The DU Lounge

First was the 10th. It was good to see friends who'd moved far away. A lot of people had really changed. The nerdiest guy in high school looked like Clark Kent as Superman. The cheerleaders had gone fat, blond hair turned brown. The jocks had pot bellies. The guy voted most likely to succeed didn't succeed at embezzling a million bucks from the bank he worked at, so missed the reunion while in jail.

The 15th was smaller, and more informal. I just went to the picnic and a bar mixer, not the main soiree as my best friends didn't make it to town. A few people I knew had died of AIDs, as it was a new disease when we were in high school, and nobody knew about it. A close friend's dance partner was gone, and a guy who once asked me on a date. Such a shock.

The 20th brought a big surprise. The bully who picked on me in high school came up and actually apologized--saying he was sorry for being such a jerk; he complimented my nice family and said he was stuck working on an oil rig, all alone, and realized he'd made a lot of mistakes in life. I about fell over in shock, and actually felt sorry for the bully!

This fall will be our 50th. I guess I'll go and see who's still alive, though my best friend has passed, so it will be bittersweet. I live in the same town where I went to high school, so it's easy enough for me to attend.

I was not a popular kid in school, but did have a few close friends, and a few others I knew casually from being in drama and choir. One good friend and later, coworker hasn't come to any and it's as if she's vanished--nobody knows what's happened to her. Who knows? Maybe she'll decided to show up.

I've also gone to two reunions with my hubby. The first was fun for him--seeing old friends, and learning that the class jerk was now a Republican Congressman, ha. The second was not so fun, seeing classmates of his in wheelchairs and walkers at the 50th. But he did catch up with a couple of old friends, and was still glad he went. They took a photo of everyone still around and gave everyone a copy.