REBELS OF '95
It was suggested I put the old HS photos on the web. And since I was going to tackle that job, I decided to volunteer to create a place to put all our reunion photos as well. This won't be fancy so if any of you computer/web page building geniuses out there want to put something better together, just let me know what you need from me in terms of switching things over.
In the meantime...I'm just adding this page to my own website and I'll be happy to keep it here and add to it as long as you like. So if you have photos or links to your photos, just email them to me at [email protected] and I'll get them added.
OK...so here's a quick recap of my trip to Amarillo for our 10 yr reunion.
It was WEIRD! I now appreciate the true brilliance of name tags. It wasn't that anyone was unrecognizable. In fact, everyone looked pretty much the same, but not having seen many of the faces or spoken their names in 10 years, makes a name tag pretty helpful. The Weird part is that the instant you recognize someone, it all comes back to you. You remember the person standing in front of you now as if you were standing there 10 years ago with them. Except for Bezner, of course. I now picture him from the reunion and not HS. : )
From my POV, everyone involved in putting the reunion together did a terrific job. I don't think anyone knew what to expect, which can be quite difficult to plan for. The venues were great and the atmosphere was always relaxed...except for the inner tension of trying to figure out who everyone is from a distance so you don't make too big a fool of yourself having to ask their names or look at the name tags first (a lot of that went on the first night) but again...at least most of the time we had the name tags!!!
The first event was at a downtown bar called Burberry's (formally Brewsters) on Polk. Despite having the entire upstairs reserved for us, most of the "meeting and greeting" took place on the main level. With lots of alcohol at our disposal, this first encounter was a huge success. It went so well, in fact, that some didn't seem to make it to the next couple of events. ; )
A tour of the school halls was scheduled from 10am - Noon on Saturday, and I admit, I didn't make this one. I did catch up with everyone at Sam Houston park about 1pm for a lunch event that had been scheduled from noon to 2pm. The park was a nice touch. The weather was perfect and it was such a great place for all the kids to run around together. At the park, I realized that not everyone would attend all the events, and some would attend only one event. There were classmates at the bar the first night that we never saw again, and the same went for the park and the final dinner. Late or not, I was glad I made it to all three.
The last event was dinner on the 11th floor of the old Santa Fe Building downtown. Dinner was a grilled chicken breast, baked potato, salad, and dinner roll...with plenty of water and beer, of course. This one started out rough with everyone sitting at tables in a big open room and not mingling much. Eventually Cody Graham emceed the questionnaire results (you know...most eligible bachelor, most changed (Bezner!!!), most marriages...that sort of thing), after which someone thought to turn down the lights a bit, start up some music, and everyone started to make the rounds. Good for us. We even managed a big group photo, which was great, except that so many people were missing (even of those who attended). What I didn't like about the reunion was that I felt like most of my time was spent trying to say hello to everyone at least once, which only allows enough time for the obligatory "How are you? What do you do? Married? Kids?" Though informative, these questions hardly encompass each of us. I hope we move to Religion, Politics, and Meaning of Life conversations at the next one. ; )
There is a quote out there by someone I can't remember off-hand, that says, "Everybody looks the same at reunions, just more swollen." And I think that about sums it up. Everyone really did look the same, just 10 years grown up. I can officially attest to the fact that reunions are very odd experiences! But lots of fun. After seeing everyone again, I find that I don't really want to wait 10 years to see you all again... or 20 years for those who couldn't quite make it to this one. If any of you are ever in the Dallas area, you are more than welcome to stop by anytime and I hope you will.
Jeff Acker (1995); Karen Baker (2000); Bart Flenniken (1994);
Aaron Gamblin (1995); Brian Beckley (2000)
If you know of anyone that needs to be added to the list, just email me and I will do so.