You can't go home!

[Ivan the Butcher]

I went to my 50th High School reunion last night. About 1/3 (50 +/-) of the class made it. (which is about the same number of people that made #40 & #45).

One came from Florida and one from Nebraska.

I waved at a few I see often. But only had one real conversation with anyone I hadn't seen it 50 years. She's the one that came from Nebraska. She told me all about her several hundred head of Holsteens and turtle hunts on the farm. What I couldn't figure out was why she talked to me. She joined our class in our sophomore year, we didn't have any classes together, and I would wager I hadn't said 20 words to her in H.S.!

There were about 20 people I hadn't been in contact with, that I really wanted to see. Not one of them made it. (one died last Saturday!)

Many years ago, my M-I-L went to her 40th reunion and to her 50th. Her advice was "Go To your 40th! They are all still relatively healthy and mobile. After that it is mostly a heartbreak!" I now believe she was much wiser than I expected and should have taken her advice!

I feel that I have paid my obligations to my classmates and won't be attending any more.

Ivan
Class of '74

 

[6518John]

Turtle hunts!!??

 

[Bald1]

50th reunion would put people between 67-69 yrs old. That not OLD by today's standards. I went to my 25th. What I realized is I stayed in contact with the people I wanted to (3or4). As for the rest, my attitude is I didn't like or know you back then why do I care about you now??????

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Turtle hunts!!??

Yes, snapping turtle hunts. I guess it's a family tradition in her husband's family.

Ivan

 

[StrawHat]

I talked to my one friend who went to his 50th. Funny thing! The cliques from back then are the cliques now. Same with the bullies.

Some things never change.

Kevin

 

[zeke]

Went to first 5 yr reunion, never went back. My 50th is in Oct, but 1500 miles away and i don't travel well. Am figuring by this time some may have figured life ain't a bowl of peaches like they acted like in hs.

 

[grover99]

My reunion is in Sept and is only 50 miles from my home. However it would be my 57th. Most of my friends that I was close to in school are now gone. There is one I keep up with and if he is going to be there I may drop by. Other wise I think not

 

[Donn]

Never attended one. My school days never generated any warm fuzzies. Was sweet-talked into the 50th. Had nice conversations with a few people from back when, but for the most part, it was everything I expected. It reminded me why I never went to one of these functions and will never go to another.

 

[Krogen]

Same as Zeke. I went to my 5 year reunion and haven't gone to a single one since. High School was back then; life is now. I'm not one to live in the past and I figure solid High School friendships last without the reunions. No need for a reunion with folks I haven't seen in years. We were adolescents then and if we drifted apart, likely there were reasons.

 

[pharmer]

I went to 25th. Nobody I hung with was there. Buffet was "Golden Corral" level. Ain't been back. Joe

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I have shot turtles in farm ponds.
They can multiply to the point that they can impact the fishing.
Never actually called it Turtle Hunting or discussed it at Social Events.

 

[rkrcpa]

I've gone to several of my reunions starting with the 20th. I will say each one was enjoyable. In some instances I have kept in touch

My high school class was small (75 total) and many of those I had known since I was 4 years old. I find it comforting to see that most of us are doing well after all these years.

 

[wuluf]

Every reunion was planned by some of the wealthier graduates, and have been too pricey for me to attend. Glad some of us did well, but when I added the cost of travel, I decided not to go..

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

 

[SMSgt]

I went to my 40th and 45th reunions. I really hadn't been back home since I joined the service at 19 and hadn't kept touch with all my HS buds. Still, we had a good time, even though all of them had gotten so old. The 50th reunion was wiped out by the Great Covid Panic of 2020. I think interest has been lost by all for the most part and doubt there will be another. It was usually held at the hotel at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a nice enough setting.

 

[cololab]

My reunion (25th) was a hoot. The classmate friends with whom I have stayed in touch (several have now died) and I regaled everyone with tales of our collective mispent youth. The comical part was several of those who had been quite active participants in the mischief had now gotten religion or whatever and seemingly wished their spouses to believe they had lived the life of high school monks or nuns.

Mind you, we didn't mention anyone by name in my class of 48 students, and by today's standards our mischief was mild. It was however funny to see some of our fellow culprits squirming a bit, no doubt anticipating some future questioning by their respective spouses who were in attendance.

 

[Narragansett]

I had a ball in high school. We graduated about 120, and 25% or so are now gone. We just had a 55th, and I will go to the next one if there is interest in having one

 

[The Last Standing Knight]

Went to one once.
Will never go to another.
I had reached a point in my life where I had nothing in common with the vast majority of them despite knowing many for most of my childhood years.

I was no longer the person they knew nor where they the people I knew.

