Fifty One Years

My high school graduating class, the Class of 1970 of Berea High School, was supposed to have their 50th reunion last summer.  Of course that was cancelled due to the pandemic.  Plans were made to hold the reunion at year later this September.  When the arrangements were made for our delayed reunion, we had reason for optimism... people were being vaccinated, and cases were dramatically declining.  Now COVID is surging once again.  Although the situation is not as bad in Ohio as it is in some states, we still have an average of over 6500 new cases each day here.  I was rather hesitant to be in an enclosed space with over 150 people who had come from all parts of the country.  Even fully vaccinated people are advised to wear masks indoors. 

The afternoon of the reunion, I was invited to a small outdoor gathering hosted by one of my classmates.  We had a good time reminiscing about high school.  After a couple of hours of conviviality we headed over to the party center.

Here is our small group at the entrance to the event...

You have already met a couple of my classmates here on the blog.  Second from the right is Duffy who splits his time between Puerto Rico and Florida.  Now that he is retired he is considering spending more of his time here in Ohio, away from the humidity of Miami.  Third from the right is Gayle, who still lives in her childhood home... in fact her house is within walking distance from mine.

To the right is Heather, who made the trip from Virginia, and who was also very concerned about the large indoor gathering. 

To the left is Brian, who flew in from Colorado, and third from the left is Dale, the host of our earlier get together.

I, of course, am the one second to the left.  I am holding our yearbook, the 1970 edition of "The Berean".  

As we entered the party center, Heather and I put on our N-95 masks.  It was rather discouraging to see that we were among the very few wearing a mask.  I did not remove mine even to eat.  (From what others told me, however, I did not miss much by not partaking of the catered dinner.)  I was thinking that our small gathering earlier in the day was much more fun than the big event.

Then, after dinner when people were mingling, I spotted someone whose presence made the whole thing worthwhile.  My best friend from high school was there.  We had not seen each other for decades, and we would not have recognized each other if not for our name tags.  Back in the day, we were both a couple of nerds. (I don't know if the word "nerd" even existed back then.)  He was a science nerd and I was a history nerd.  We talked a long time, and exchanged addresses and phone numbers.  He has lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, since graduating from the University of Michigan.  

After a long conversation with him, I left the reunion feeling glad that I had attended.