Sometime in June of 1972 I graduated from
Annandale High School. The school was “Inside
the Beltway,” just a handful of miles from Washington, DC in the Virginia
suburbs. At the time, there were some 2,500
students attending the school, probably 99% Caucasian. High achievement was expected, practically
everyone graduated, and almost as many were college-bound.
A
Baccalaureate Service was held at the National Cathedral in Washington prior to
the commencement ceremony, which took place at the Wolf Trap performing arts
center. I have no recollection of the
ceremony, the keynote speaker, or anything else related to it, except probably
tapping my foot waiting for it to end.
Wolf Trap burned down shortly thereafter, but soon was rebuilt.
In
the half-century since that more-than-likely steamy night, I have had some form
of occasional interaction with maybe 8 to 10 of my 600+ classmates. Anything close to regular contact has been
limited to just a couple of them, and there were decades of no contact even
with them. Only in very recent years
has the frequency increased.
There
is a class website which I joined out of curiosity. Looking at the “Now”
photos of those who dare to post them, I would never recognize almost all of
those people if I were to encounter them.
A number of the names are somewhat familiar, but so many of the others
have slipped from memory. I have not
attended any class reunions held in the past.
According to the website, the big 50 YEAR REUNION! will be held
in October. They will have to get along
without me.
My
experience at the school was pleasant enough, and I had fun with my
friends. I was in the Symphonic Band,
played on the baseball team, and was the manager of the school store for a
couple of years. I attended some of the
school dances, went to football games when I was in the marching band, and sometimes
watched basketball games. I was close to
a couple of teachers and received encouragement from a few others. Most of my teachers now are deceased, as are
some of my classmates, and I only recall returning to the campus to baseball
practice a time or two when I was home from college, playing in summer league
games that were on the school field, and attending a ceremony to dedicate and
name the baseball field in memory of my coach.
I
have nothing against the school or my classmates. It just isn’t part of my life anymore. So much has happened since then, I have lived
in numerous locations and become acquainted with countless other people.
Fifty
years is a long time. Laying out hundreds of dollars and driving for several
hours in order to spend time with strangers does not hold any appeal to
me. For those who have stayed in the
area, and/or kept in touch with the school and classmates, and choose to
attend, however, I say, “Have fun.”
Maybe I’ll
show up for the 75th reunion…
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