My Dream

Last night I dreamed about a bunch of you guys. Seriously. I read some place that things become dreams when they have, for whatever reason, taken over some spot in our subconscious. Well, last night a lot of you folks must have been on my mind, because we had a meeting at my office -- of all places -- to discuss next year's reunion and who could or could not attend.

Brenda, Kathey, Donna, Tony.. you were all there, as was Jake, Kay Collis, Debbie Huskey, Mike Russell, Doris and even Estes. We were all sitting at this humongous table talking about who would be there, what to serve and where it would be. Not surprisingly, we didn't come up with a decision. :)

Plus, every one of you folks looked just like you did back then, but I didn't. Not sure I want to delve into the meaning of that little tid bit.

I did decide on one thing tho. People tend to focus on big numbers for such things.... 10, 20, 25, 50. They've all become noteworthy anniversaries of one thing or another, and they should be, but it would be a mistake to focus on our 50th. Oh, we will when the time comes, but right now we should put every effort into this one. There are so many of us that have not been to a reunion in some time, if at all, and while I'm sure all the reasons for not being there are valid, I'm equally sure the list of our classmates who have passed along is getting far too long.

I don't want to sound like an alarmist, I'm just being realistic. As Tony said, each one that passes should be a reminder of our own mortality, so the odds are the longer we wait, the fewer of us who will be able to enjoy it and whose company we will miss.

In Rememberance - Estes Queener

The last time I saw Estes was at a reunion 10 or 15 years ago at the high school. He had not changed at all. He was still quiet with that little smile that made you think maybe he knew something you didn’t. Never upset or bouncing off the walls, he had the same quiet personality senior year that he had freshman year, and not too many of us can say that. We will all miss a good man and a good friend, and there’s not too many of either left in this world.

God's finger touched him, and he slept.
Alfred Lord Tennyson

I would be remiss here if I did not mention Nelda. It is one thing to lose a friend and classmate, but when that person is married to another friend and classmate it amplifies the sadness. Nelda, we all hurt with you and for you, our thoughts and prayers will always be there.

The Memorial List

This morning I got an email from Tony Woody, and one of the things he said was “….if you write a memorial for Estes please include all the classmates we have lost along the way … It serves as a reminder of our own mortality as we lose each friend. As we honor one, we should take the time to remember all we have lost.”

I agree. So here is a list that’s grown far too long, far too fast:

Lynn Barger
Bobby Jo Chumley
Mike Delaney
Doyle Goodson
Janie Green
Patty Hicks
Freddy Lindsey
Larry Lankford
Pat Lowe
Sherry McMahan
Allen McNabb
Wayne McNabb
Estes Queener
Kay Rucker
Betty Scott

Nothing Lasts Forever

Not even fountains. In keeping with the progress on the city beautification project, here is where the fountain was. They took out the spruce tree as well. I have not heard what they plan to do here other than "beautify" it. Call me an old fogey but I always liked the fountain and thought it was pretty enough. Maybe one of the ones close by can let us know what they plan to do here.

Ever Want To Be a Stripper?

Catchy title huh? I saw a story on CNN recently where a woman hired a stripper to take her place at her 10 year reunion. She did it as part of a film she was making because she wanted to get their reactions, plus she said she really didn't care for reunions anyway.

The thing is it worked to a point. People either thought it might be her or was afraid to say anything because they really weren't sure. However, I think her plans fell apart when the stripper started dancing. Apparently that was a little too much and everyone figured it was bogus.

Ever wanted to do something outlandish like that? Within your comfort level of course. To some degree I think it might work to break the ice. Ever notice that for the first few minutes of a reunion everyone isn't quite sure what to say to each other, especially if it's been awhile since they last saw one another? What better way to break the ice than to catch everyone off guard.

Maybe next year I'll parachute into the reunion. :)

Potpourri

I've had several things running through my mind the past few days but nothing that really seemed all that earth shaking. Donna put a post on Facebook about the fountain being taken out. Bummer that. Although I will admit to saying that without really knowing what their plans are, so maybe they will put in another one even bigger or something. But the old bridge was more or less lined up with the fountain, so coming into town it was the first thing you noticed, or at least it was for those of us who moved away. Now what will I notice first?

The last two polls has got me looking like the only hoodlum in our class. :) I left a word out of both questions. They were supposed to be did you "try" either smoking or drinking while in high school. I know the regulars to this blog didn't smoke, so I knew I'd be the only "Yes" vote there, but I figured everybody at least tried a beer or something during that time. I know we all "tried" enough of it the night before the ten year reunion!!!

I guess it's been pretty obvious that I look at my high school years from more of a social aspect --- and I've got the grades to prove it. :) But that being said, didn't we all look at it that way? I'm sure everyone hit the books harder than I did, but the main part of high school had to be social, especially when you throw in dating and things like that. Take for example that first big crush. Whether we dated them or not, I think everyone at one time or another had to be bitten by that bug. Some of us acted on it in our own way and I'm sure some did not. I had more than a little bit of wallflower in me when it came to things like that, but that didn't keep me from writing their name everywhere I could --- even once on the leg of my jeans during class. Maybe I thought nobody would notice. :) Where am I going with this? I have no idea. I guess it's just a guy nearing 60 trying to make heads or tails out of some things he did at 16, when in all honesty I didn't even have a clue what I was doing back then either.

Or maybe if I'd spent less time writing names on my jeans and more time writing school work I might have been a doctor or lawyer or rocket scientist now. Yeah... right!