The reunion was held in Chicago with several couples all of whom were about 65. They had first met in California in 1962 when Allie, Cher, Toni and Zee were the original four room mates who moved into an apartment after graduating from college together and getting jobs in the same city. Al, a young engineer, lived next door with his roommates, Bob and Don. Now the original Californians lived back east while those from back east were still in California.
The five couples were Zee & Bob, Toni and Bill, Cher & Bob, Allie & Larry and Monica & Al.
The discussion ranged from the recall election, Arnold, immigrants, decline of hi tech companies and schools, "Do you remember . . . " to "Whatever happened to . . . ?"
The latter was in the form of some infornation to prove the speaker knew something about the person then a story about when they were young. The only ones who knew most of these people were Al and the four roommates although their spouses might have met the few who were still around when they started dating one of the five in the reunion group.
Al asked, "Does anyone remember Wilson?"
"The last I heard he was back in Salt Lake City," said Cher.
"Is that where he was from?" asked Zee.
Al told the group, "No, he was from Pittsburgh but he went to school in SLC. Don't you remember his father was a Mormon Bishop?"
Zee said, "Yes, I asked him once how he became such a drinker and he said he 'saw the light!'"
The discussion at the other end of the table got out of synch so we missed who was being discussed.
Someone said, "Lori married a fireman."
Al was surprised. "I was really interested in her and went to ask her out at a party but she talked only about some rich guy who took her to Acapulco so I decided not to."
"You should have. She was an easy lay," he was told.
Al reminisced. "I remember when I first saw her. She was sitting in a rattan chair and was wearing a slightly tight burgundy sweater over levis that were tight and ended in black hand tooled cowboy boots. She had a man's fedora hat with a forest green hatband on her head. It had dimples on both sides of the crown and was tipped to a jaunty angle. She had that half smile, the one where the mouth is a little open but the ends don't curl up or down. Her hand hung over the arm of the chair and was holding a cocktail glass dangling from her finger tips."
"Yes, she always was the Queen of her domain. You missed out, Al."
The talk went on in this manner.
Zee said, "John died of a heart attack twenty years ago."
Cher said, "Pookie married, what was his name, BD or something I think."
Toni said, "I heard they were having troubles. I don't know how it worked out though."
Allie said, "That reminds me. Do you know about Suzi? Last I heard she divorced and was living with a guy twenty years younger than her."
Some of the women made various noises, mostly favorable to this.
Al took the floor, "That should work. I knew a couple about twenty years ago, their names were Sam and Mary. They were having problems and were both math teachers in Junior High. They had always taken their summer vacations together even before they were married. One year they could't agree on where to go so they decided to take separate vacations. I and others counseled them to work things out but they were both stubborn and wouldn't change their plans. Sam went to Florida for the summer while Mary went to Hawaii although they both could have gone either place together for the sun and the beach.
"Sam sent a postcard from Miami to Mary that said, 'Having a wonderful time. The weather is perfect and I'm getting quite a tan. I met a coed from Florida State who is showing me around. We do everything together and I mean everything.'
"Mary sent a postcard by return mail. 'Glad to hear you are having such a good time. I am taking Surfing lessons from a Kanaka here and he is teaching me everything and I mean everything. You should remember from third grade arithmatic, twenty goes into forty more often than forty goes into twenty!'"
The group laughed a long time at that, some of the women annoying their husbands with their supportive remarks. The nostalgia had run its course as had the dinner so dishes were cleared, coats were found and everyone hugged everyone else before they left. No one commented that this was the first reunion in fifteen years and if they waited that long for the next one they would not see most of these people again.
(c) HWS, 2004