 

[lkabug]

I go to every tenth year reunion. October will be the 60th.
Not many of us remaining from the 1964 class.

 

[bigmtnman]

I went to almost every one (every 5 years) of mine from 10th to 50th and had nothing but great experiences. Our HUGE graduating class of 860 (pic.) in 1964 was just a bunch of nice suburban Maryland kids. We had a common bond of great teachers in a great school who served us all well. Around 250 made it to our 50th reunion. We had pride in our school (Northwestern, College Park, Md.) and respect for one another. Our most famous graduate was Jim Henson creator of the Muppets. Next week is our 60th and I cannot be there. I consider myself very fortunate to have had such a great school experience, as do most all of my classmates

 

[jscheck]

I was one of those kids who never fit in. I hated the school and all the "cool" kids in it. Didn't go to the first reunion and have no desire to go to any others. Reunions are fine for those with good memories of school but have no appeal for me.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I attended my 50th in 2017, felt sort of like the Twilight Zone, I felt like a time traveler. Good conversation with a woman I was not close to then, I was surprised at the number of people who remembered me. I was something of an academic star but not a real socializer. None of the people I didn't want to see were there , several I'd liked to have seen were not, saw several I should have talked to. The In Memoriam Book contained abut 20-25% of the class.
Yes, several girls I remember as real cupcakes...the years had not been kind to them.

 

[LVSteve]

School reunions were never a big thing in the UK. The structure of schooling was very different back in the day as well. There were few 'middle' schools in my day, you went to one 'secondary modern', 'comprehensive', or 'grammar' school from 11 to 18. My first grammar school closed a couple of years after I moved away. At one time they had an active 'old boys' website, and I even recognized some of the names of those who were bigger players.

My second school also had an active 'old boys/girls' setup, but I never joined up. I was always a little 'off to the side' at school. In any case, it's a bit of a trip these days. Weirdly, one former classmate (and briefly coworker) now lives in California.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I reveled in my time in HS as I had a captive audience of 350.

I have been to most of my reunions and had mass fun at each.

They are what you make of them.

 

[venomballistics]

Yes, snapping turtle hunts. I guess it's a family tradition in her husband's family.

Ivan

They can do some damage to your livestock.

contact distance with a 12 gauge is ill advised .... don't ask me how I know.

 

[JET4]

Never been too one and don't plan on going to any. My wife was left out of her high school senior yearbook on purpose. The person putting the yearbook together didn't like her. Needless to say she's never been too one either.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

One of the things I noticed, and it may only be a coincidence, is that all the girls that did pill type drugs are dead. Most of the same type of guys are still alive. Strange!

Similar results for the sexually ferocious too.

None of the 68-year-old women were "Drop Dead Gorgeous Grandmas!", but most of the cute girls were now "Cute Round & Friendly Grandmas."
Several of the guys were very Hansom Grandpas, But the actual farm families were reversed! 50 years on a tractor, and in the sun didn't improve anybody's looks.

By the way, the food was pretty bad. I didn't go to eat, but Yeck!

Ivan

 

[DWalt]

The first (and last) HS reunion I attended was the 40th. I quickly found I had very little in common with those who did attend and I had nothing I cared to discuss with them. The handful I used to hang out with back then were not there. At least a few were in the great beyond. Pretty much a wasted evening. I did notice that many of the girls I remember as being at least somewhat hot back then had all gone to seed. I hardly recognized them. Doubt that enough members of my class are still alive to have a reunion today.

My wife never wanted to attend any of her class reunions. Always thought most of the boys she knew were now either dead or serving life sentences. She grew up in a tough New York Italian neighborhood where every other family was Mafia.

 

[ZGrand]

Had my 50th a couple of years ago. Had a good time. We hadn't had one since the 25th. It was interesting to see how we'd all aged -- some gracefully, some not so much.

 

[lihpster]

Went to my tenth. Everybody there was still the same insecure jerks. Had one guy, who I was friendly with in high school, come up to me, after not seeing each other or talking in 10 years. he said, "So, what are you doing now?" I said I was driving a forklift at a glass company. He nodded and said, "Oh, I have a used car lot in AZ." Then he walked off immediately. That was about par for the course. Food was bad and it was expensive.

My 20TH was held at a hotel where a girlfriend was working as a manager. Had her make an announcement that I was forgoing the reunion to ride my bike to Sturgis. Had a much better time in the Black Hills. Haven't been invited to any others. I must be living right.

 

[Golddollar]

I went back to all my high school reunions, and I have to say that I enjoyed them. The baloney that went on in high school had disappeared. One guy I was sure despised me in high school ended up giving me a hug.