High School Reunions

This year the Sprayberry High School class of 1960 will celebrate its fiftieth graduation anniversary.  I have not attend any of the class reunions over the past years, but I always told myself that I would attend the fiftieth reunion.  Now that it is drawing near I am beginning to have second thoughts; its arrival time has hastened as has my remaining time on earth is seemingly passing quickly. Maybe now I will wait and attend the sixtieth reunion.

It is fun to reminisce about the good “old” days.  I remember especially the late forties and fifties: no air conditioning in the car, home or school; no fast food restaurants on every corner; no rest stops on the highways, just your service stations. Do you men remember those service station calendars.  I am sure you remember the 45 and 78-RPM records and the black and white television programs. In the late forties and early fifties before we had a television, I can still remember sitting around the AM radio in the evening and listening to the evening programming. Do you remember, “Only the shadow knows.”

Did you ride the school bus to school? Unless you had a friend or knew someone with a car that would let you ride, your only option was the bus.  There are a lot of good memories to think about.  “How about the good times at the drive in movies?” Did you lose something there? 

You might say most of us grew up poor in terms of possessions but everyone else was pretty much the same so we did not really think of ourselves as being poor. (I am excluding the rich kids in this discussion. Their life was somewhat different, as they seemed to have the latest and biggest of everything.)  We were however, rich in family, church and traditions; perhaps more so than we are today.  Could we live today with Sunday store closings and Wednesday afternoon closings?  

There are some good old times that I wish we would return to, but that is just the old man in me talking.  I miss the old church hymns and gospel singings, fire and brimstone sermons and of course the church revivals.  Were you “saved” during a revival? 

For many, high school provided only good memories: first love, social status, recognition, maturity (so to think at the time), companionship, fun and etc. For others like me, high school provided memories, most neither good nor bad but memories nonetheless.  I have grown beyond the memories of high school and do not have any “it might have or could have” memories to relive.  How about you, do you have memories of the past that still haunt you or that you would like to relive? 

I’ve digressed. Let’s get back to reunions. What is my reluctance to attend the upcoming reunion?  Through my elementary and high school years, I did not make or have many friends.  I don’t recall that I ever participated in any extracurricular activities; dating was never thought to be in the realm of possibility although there were crushes.  It was not that people did not like me; it was that I did not like myself.  In essence I was pretty much a loner, but I got there legitimately.  I let a tragic accident make me that way at an early age. 

But, I have no regrets other than not being a friend to those who might have tried to “befriend me.” There might be some refinements but I cannot think of anything that I would really change.  The whole of life is like high school.  You have your athletes, most attractive, friendliest, most popular, most athletic, most talented, most ladylike, most gentlemanly, your Mr. And Miss., your most likely to succeed, your cheerleaders, your band members and so on.  If there was a most likely to fail, our categorizations would be complete.

People have their groups, and they pretty much remain in their groups; like the caste system of India. I have observed over the years that people do not really care about anyone that is not in their click or social group; they may or may not be polite, but in general outsiders are not welcomed and often are excluded through no fault of their own, other than being different in personality, social status (rich or poor), dress or looks. This is especially true in churches.  Heaven help us!  I personally have no regrets or hard feelings regarding anything that has happened in my life.  In fact, life has been very generous and rewarding and if I had to do it over, I would choose to be the same person.

I do not consider my life a failure. To read the inscriptions written in my annuals would lead you to believe I was the “nicest boy’ you would ever want to meet. It is funny how your perception of yourself and how others see you can be quite different.

I have traveled the world and I have made many friendships.  I have a loving wife, a son and a daughter-in-law, a daughter and a son-in-law and a mother-in-law. Five beautiful grandchildren are the crowns of my life.  I have had it all, and it has all been near perfect.  My greatest love, however, is Jesus Christ. All of this would not have been possible if it were not for Him and His mercy.

What about you? What can be said about your life?  Would you live it over again?  What would you change?  Would you want to be someone else?  Have you been happy? Were your parents mean or cruel? Were you raped, attacked or beaten?  Were you a social outcast? Could you be happy? Would you be willing to tell of your experiences?

There are unending scenarios that could be shared but the bottom line is this: If you are not dead you still have time left to enjoy life.  Think positively and get out and do something. Yes, there are vocations that are no longer in the realm of possibility for the aged or aging, and there are past relationships that cannot always be renewed or mended.  There are, however, many opportunities left for enjoyment.

It is all up to you.  No one else can make you happy. You have to make your own happiness.  I made mine and I will pass from this life into the next with no regrets, no thoughts left unsaid and no fear. 

What about you?  Will you be able to say the same?  I pray that you will.

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This entry was posted on 24. August 2010 at 01:40 and is filed under Religious. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.