Childhood friends & how their life went?

[Sarah in SC]

Freebird, my school closed as well, the year I graduated. We are in the throes of planning our sort-of 20th reunion, open to anyone who ever attended the school. My class of 1988 was 40 people, the largest. Our last reunion was 5 years ago, about 150 former students of all ages showed, and it was lots of fun. We expect this one to have an even better turnout, due to Facebook and the ease of online contacts.

I think our class turned out about as expected for spoiled rotten beach bum private school kids. No real stars that I can think of, and only a handful of felonies.

 

[harley]

I went to 5 high schools in 4 years, and don't have any idea how most of them turned out. The only school I was interested enough in to go to a reunion for isn't the one I graduated from, so I don't get the invitations.

I've googled a number of people, but only found a few. One guy I used to hang out with a lot when we both got to college became a sportscaster, and now is a Nascar announcer. My best friend (and his kid sister) from the high school period I still have Christmas card contact with. That's about it.

 

[harley]

One shot in 1988 on the Appalachian Trail since she was a lesbian

I was hiking the trail near Sky Meadows a hundred miles or so away when Rebecca Wight was killed. I heard about it a few days later when I ran into a hiker coming south from PA. It was pretty heinous. Ever since then I've run into a lot of people carrying guns when they hike, especially women. Almost never happened before. A dark day. That Carr guy was a major nutcase. Life without parole was appropriate for him.

 

[Rustic23]

I only attended one HS reunion. It would have been about the 30th. It was held at the old HS and was a picnic. We stayed about 30 min. Then I told DW 'Let's get out of here, I don't know anybody this old!'

 

[Gumby]

I have not seen or heard from anyone from my high school graduating class since the day I graduated some 32 years ago (I went to my senior year in a completely different state from my first 3 years). The closest I can come is my classmates from the Naval Academy. One of them became the first admiral from my class a few years back. Given the things we used to do when we were ensigns living together in Florida, I was mildly amused.

 

[bssc]

I was hiking the trail near Sky Meadows a hundred miles or so away when Rebecca Wight was killed. I heard about it a few days later when I ran into a hiker coming south from PA. It was pretty heinous. Ever since then I've run into a lot of people carrying guns when they hike, especially women. Almost never happened before. A dark day. That Carr guy was a major nutcase. Life without parole was appropriate for him.

That was her, she was nice.

 

[Nords]

I have recently made contact with some of the non-evil ones via facebook. Was not surprised to find a few of the bullies were in prison or dead.

Khan, do you have alibis for any of these deaths, or would any of these statements be admissible in court against you?

I only attended one HS reunion. It would have been about the 30th. It was held at the old HS and was a picnic. We stayed about 30 min. Then I told DW 'Let's get out of here, I don't know anybody this old!'

Now I'm not feeling so bad that our 30th didn't happen last year.

Given the things we used to do when we were ensigns living together in Florida, I was mildly amused.

Has our statute of limitations expired yet?

I've been back to USNA twice-- 1982 homecoming and 2006 summer-- and both times I was surprised at how quickly old resentments & nightmares boiled up. But it was very therapeutic to see how some of our classmates were running the show. (For better and for worse.) I never did get a chance to check the overhead of Bancroft Hall room 3208 for the sixpacks that I'd placed there all those years ago in case of a hydration emergency.

I attended one impromptu tailgater reunion in ~1995 (when Navy flew out to play in San Diego) and I won't be repeating that mistake. Spouse and I volunteered to help the Class of '50 with their 55th in Honolulu. We learned that when it's our turn for our 55th, we'll be leaving town.

 

[Khan]

Khan, do you have alibis for any of these deaths, or would any of these statements be admissible in court against you?

I have alibis and w*rk records.

Now I'm not feeling so bad that our 30th didn't happen last year.

Has our statute of limitations expired yet?

Went to 10th, didn't go to 20th or 30th, seems wasn't a 40th.

I've been back to USNA twice-- 1982 homecoming and 2006 summer-- and both times I was surprised at how quickly old resentments & nightmares boiled up. But it was very therapeutic to see how some of our classmates were running the show. (For better and for worse.) I never did get a chance to check the overhead of Bancroft Hall room 3208 for the sixpacks that I'd placed there all those years ago in case of a hydration emergency.

I attended one impromptu tailgater reunion in ~1995 (when Navy flew out to play in San Diego) and I won't be repeating that mistake. Spouse and I volunteered to help the Class of '50 with their 55th in Honolulu. We learned that when it's our turn for our 55th, we'll be leaving town.

Haven't been to any college reunions ('72)

 

[Goonie]

I skipped the 5 and 10 year reunions.....figured everyone was going to about the same as when we were in school. I hit the 15 year, but only planned on staying long enough to have dinner and then bug out. I was among the first to arrive, and had such a good time, I was among the last dozen or so to leave at about 1 a.m. after the owner of the hall told us we had to leave because he wanted to go home to bed....everyone was supposed to be gone by midnight!

