In 1979, Jimmy Carter was President, the cost of a first-class postage stamp was 15 cents and for 85 cents you could buy a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline. It was also the same year that I graduated high school.
I have not seen most of my classmates since graduation. There have been class reunions, of which, I think I have attended 3 out of 6, but quite frankly, after about 5 minutes of catching up with someone you haven't seen in decades, you run out of things to talk about. Nothing personal, just my honest opinion. You can only talk about the "old days" for so long.
This past weekend my wife and I had the opportunity to have lunch with some of our former classmates. Yes, my sweetie graduated the same year. It was a small gathering which I actually prefer. We had arranged all the details on my favorite social network site and now the time had come to meet up with my former Sentinel classmates.
Oddly enough we all got to the parking garage at the same time. Embraces, hugs, and handshakes were all exchanged and for a moment it was like I was transported back to 1979. Memories of each of these long-lost friends came flooding back into my mind. We made our way to lunch and after several hours of eating, drinking and talking, I found it hard to believe that the time had gone by so quickly. So much for running out of things to say after 5 minutes...
We all made our way over to Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream and then it was time to find the parking garage that was disguised as another parking garage. But we safely found our cars and then it was time to go. I found myself not wanting to leave.
I think it's good to revisit the past sometimes, but it's even better to participate in the present. Last weekend I learned a lot...about my friends and about myself...hell, I even learned the meaning of life.
Be Well.
Bill
