So last night was my 10-year high school reunion. I graduated from Lowell High School on June 11th, 2000 with some honors cords and in the company of my best friends. (I only remember the date because it was my father’s birthday.) In typical Lowell fashion of subpar class, the reunion was at Buddy and Pals off Summit in Crown Point. The room we were in had no A/C, the food was mediocre, and the only free beer was keg beer (ick).
You would think this would make for a bad time, but I had a blast.
This is what I wanted my reunion to be. I didn’t want it in a fancy hall with a fancy white cloth dinner and a $60 price tag. We were in a fricken bar, and that was amazing. Where we were, the things we talked about, the beer we drank, and cigarettes people smoked all reminded me of where we grew up. We weren’t poor kids, but not all of us were super-privileged either. It was Lowell. It was my hometown.
I saw so many people I haven’t seen in a very long time. Almost my whole gang was there and I was happy to see that none of them changed. They were all amazing people in high school–it’s why I hung out with them in the first place–and they are still amazing people now. None of them fake. All genuine smiles, with interesting stories. All my friends were hot.
It was just awesome to catch up. A reunion that happens once every 10 years should not be the only excuse to see old friends, but it was one I took last night. I hadn’t seen Robin since she moved six years ago. I was really happy to see her. She’s only three hours away, so there is no reason why I can’t pack it up and stay with her and her amazing girlfriend (so many stories right there) for the weekend.
Bethy, Courtney, Carol, Colie, Robin, we were still in our little clique for a good part of the night. Whoever it was that told me things at a 10-year reunion are still the same as they were in high school wasn’t lying. I noticed cliques all over the place, but that’s okay. I tried to make my rounds. I talked to people like Todd Reed and Dawn Furstenberg, whom I never talked to much in high school. I made the effort, but still I felt pretty shy. Ten years and still shy? What the friggen frack is that?
Much like our NW Indiana drinkups, I think in the coming years we need some impromptu Class of 2000 gatherings. Nothing fancy. I know people won’t fly out (or maybe some would), but a lot of us are still in the Chicago-Indiana area. It would be great to see more people. Maybe then I would branch out and share stories with those who hardly knew me back in the day.
Class of 2000, we totally rock.
It sounds like fun! I’m sad too have missed it, but we ended up with out of town… and to be entirely truthful, I worried that it might be kind of awkward with Shane, anyhow. Robin looks amazing, btw.
Yeah, Robin always had a knack for looking amazing. At least we got to see each other the following day, right!?
Thanks for posting this and the pictures. It looks like you guys had a great time. Too bad Scott and I were out of town! It would have been great to see everyone! I agree that it should not be ten more years before the next one! Hope you are doing well.
Maybe in the coming year we can all co-organize a gathering. I’d love to see the people who didn’t have the chance to make it out. Heck, I’d just love to see everyone again!
Reunions are nice. They are a great chance to rekindle friendships and catch up with people that you might have forgotten. I had a blast at mine, even if we had a fancy dinner. We still got down. Best of all, I would like to believe that my wife was a head-turner and I was looking quite smashing.
Of course your wife is a head-turner! It’s good to know that not all people’s reunions are lame. A lot of people made it seem like they were.