50th Reunion and Vivid Memories of the CLASS OF 1950
In the year 2000 I went back to my High School’s 50th reunion. It was pretty much like I expected it to be and I was delighted to see that we had all aged to the point where we didn’t try to outdo the accomplishments of our fellow classmates. We were genuinely happy just to be alive and together.
I enjoyed seeing everyone but I don’t think I was prepared to be so overwhelmed by my remembrances. It was my first time back. There was the classroom where Mr. Crockett taught English. We had a fair amount of good story-tellers in that room but none could compare to our classmate Sylvia Plath. We would just sat back and enjoy the by-play between teacher & student. We were captivated..
Here was the stage where we produced our plays. I was fortunate to have been cast as Emily in Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town”. This was the beautifully tragic story of small town Grover’s Corners, in New Hampshire. Emily dies in childbirth and in Act III she comes back for just one day. She is advised to choose the least important day in her life…”It will be important enough” they tell her.
We also produced “The Admirable Chrichton” by J. M. Barrie…where a butler is ship-wrecked along with his employer and his upper class friends…becomes the leader of the party and then reverts back to butler when they are rescued. It is Barrie’s comment on the illogical nature of social class distinction. I was one of the female friends and it was a fun and challenging role.
Of course, sports and music were big parts of the school experience, too, and the most endearing moment for me at the reunion was when one of our classmates played “Just The Way You Look Tonight” on his clarinet. He was always a favorite of ours in High School…a multi-talented musician with a great sense of humor.
I finally topped off the weekend with a walk to the old house where we used to live. It is just 3 blocks from the school and not much had changed since 1950. I can’t say the same for myself….but that’s another story, another day.
posted by Ginnie at 4:29 AM
7 Comments:
Great post and enjoyed your memories.
Funny how it finally reaches a point with classmates where that "being alive" is so much more important than the competitions of high school days.
Hi Ginnie,
I went to my 30th not too long ago. Everyone looked exactly the same except they looked like they were doing a school play and had some grey put in their hair to make them look older for the parts!
Terri sent me over. Welcome to the blogsphere!
After your 'visit' I found you via Terri's link. As a new blogger you have certainly got off to a great start. I'm adding you to my regular reads.
I am 10 years behind you Ginnie having graduated in '60'. Guess I am a bit like Saz though, I haven't ever been to one of my reunions. My high school years were split between two schools so that my be a little of the reason behind my lack of interest.
I can't really say why but I have always wanted to have a reunion with the folks I went to grammer school with. That was, by the way, 1st thur 6th grade, in my day. We all went to school together for six years and were almost like brothers and sisters. Unlike any of the other schools I attended, I can still remember all my teacher's names along with most of my classmate's names. The same is not even close when it comes to my classmates from 7th grade thru graduation.
Glad to make a new blog friend. I'll save your link and eventually add it to my link list. I have to work up to going into the code to make changes because it gives me axiety!
I live in Virginia by the way and am originally from Massachusetts. It looks very much like West Virginia here.
Alan: I felt a lot like you. I was not really in to going to the 50th but was talked into it. It was fun but I won't attend another. I enjoy my life today and, frankly, don't want to expend the energy it would take to renew old ties. They weren't tied too tight anyway !
Terri mentioned you Ginnie and I have spent quite a lot of time here getting to know you through reading your new blog! Welcome to the Blogworld my dear......I LOVED reading every post! I just truned 75 myself on June 27th....so I'm just a tiny bit ahead of you on this age stuff....I am going to make tghis a regular stop-by-and-read...I enjoyed all of it enormously.
Post a Comment
<< Home