25 Years and 3 Reunions

On Friday I came home after a fifteen hour workday to an empty house and a full mailbox. I dragged my weary self through the front door with my arms laden with mail, my backpack, house keys, car keys (Yes, I have two separate key rings),Nintendo DS, Zune and various other daily necessities that have seemed to overtake my need of a more simple life that does not involve any electronic gadgets and sundries.

I dumped most of my armload onto my desk and watched as some of the items decided that they would rather rest on my desk chair or the floor. I decided to let them. I was tired. Too tired to even try and think about picking up any mess that I had just caused in the avalanche of gear that has seemed to attach themselves to my daily life. I grabbed the armload of mail though as I headed over to the couch and flopped my 190 pound frame of exhaustion onto it and reached for my laptop. Why? Because that’s what people do when they come home in this day and age. They sit down, fire up the computer and tweet or facebook or myspace or check email and let the world know they are home and ready for a night of snarky comments and virtual bad behavior.

I do this.

You do this.

This is nothing new or shocking. And, while I am waiting for the magic box of communication to warm up I am sorting the gifts the postman has brought me. Bills, bills, bills, Spam, Spam, Spam…what’s this? Hmm, a letter from my Alma Mater? Wow, what could this be?

Rip, rip, tear, tear.

Once open I see the letter contains two pieces of paper, one is a form to fill out if you plan on attending the 25th reunion the other is a questionnaire. Funny, I think to myself, I’ve never gotten an invitation for either the 5^th, 10^th, 15^th, or 20^th reunion. But, here, sitting on my keyboard is an invitation for my 25^th reunion. I set it to the side. I am gonna look at that later I tell myself. Now onto the questionnaire. Oooo juicy in depth questions from people not only do I not know but that I don’t even remember and they are all so “Politically Correct”

Who do you share your life with? Name of Spouse or Significant Other

Year met or married?

Tell us about your Spouse or Significant other? Where did you meet them?

Kids Name

How do you spend your time?

Current Job?

Most interesting job?

Places I have lived?

What do I do in my spare time?

Greatest High School memory?

One thing I know now that I wish I knew in High School?

Suggestions for 30^th reunion?

I have to laugh at these questions simply because I went to 3 different High Schools and the one I graduated from I only had 6 classes in 2 semesters. I knew and remember only 4 people from those brief months of September 1984 to June 1985 and I have not communicated with any of them since I left Wisconsin four days after graduation on a bus headed for Milwaukee and then a plane to San Diego. I also truly believe that since the envelope had my Given name printed on it that there really is no one there that actually remembers who I am or what I did at that school.

Now, I am not complaining so please do not read it that way. It is just the way things are. No painful memories are associated with anyone from the Class of 85 from Washington High School in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Truly very few memories exist in my mind of that place and to tell you the truth, two years ago when I went back to my Alma Mater the place had been torn down and condominiums built on the land it had once stood. The new high school is located out near the interstate from what I am told.

All that being said about my third High School I feel I must clarify that I have also been invited to another Class of 85 reunion. This time though from some friends from Roncalli Catholic High School in Manitowoc. That is a reunion I would like to go to. You see I spent most of my sophomore and all of my junior year there and I met some amazing people and have even spoken at length with several of them over the past few years. Also, when I do end up in Wisconsin I inevitably run into at least one of the kind folks from that school and we always have wonderful memories to share with each other. Will I be going to that reunion? Nope.

There is only ONE reunion I am attending this year, only one I ever want to attend really, and it is with the men that I served onboard the USS Austin (LPD-4) with from 1985 to 1989. No school experience can come close to the education from Professor Uncle Sam or the University Of Enlisted Gator College.

As for my answers to those wonderful questions, I will only say that they are as vague as the relationships that I have with the rest of my graduating class of 1985. Matter of fact, keep your June 85. I will stick with the class of June of 89 when I actually graduated the Navy and knew that no matter what life threw at me I was prepared for it. All thanks to the men I served with.