Man, It's Been Twenty Years.

As if I wasn't feeling old enough already, I was flying with a pilot last week who in the course of our conversation revealed he was born the same week I graduated from high school: June 1988.  I literally have at least one pair of boots and a t-shirt or two older than him.  A bit of perspective though, the next day I flew with a pilot who told me he was loooking forward to his high school reunion, his 40th.  I was -2 years old when he graduated, I suddenly felt better.

I attended my 10 Year Reunion and had a blast.  What made it so much fun was that even ten years ago, e-mail was still a relatively new phenomenon, so I was only really in touch with a few dozen old high school classmates, there were plenty of surprises.  The weekend was filled with the usual revelations, some of us got fat (present company included) some of us lost our hair (thankfully, not me) and some former wallflowers became hotties.  We all aged, just some more gracefully than others.  We took away from the weekend a shiny new booklet with all our new contact information and promised to keep in touch, which we did for a few months.

When 2008 arrived, I began thinking about my 20 Year Reunion and how much had changed and how great it would be to see all those people from last time and hopefully others who didn't make the 10 Year reunion.  As spring began, we started getting information about the impending reunion and word began trickling in about who was going to make it and who wasn't. I was getting psyched.  Then Facebook exploded.  I was either soliciting or confirming 'friendship' from fellow Hilltoppers nearly everyday.  It was like a virtual reunion before the actual live event.  At first I wondered if perhaps the Facebook reunion would take a bit of the novelty out of the real thing.  But after posting that notion (on Facebook, no less) I was reassured that a) you can't have a beer over Facebook and b) the 'randoms' that you encounter at a reunion far outweigh the fact that I know more about my classmates now that I probably ever did in high school.

So, I remain completely stoked about this weekend and with a little luck will have a GWHS-themed Unheard Music on Friday.  If you're going, what are you most looking forward to?  If you're not going, what will you miss?  If you don't fall into either category, share your reunion thoughts.

Comments

[Jeff]

I'm going to be totally jetlagged - but really looking forward to having a proper Glen Ellyn weekend. My last visit was just too short, with too many commitments - and it's been *years* since I've been there in the fall, seen a football game, etc. etc. - all the things that make being from a small(ish) town in the good ol' USA great.

We are going to have fun, dammit.

[dj]

Hey Ken, thanks for letting us Main Street Schoolers have an impromptu reunion in your FaceBook Photo Album.

[Scotty]

I had a great reunion weekend last year. The best part was the cross-country/track mini-reunion we had at the Arboretum Saturday afternoon. Both coach Haake and coach Arnold showed up.

Someone from my fifth grade class at Main Street gave every person from the class a copy of our class picture. At the official reunion those of us who were there from that class got together for another picture.

I'm glad I went. It was great to see certain people. There was still the same annoying clicks, even after twenty years, but that stuff just seems funnier now.

Have fun!

[Andy]

I'll be there. Sorry I'll miss the Friday night festivities (I'm on the red-eye) but I'll be thinking of you all as I drink my pre-flight beer at SFO tomorrow night.

I remember my mom going to her 20th reunion when I was about 12, and thinking that it was mathematically impossible for someone to be TWENTY years out of high school. And now look at us -- graduation was half a lifetime ago. Crazy.

[the slackmistress]

I remember calling you at the station on the way home from our 10th. I think you played some Lloyd Cole? I'm a bit fuzzy (because it was that long ago, not because I had been drinking, oddly enough.)

My favorite "remember when" moment is still when you introduced yourself on MySpace and I had to break it to you that actually knew each other. ;)

Also, Mazel Tov to you and Carla on your impending arrival!