I went to the 20th with hopes of having another great time. BORING!!! My date and I stayed long enough to eat. They had a really lousy DJ, the banquet hall they had rented was a dump, there were far less 'nice' people and a whole lot more drunken @$$holes than the last reunion, and the food was awful! We visited for a little while, ate a little bit of the food, and then left that fiasco, and went out for a nice evening, and had a great late evening dinner! Total time at the reunion was about an hour....which was at least 45 minutes too long!

Skipped the 25th and 30th, as did everyone else that I've talked to. But several of us are planning to give it another shot for the 35th next year. I plan on going if for no other reason than bragging rights for my FIRE escape!

 

[eridanus]

I've only kept in touch with one person from HS and he's getting married this year. He was voted "Most Likely to Succeed," and he is. We're actually in a friendly competition to see who can ER first.

I know that at least one classmate died in Iraq.

 

[youbet]

I plan on going if for no other reason than bragging rights for my FIRE escape!

But won't that make you the bore of the party, replacing those other boring folks from last time?

 

[CyclingInvestor]

My 10th reunion was more fun than I thought it would be. The cliques had mostly dissolved (I was in the nerds), and everyone was pleasant. I was surprised that many of the girls looked better than they had in high school. My 25th was similar.

Thanks to the efforts of one of the few extroverts I knew in HS, about a dozen of us still get together about once a year. Since we grew up in a college town, everyone I knew had at least a BS. Most are programmers. One retired for a while, then went back to work parttime. All are nice people. About 1/3 married, 1/3 divorced, 1/3 never married.

 

[Rambler]

Found out from classmates.com that we'll be having our 30th in june. If they held a 10th or 20th, I didn't know about it. In fact, I have not spoken to any of them since leaving the parking lot after graduation ceremony. That said, I got curious just a few weeks back and looked for a couple of my best friends from HS on facebook...found one of them. We traded one email pleasantry and have not been in contact since. A girl I know from 8th grade thru HS and was a buddy of mine looked me up just 3 days later on facebook...also traded email pleasantries once.

The kicker for me though was my best friend from that era, although from church rather than HS. He was always an all-round good kid, looked up to by the boys and loved by the girls. I tried to look him up several years back, and found out that just a few weeks prior he had been convicted on drug trafficking charges (apparently was in possession of several thousand Ecstacy pills that he was selling at rave parties). He had been the subject of a months long investigation and tried to run when the cops finally had him (stupid). When they checked inside his car, they found 3 AK-47s, so that added weapons charges. They sent him to prison for 3 years or so on the state drug charges and then he had to answer to the feds on the weapons charges. Last I was able to track down about him was that he was out and had some kind of dating service... I did try to contact him a few times some time ago, but he never replied. Haven't spoken with him in at least 25 years.

I have no college friends, one friend from work (my former CFO - who semi retired at 58), and one friend from church that I either visit or have regular contact with. I am "friendly" with everyone, but these are the only ones that I consider "my friends".

R

 

[Goonie]

But won't that make you the bore of the party, replacing those other boring folks from last time?

Darn straight! It's finally my turn to get even with the snobby braggarts....MOST of whom are still WORKING!!!

Besides, I don't plan to attend any further class reunions after that one. The 'kids' that I liked or hung out with, either don't go to the reunions, or else I see them or hear from them regularly anyway.

I have no college friends, one friend from work (my former CFO - who semi retired at 58), and one friend from church that I either visit or have regular contact with. I am "friendly" with everyone, but these are the only ones that I consider "my friends".

I'm pretty much the same way. I'm good friends with one of the guys that I used to work with, that retired several years before me....we have coffee 2 or 3 times a week. There was another former fellow employee (one of my old bosses) that I was good friends with, but he passed away about 2 years ago. And there are a few friends from church (some all the way back to when we were little kids in Sunday School) that they and I keep in touch fairly regularly.

Other than them, and maybe 2 or 3 others, like you stated, "I am "friendly" with everyone, but these are the only ones that I consider "my friends"."

 

[Sarah in SC]

Y'all are sure making me nervous about ensuring that our reunion doesn't suck! We are having the band vs DJ debate right now. My big worry is that a band will be too loud to allow for conversation, and that no one is really there to hear a band, they are there to talk. A good DJ would seem like they'd be able to emcee a bit better, and allow for the inevitable announcements needed to herd various classes over to the picture area, prizes, etc.
Any opinions or advice for me as our little committee gears up? I promise the food won't suck--we have a great caterer lined up, the same as the last one and we got rave reviews.

One thing I really like about our format is that we have a free happy hour on Friday night, a $100 a couple dinner on Saturday (free to former admin, teacher, staff members) and then a family friendly picnic on Sunday. This allows for folks to get together for the whole weekend, and incorporate their kids into the reunion as well. It worked out great 5 years ago.

 

[freebird5825]

...I was surprised that many of the girls looked better than they had in high school. My 25th was similar.

I think we ALL look better than we did in HS.

