(Hey everyone…take
the time to read this. It’s long, it’s
sappy, it’s boring, but enough about me naked (bada bing!). I think you just might get something out of
it. If not, then blame David Cady
because he made me do it. And my apologies to the spouses of my classmates. I will call everyone by their maiden names
for +
ease of reference.)
The anxiety level
began to build as I drove down from
So as I neared
But that was
secondary to the main culprit that was knocking around in my head. Would anyone remember me? Hell, this wasn’t even my graduating class. I had moved my senior year to
I cruised through the
old neighborhood just for giggles. The
trees looked HUGE compared to what I remembered, but
everything else was pretty much the same as I remembered it. I swung by Jeff Carlson’s old house, and much to my surprise, someone was home and “C A
Carlson” was still on the mailbox. So I
stopped and rang the doorbell, and Jeff’s mom opened the door. I said, “Hi Mrs. Carlson, it’s
Gary Uecke,” to which she let out a gasp and quickly invited me in. We chatted for about 45 minutes before I
finally had to break away to get out to the Starlight. It was so good seeing her again, although her
husband had passed away several years earlier.
You sure lose touch when you no longer have family living in town.
I felt much better as
I headed out to the Starlight. One of
the main reasons I had decided to attend this reunion is that many of my
friend’s parents were getting to that age where they just might not be around
much longer, or had already passed away.
Jeff Carlson’s father, Nick Henderson’s dad, both
gone. They were a major part of
my childhood. I remember Jeff and I stealing cigarettes from his dad’s stash and having our
first smoke out on the swing set in his neighbor’s yard. Camel Straights…I got dizzy immediately and
about puked. “What the hell was the
attraction with these things,” I thought to myself. Do you remember where you were when you had
your first cigarette?
That newfound
confidence was soon shattered, as I could not find the Starlight. I thought it was somewhere near the FD
Country Club across the Karl King Bridge, but instead of heading north, I made
my way towards ICCC and then towards the hospital. I had this thought that maybe it was out by
the
I checked in at the
Starlight and saw a group at a table across from front entry, but didn’t
recognize anyone, so I got my key and headed to the room. I was running pretty late now, and I had to
step up the pace. I showered, shaved
(which is quite the undertaking when you have to do your whole head too), and
dressed as fast as I could. I was really
getting excited to see some friendly faces and get the ball rolling.
I headed down to the
lobby, but the table now was empty and nobody was milling around outside. So I just walked through the door and into
the room. I stopped and scanned the
entire room from left and right and DIDN”T RECOGNIZE ONE SINGLE PERSON. A dread came over me as I realized I had not
seen any signs announcing that this was the room for the FDHS reunion. “I must be in the wrong room,” I thought to
myself, and spun around before anyone could ask me what the hell I was doing at
their party. I hurried out the door and
into the lobby. Just as I was starting
to panic, I suddenly was seeing someone I recognized. Steve Engeman was chatting up someone, so I
walked right up and declared, “Boy, you haven’t changed a bit Steve.” He had no clue who I was, so introduced
myself. My first friendly
face, what a relief. Then up came
Dude Netland, and the reunion had begun.
Now the people and
names were coming at me full force. Barb
Kurtz came out the door and I recognized her right away. Then Diane Rupp, now a blonde (looked
great…of course, I’m jealous of anyone with hair). I asked where Bill Habhad was, because I had
told him earlier in the day that I was going to be his date. We would get the “gay” rumors started right
away, I had told him. So I found Bill
and went up and gave him a big kiss on the cheek (his face, not the other cheek
you sick bastards). And right beside him
was my soul mate from high school, Laurie Sears. She was a major reason why I came to this
thing. We were the closest of friends
for so many years and I desperately wanted to spend time with her. I had made the 10-year reunion, but hadn’t
really spent much time conversing with Laurie, which I regretted. I had hooked up with Todd Tripp at that
ballroom on
Then it was a rapid
succession of people…Mark Clausen, Karen Putnam, Kathi Marchi, Janice Kolesar,
Marilea Bumgarner, Renee Holm, Jeff Grell, Julie Amo, Roxanne Castagnoli, Chris
Carlson, Kaye Murphy, Penny Rathermal, Mike Thompson, Steve Zuspann, Jenny
Johnson, Deb Van Gundy. Just a rapid-fire, “Hey, how are you? Good to see you. Oh my gosh! Look who’s here?” until all of the sudden,
the lights come on and we have to wind up the night. Need to find a place for a nightcap.
