Reunion reflections

-->

Now the years are rolling by me
They are rocking easily
I am older than I once was
And younger than I’ll be
But that’s not unusual
No, it isn’t strange
After changes upon changes
We are more or less the same
After changes we are
More or less the same

Former students who attended Forest Hills High School, in Queens, New York, held a reunion this past weekend. It was a multi-year gathering, covering most of the 1960s and the early 70s. I graduated in 1969 and joined a few hundred of us who shared the experience of attending one of New York City’s best public high schools during exciting but turbulent times. The words above were written by FHHS alum Paul Simon. He graduated in the late 1950s. Simon wrote those words as an additional verse to “The Boxer” after the original recording was released. It’s an anthem about struggling to survive. Those words are a nice summary of my take-away from an evening of reminiscences, mostly sweet.

The "cool" kids still seemed to be cool enough adults; the smart ones still smart; some of the jocks were still in shape; the quieter class members were still laconic; and many of the pretty girls and handsome guys still looked good. After almost 50 years in my case, just being there and sharing several meaningful moments was worth the journey back in time.

I don’t have pictures to share because I was so busy talking to people I missed the photo booth. So here are a few memorable moments from my first and only reunion.

1.     A fellow track team member, a year ahead of me, remembered that I ran the quarter mile and was on a good mile relay team. He and I are still both in shape after all these years and shared clear, positive stories about our track coach.

2.     One of my classmates going back to junior high days is now a teacher at FHHS. She and I shared some memories and talked about how things have changed. I enjoyed hearing about the school from her unique perspective.

3.     A minor mishap—that seemed quite serious at the time—from chemistry class was discussed with my classmate who was splashed in the face with a hot liquid as I heated a test tube. He is fine. But we both remembered it well.

4.     Shared hugs and smiles with many Facebook friends I didn’t know well in high school but have become closer with online.

There is another line from a Paul Simon song that I often think of and take personally, the opening words of Kodachrome. “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.” As much as I admire the music and words of Simon, I am afraid that’s one line with which I disagree. Like many others, I was eager to move on from high school and leave the area where I grew up. But after all these years, looking back on all I learned in high school—not just in the classrooms—it was a pretty good time where we were encouraged to think critically with intellectual curiosity that survives. Thank you to all who were part of those days. Many are gone, but their memories survive. For those of us still at it, rock on.