 

[Goonie]

We are having the band vs DJ debate right now. My big worry is that a band will be too loud to allow for conversation, and that no one is really there to hear a band, they are there to talk. A good DJ would seem like they'd be able to emcee a bit better, and allow for the inevitable announcements needed to herd various classes over to the picture area, prizes, etc.

The band we had at the 15 year reunion was great! They accepted requests, and did a wonderful job of playing them. They also made any needed announcements with no hassle at all, and they kept the sound level at a very acceptable level....no one had to shout to be heard, or even really raise their voice.

The DJ, on the other hand, didn't do requests, only played what he had already put on his list, didn't do a very good job of announcements (and wouldn't allow the class officers to make those announcements themselves, over "his" system), and he had the thing cranked soooo loud, that you couldn't hear yourself think!

We have a LOT of really good local bands around here, so if they decide on a DJ for next year's reunion, I most likely won't be there.....or at any subsequent reunions for that matter.

 

[freebird5825]

Darn straight! It's finally my turn to get even with the snobby braggarts....MOST of whom are still WORKING!!!

Kinda like my ex-empl*yer's holiday party I just went to in December 08. OH YEAH!
For your upcoming 35th, look handsome, look happy, just smile and wave.

 

[calmloki]

My gal's recent reunion down in the desert was great - to some extent it was filtered, as those whose lives were not so good probably didn't show. We had a great time - they had the same band that played at their homecoming dance, a group comprised of locals from the year that graduated before her: 007 & The Souls

 

[FinanceDude]

My best friend from childhood had a rough life. Became a broadcaster, got a good gig in St Louis, dicovered downers, drove into a bridge abutment but survived, made a comback in a small town in Minnesota, was on the air when a lightning bolt hit the tower, destroying 50% of his hearing and he spent 5 days in ICU, had seizures after that from time to time, got another radio gig, lost it after they discovered him doing coke in the break room, got a job (unbelievably) at a teen REHAB hospital, got fired after they found him doing coke with a teen in rehab, got a job managing a Little Caesers, got fired for embezzlement, then he died at age 40 from a heart attack in his sleep.

I stayed in contact with him up until the end, tried to help him the whole time. He just had too many demons...... Near the end, he didn't want to see me anymore, he said he was too embarassed.......sad.........

 

[deserat]

Great stories - every high school reunion I've gone to was great - my high school experience was a bit rough due to family issues and just plain teenage-i-ness. I wasn't the most popular, but lettered as a freshman and graduated in the top of my class. Everyone thought I had gone to the Air Force Academy, but no....in any case, what surprised me the most was how many people had married people from high school and were still living in the area. For every reunion, I had to travel, once from Germany (in 2001 right after 11 Sep). Most people ended up the way I thought they would.

I also went to a reunion for my graduate program - it's a very close-knit slective program - really enjoyed that, too. It was in CT in the fall - beautiful. The greatest part, though, was revisiting an incident that occurred during my graduate program that had been very difficult for me - 9 years later, my boss (the program was an internship as well as classes), told me that I had done the right thing even though he had to counsel me then - I looked at him and said that I knew and that I would still do the same thing, but wouldn't be so concerned about it as I was then.

My closest friends from HS all still live in AZ - and are all entrepeneurs - that's surprises me, especially for two of them. However, none of my close friends have turned out to have drug, alcohol or other problems that I know of - a few divorces, family deaths, but all has gone well. Guess I was lucky to be surrounded by good people or chose to be surrounded by good people.

 

[bruce1]

I had two distinct groups of friends with little overlap. One group through HS and a second in college and immediately after. Of the HS group of eight I do not know where two are, one is semi retired, one is close to retired if megacorp pension comes through, two suicides, one died in a traffic accident and one will work tilll he is 65 but be well off then. Of the college six I do not know where two are, one is semi retired, one is retired, one still working and one died when car he was working on fell on him.

Guess we did not have a good survival rate

Bruce

 

[mews]

High school was, for the most part, a hideous horrible soul-destroying experience. I was the object of bullying (incoming classes were instructed as to my status).

=======

What Khan said.

I left, and at this point I can't even remember people's names.

ta,
mews

 

[Sarah in SC]

Finance Dude, I had a buddy like that, and he jumped off the Cooper River Bridge 9 years ago, very very sad. I plan to round up some pictures of him to post at the reunion, which pleased his younger sister and parents.
Sometimes their problems are just too much for them and this was the case with Todd--he was just too embarrassed and thought he'd gone too far for any of us to want to help him.

 

[Achiever51]

I may be in the minority on this, but I find little pleasure in looking back at my high school days. I wasn't bullied; got great grades; enjoyed the experience, but have had no desire to go to reunions or look up any former classmates -- beyond the five or six who were good friends back then and remain so to this day.

But then again, I never drive by the "old neighborhood" or go back to my old office or for that matter, spend much time reminiscing about the good old days. I have always been more interested in looking forward rather than in the rear view mirror, I guess.