June 21, 2003
Thirty Years of Maximum R&B
Tonight the J J Pearce High School Class of 1973 meets for their 30 year reunion. And tonight I am on call, praying that the impending train wreck that my latest project has become does not occur...
Weird thing about Citibank, I think that they took a look at just about every significant event that was going to happen to me this year and planned a software release to install around that time. C'est la vie! Citi enabled me to avoid the question -- to go or ignore.
I thought about it, off and on, since I received the invitation in the mail, and I suppose that I was tempted - I even filled out the bio and returned it. Perhaps it was curiosity. Whatever happened to so-and-so? He married her? You're running what company?
Thirty years is quite an accomplishment for any group. There have been times over these past three decades when I didn't think that I'd make it to see forty years, much less forty-eight. Back then, this was so far in the future and everything was possible. OK, I'm still miffed that we all aren't piloting flying cars, and that I still have to work in an office most of the time -- weren't we all promised telecommuting in the 90s? But I balance those trivial disappointments against the life that I have, and know that I came out ahead -- an interesting career (occasional train wrecks notwithstanding), more than adequate shelter, my wife of 22 years, and a beautiful, loving daughter. Even when setbacks occur, I've got to remind myself that I have it better than most of the inhabitants on this rock.
So yes, I wonder what's going on tonight at the reunion; who showed up and what tales were told. I hope that Don makes it, and that he has time for a quick visit to Flower Mound before he returns to Houston. Brunnhilde? Nah, no way she’d make it, though it would be worth the price of admission and the disco music just to be able to talk with her and her husband. Elyce? Too far away, and probably just as disinterested as she seemed to be back in 1973. Too bad though, I always thought she was interesting. Perhaps I’ll talk her out of a tour of the CAC someday, I hear it’s stunning. Kathy & Dennis? The last time we discussed it, probably not. Does Robyn still have that wonderful smile? Would David still have me in stitches? Many others, and too many to list here. It's been fun remembering those years, though a bit uncomfortable to look at pictures from back then. At least my daughter had a good laugh!
Sorry that I wasn't able to make it there in person. I hope that each and every one of you realized all that you wanted out of life...
