The Invitation
I’m not much for school reunions. I’ve only attended two of my own — my 50th San Rafael High School Reunion in 2003 and my 50th Stanford Reunion four years later. I loved them both but, truth to tell, the trek to California seems like a huge effort for that walk down memory lane. An odd thought coming from me, the history buff. Perhaps it’s because I’ve kept in close touch over the years with classmates from both high school and college and the memory itch is well-scratched.
These thoughts are in the forefront right now because I’ve recently received information about my 60th college reunion. Shall I? Or not? It’s scheduled for next October 12th to 15th – Homecoming Weekend, and involves a host of events. Beginning with a “tailgate party” on Thursday evening and continuing Friday with a choice of “40 Classes Without Quizzes taught by top Stanford faculty,” the festivities include mini-reunions with dorm-mates, campus tours and, for the stalwart football fans, the homecoming game: Stanford Cardinal vs. Oregon Ducks.
Alena, Miki, Sydney
Tempting, to be sure. Meanwhile, I’ll be having a school reunion or two of another sort. In fact, the first one was on Saturday when Alena Short, Miki Frace, and I met for lunch at the Roo. It was our first get-together since Alena moved back to the beach from Utah where she has been for the past twenty years or so! We have vowed to make this reunion a quarterly event.
And, it’s a “school” reunion how? Let me count the ways! First of all, I taught Miki’s daughter, Dorothy, and Alena’s daughter and son, Chelsea and Zack, back in the 1990s. In fact, in the early ‘90s when I had a multigrade first, second, third grade class, both Dorothy and Chelsea were with me for several years. I can’t honestly remember if they were in the same grade or a year apart. And to think that those ‘kids’ are now adults. And Zack with kids of his own!
Ocean Park School: The First Seven Decades, page 131
Secondly, it was a school reunion because all of us are teachers. I was actually on the interview team that recommended Miki for employment. I don’t remember much about the interview process except that it was held in my classroom at Ocean Park School and Dorothy, then eighteen months old, crawled around the floor happily exploring what would soon become a big part of her world.
Alena didn’t get her teaching credential until she went back to Utah but, of course, I’d like to think that I had some part in encouraging her to do so. Never in my wildest dreams (maybe not in hers, either) did I think that someday she would be back here teaching in the Ocean Beach School District! I’m only sorry that we missed being working colleagues. As it is, my retirement in 2001 might have been right around the time she began her first teaching job.
It was a grand reunion. Non-stop talking and catching up with families, careers, and future plans. First and foremost: we plan to get together again soon to continue the conversation!
Never been to any class reuions at any level. Heard they can be a mixed bag.