My High School Reunion: 20 Years Went By in a Flash

On Friday evening, a large portion of the Union High School 1998 graduating class, gathered to celebrate our 20 year reunion. I initially was not going to attend but was coaxed into it by several friends and I’m glad it worked out that way.

I’m lucky in the fact that I am still super close with a bunch of my childhood friends. The group of us get together often enough and are in a group text where we shit on each other and interact daily. Then there are the others that I see and speak with regularly. Then there is Facebook which is a great tool to just “keep in touch” with those that you don’t really see...but want to show them some love on their new baby or puppy. There are also those that you just lost all contact with and were close to. Those are the ones that hurt a bit.

Friday night helped a bit as for one night, a large portion of our class made the effort to come together and give a hug to someone they haven’t seen in 2 decades. So many different people came together to mix it up and enjoy the night.

The planning crew led by this amazing woman, did a phenomenal job. The whole crew put together a kick ass celebration and made it a night to remember. They motivated folks to purchase their tickets and get their asses to the venue. This inspired me and I already pledged myself to her & the planning crew for the next event. Damn gin & tonics...

The one thing that...I don’t want to say surprised me...but...well...blew me away was how amazing everyone looked. I literally was taken aback at how stunning the ladies looked. I mean jaw dropping! The fellas were all dapper and each and every one of them put me to shame. I felt good walking into my car and heading to the event and was immediately humbled by just how sloppy of a man I was compared to the rest of the pack. If anything it motivated me to take a bit better care of myself. I’m sure that thought will last me 2 weeks before I crush that. Seriously though folks, my point is....if you didn’t graduate from Union in 98 then you missed the fuck out!

I was lucky enough to have my lovely wife join me. She knows my close friends well as we all chill with the families but it was great to have her meet, even if so briefly, so many people that I’ve talked about throughout the years. From meeting some of my other roommates she never met from that lone wild year I lived at Rutgers, to my high school (and jr high) crush, to a best friend that fell out of touch to the close friend I got suspended with (both of those assholes look exactly the same...you know who you are). It was a blast just reminiscing and I’m glad she was there to join me in this fantastic experience, but also for her to hand me her reusable Aldi’s shopping bag on the way home so I could yak freely on the Hour long drive back home. Yeah folks...no Gavelstone after party for me...Just breathing in the stink of Aldi’s cereal as that bag and I got close and intimate...

I will say, our class is pretty kick ass. I always had fun and never really had serious beef with anyone. I got along with everyone for the most part and definitely chilled in several different circles with all different folks. I have pics from parties back in the day and the variety of different people partying at the usual spots always made me proud to be from this class.

My biggest complaint from this evening is that there was not enough time. I wanted to bore everyone to death and blab to them but only feel like I got to a handful of folks. Seeing the pics other classmates have posted, I see several amazing people I never even said hello to which totally blows. If any of my fellow classmates ever read this and I didn’t come up to you...fuck you! You didn’t come up to me either!! 😜 No seriously, I wish I could have had moments with everyone there but there just weren’t enough minutes in the night. All this means is next time it has to be a tad longer!!!

My wife made 2 comments about the evening. The first was a few minutes after we got there and she whispered into my ear, “Your graduating class is WAAAAAAY better looking that mine”. She’s from stupid North Dakota and there were like 40 kids in her class so.....

The second comment was more of a personal one. She said that several times when I was reminiscing with a friend, she said I got all watery eyed and a bit choked up. I do remember that happening once as I hugged one of my closest friends that I hadn’t see in 20 years. I told him he was an asshole, he agreed, and we laughed a lot that night.

One thing I want to touch upon is the fact that all of us who were there that night...were lucky. Blessed. Whatever you want to call it. We were all extremely fortunate to be able to attend this event and create new memories, as there were a handful of us that will never be afforded that opportunity. Our class lost several members along the way throughout the years and there was a touching tribute to those amazing souls that we were all able to take part in. They were missed by all...no doubt about it.

What this made me think is how we need to cherish and take advantage of these good times, as they won’t always be available. Believe me...I get just as lazy and unmotivated as the rest of you but if this night taught me anything...it’s to not take these moments for granted. Make that call to a friend that you’ve been procrastinating on. Take the pain in the ass hour drive to go to that dinner. Do these things and be thankful that the opportunity is there to create new and amazing memories.

To the UHS c/o 98...know that I love you all. Be it if we were close or not, we all share in a special bond. One that I’ll cherish for a lifetime.

I wish I took more pics but I was being a social butterfly and blabbing non stop.

Just for the record, in the 20 minutes I’ve been writing this gross drivel...I already lost interest in bettering myself by going to the gym. Gonna go to Five Guys and get a burger...