of maturing and development in our life and whose lives have been woven into the tapestry of each of our individual and corporate lives.

I also know that one or two people have mentioned to me over the years or I have been told by people really close to them that they didn’t leave anything at PHS that they needed to relive.  I take that to mean either their experience was bad or just a part of the road going somewhere else. I will accept that though I do not believe it. You cannot spend the formative years in one place with the same people without both having some lasting effect on your life. I'm betting there was a best friend, regular companion or someone who you'd like to see again. I think you'll be surprised at how many of us will be excited to renew friendships with you.

Me, I see the Reunion much like my father saw his old WWII Army Group Reunions. It was a group of people many of whom he didn’t know personally but with whom he shared a common experience and somehow there was something refreshing and energizing when they met together as a group. I have had the privilege of witnessing that miracle as old men became young one more time. Consequently, even now I have friends from among that wonderful group of men who shed light on a part of my father's history that he could never bring himself to speak.


I suggest that attendance at our High School Reunion can afford the same kind of miracles. I am not suggesting that just by attending a reunion you'll become Best Friends Forever with someone you hardly knew growing up. I am suggesting you might discover that all these years later some of those people can become a part of a kind of rebirth wherein long forgotten experiences will come to life. We are no longer the teens we were in 1965 but just like the characters in the musical Brigadoon we can be for a night or two . . . at least in heart and mind if not in fact.

Then there is that small group of people who will just say, “I really can’t afford to attend the reunion.”  Believe me, there are more of you out there like that than will own up to it. My feeling is I cannot afford not to be there. I need that experience. If your looking for value then the reunion is the place to be. Its worth the cost.  I am, like many of you, now pretty much retired or as I like to say, “I don’t have a steady job anymore.”  As a result budgeting is more important than ever, For some of my classmates cost is a real issue and because of the day and age in which we were raised not many of us are going to ask for help, especially not help from our classmates. In spite of that I am going to say it anyway, "before saying no to the invitation give us a chance to help." We may not be able to get you here but we can sure give it a "best effort." But we cannot help where we do not know help is needed.  

I want to make a suggestion at this point. It is a practice a picked up many years ago when our children were small and so was my income.   Back in the beginning when we wanted to take a vacation or any trip for that matter that was not within the parameters of our income we adopted the following mantra: Decide on a travel project, develop a funding plan, make a commitment to the plan, work the plan and then enjoy the trip. Now, because old habits die hard I will personally be following this mantra regarding my 50^th High School Reunion.

Oddly enough, things have come full circle . . . . when Susan and I started our life together it was just the two of us living on a very small income and now that we are retired it is once again just the two of us on a smaller income than pre-retirement.

So here is my plan. I want to attend and enjoy my 50^th High School Reunion and not have any post reunion payments. Then I set my estimated budget for that event. I say estimates because I do not yet know the actual cost of each element. However, I know that I will be spending two nights at the resort; will have travel expenses; and a registration fee plus a few meals along the way. So here is my estimated budget for the reunion:  Registration $150.00 for two people; Hotel $227.70 two nights at $99 per night plus taxes; Travel $75.00; Miscellaneous Meals $75.00 for two people resulting in a total estimated cost of $527. I will then start setting aside either weekly or monthly an amount that will accumulate to the total estimated cost in 6 months.  In my example that would be $20 a week or $87 a month. I put it in a box in my desk labeled, For Reunion Only.

The example reflects our choices and our plans for making those choices work for us. Others of course might have other plans. For example, classmates who have family living in the area could eliminate the hotel cost completely by spending a night or two with friends. That would eliminate half of the cost in my example.  The same is true for those who live within driving distance. 

I cannot promise that you can attend for free but I know the Reunion Committee is working very hard to keep the Reunion affordable for all of us. It will not be terribly long and invitations will be going out. Decide now to attend and make that commitment firm by registering as soon as you get the registration information.  The venue is South Shore Harbour Resort and Hotel and they have given us a fabulous price on the rooms . . . just $99 per night plus taxes.

I want to make several other suggestions that do not involve money. First if you have not joined our class website do so today. Just follow this link and create a user name and password and then complete your profile. WE especially need you active email address and your physical address so we can keep you informed as plans are developed.

Visit our PHS Class of 1965 Reunion FaceBook Group and become a member. We are sharing as much information as we have with that group and on our FaceBook Reunion page. You’ll find a lot of friends and interesting stuff on that page.

The Reunion Committee for our 45^th Reunion produced a Memory Book that is available on Amazon.com for less than $7 plus shipping. This is a large book filled with photos and memorabilia from our days at Pasadena High School. I promise it is well worth the cost . . . Especially if you did not get or have lost your Senior Year Book.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone about one year from now on October 24, 2015. It will not be as good as it could be unless you are there.