On 25 August, 2018, my Cherokee High School class of 1968
celebrated our 50th year. And, true enough for most of those folks, it
was the FIRST time I had laid eyes on them in 50 years! And, for a lot of these
folks, my wife and I were sooooo very grateful for name tags!
It was a very nice well-planned event. The venue was perfect, the food excellent, and the desserts were nearly unbelievable! To be honest, it was a little awkward. There was only a bit of a program- which seemed fine, but there wasn't much to chat about. Kids, retirement, and then the conversation kinda lagged.
Fortunately, Saturday morning, before the afternoon reunion, Charles R and I got together for breakfast. We had been close hunting buddies in school, and had kept in touch with each other off and on through these 50 years. We caught up on hunting stuff, and then Charles had the excellent idea of visiting another one of our High School buddies, except this one lay dying in a nearby nursing home. Ed had been a great friend of our youth, and later in life had found his calling as a Methodist Minister and indeed had pastored our hometown church--Canton First Methodist for some 25 years. We visited mostly with Ed's wife, because Ed was chiefly unconscious. His wife was extremely warm and remarkably upbeat for the circumstances. After a 30-40 min visit, I offered to pray for us all, and we all, Ed included, joined hands for a prayer. Ed died two days later. I am glad we went by to see him one last time.
The Reunion featured a dove release to represent those classmates who had died before the Reunion. There were a few small competitions for most grand kids, etc. It was great fun, but as I said, it was a bit awkward.
I didn't expect that, but probably should have. Live and Learn.
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