Out in the lobby,
still more people I hadn’t seen inside…Denise Cramer, Jan Carlson, Jim
Peters. Jim, Bill Habhab and I decide to
head for a watering hole before last call and head out. I don’t even know where we went, but it was
great time. Turns out
that Jim knows one of my best friends and roommate from college. What a small world.
We return to the
Starlight looking for more trouble, and find it when we stumble upon a party in
Penny Rathermal’s room. I run into Tom
Gumm, and he tells me he knows my sister and brother-in-law pretty well. So we share some swigs off a tequila bottle
and the party is off and running. Now
here’s a guy who I probably never said three words to my whole high school
career and I’m sharing hits of tequila and having a grand old time. That’s what reunions are all about…sharing
laughs with old friends and opening the door to new ones.
Almost
Saturday morning
wasn’t on my radar. I woke right up at
the crack of
I arrive and the hits
keep coming. I run into Ron Behrens,
Linda Salvatore, Rich Licht, Brad Schubring, Randy Derrig, and Sherri
Ruge. I met a guy I didn’t remember from
high school named David Cady. We start
sharing stories and he tells me how he moved to
Dinner was about to
begin when Tom Gumm grabbed me and told me to sit with them at the reserved
table. I guess bonding with tequila will
do that for you. I was reminded of all
the Jimmy Buffett songs and now they meant a little more to me. I sat with Barb Kurtz and her husband Bob,
Tom, Laurie Sears, Jenny Johnson and Janice Kolesar (I hope I didn’t leave
anyone out). We ate and then Barb got up
to introduce the speakers, Laurie and Diane Rupp. Barb sat down and threatened to get me up
there, but I thought she was kidding.
After a few remarks from those ladies, Lettie Lumsden got up and awarded
prizes from the golf tournament that morning.
I’m going to have to go golfing next year. There were some pretty good prizes
included.
Then it
happened. Barb and Tom were goading me
to get up and say something. They
weren’t kidding after all. Never missing
an opportunity to make an ass of myself, I decided what the heck, and up I went.
Turns out talking in front of people isn’t one of my
hang-ups. Who knew? After relating bits stolen from Robin
Williams (my apologies to Greg Merryman) and some anecdotal humor from junior
and senior high, I finally sat back down at the “cool table.”
After Cindy
Green made some announcements and showed us all how to chug beer, Barb turned
the night over to the DJ. He dedicated the first song to me. It was “Hair” from the musical of the same
name and it was the perfect lead-in to the rest of the evening. Ran into more people…Clark
Fletcher (in the dinner line), Sue Crinnigan, Paula Walker, Kris Ernst, Doug
Brand, and Steve Haviland. Man,
this had turned out to be just a great evening, and it was just getting
started.
Dancing ensued, and
the rest of the night was a continued hit.
Turned out the biggest dancing songs of the night were AC/DC and
Aerosmith. Who knew we had such a hard
rock edge? I started noticing some
people that I didn’t recognize at all, until I figured out they were from
another reunion. Barb had let them in
and they were having a great time without distracting from our night. I thought that was great.
The night came to an all too abrupt end, although it ran later than the
previous night. We all kind of milled
around for a brief period and tried to decide what to do next, but I think the
damage had been done as most people headed for the exits. There was a party in the same room by the
pool, but
I know I’ve bored you
all to tears with this long-winded account of the weekends
festivities, but as I drove back to
But here’s the
crux of my thoughts as I made my way north. What a pity that so
many people missed out on an opportunity to reconnect with the very people that
had helped define them. Here, in one place, were the friends who had
shared those awkward years of adolescence right on through to the culmination
of your life at that point, graduation.
These were the people that shared those moments, all in one place, and
all you had to do was show up. We all
thought that we were so very alone as we grew up, and
that the things we went though were unique unto ourselves. But let me tell you, we were all just trying
to find our way, to fit into the grand scheme of things, to try to be accepted. And sure, our lives have moved on from those
times and you can’t go back. But you can
sure revisit them, and that’s what makes these reunions so important. They are good for the soul.
Don’t miss the next
one. If not for
yourself, then for the people who thought of and missed seeing you at this
reunion. Who missed reveling in
your company and celebrating your friendship.
Life is such a precious commodity, and these opportunities may not
always present themselves. We’ve lost a
few more souls along the way, and odds are we’ll lose some more before we see
each other again in five years. And to
those who have lost parents, friends, siblings, spouses and children recently
(you know who you are), just keep in mind that your friends are thinking of you
and wishing you peace and serenity.
Until we meet again,
take care.
Eek
