Last Saturday was the reunion of my graduation from high school. Yup – sixty years ago I graduated and headed off to Oregon State College to learn to become a teacher. It had been ten years since our last reunion. The fiftieth was a huge deal involving a Friday night and a Saturday night. The men looked interesting and the women looked attractive. It featured a book about all of us and a big deal involving the “King” and “Queen” (aka best-looking couple still, of our class)!
This year, however, was from noon until 4pm Saturday only at a nondescript restaurant. The “King” and “Queen” refrained from dealing with the rest of us and held court at a round table in a round area of the room we occupied. We took turns taking group photos of the various grade schools that fed into the high school. We looked through the yearbook and at the photos; some very old, some from 10 years ago.
We squinted at name tags and tried to sit at tables where we could recognize at least one or two people. The difference between now and ten years ago was huge. My husband had dropped me off. When he picked me up he said it looked like an osteoporosis convention letting out! I neglected to mention that one had to be careful not to trip over a carelessly placed cane. All in all, it was fun to reminisce (provided memories were still intact). I would say that most of the men seemed to have mastered aging; the women, not so much. The most interesting thing to me was the huge difference ten years makes, considering they flew by.
Of special interest to me was the yearbook. My picture had a blurb under it that was double the usual (I had no idea I had done that much). The first sentence says that I won a national essay contest! Now, somewhere (nine house moves later) is my own yearbook. I just have to find it. However, since that contest, as an adult, I have written a book; won two national awards for my articles about dogs; I have written for three different newspapers, my fave being The NW Connection. Also, by the time you read this I will have a book published on Amazon/Kindle titled “My Song.” A book of my dog articles is on the way. All of this forecast by my winning a national essay contest. Who knew?!
Writing? Well, for me, it’s best medicine!
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