reunion thoughts: the gentlemen

How funny - other than Dion, I don't have a lot of photos of the guys from the reunion, and perhaps I don't have too many more thoughts to share. Which sounds rather biting when it's not meant to. Nor is it indicative of me hanging out only with girls in high school. I think, rather, that some of the guys I might have spent time catching up with (Aaron, Adam, Harpal, a few others) weren't there. That left a small selection of other guys not yet mentioned.

Warning: Dion is in some of these photos. It's unavoidable. And I doubt he will mind. No matter - anyone who can lug a bottle of a nice Pinot Noir many thousands of miles to share only with us gets plenty of space in the blog.

Let's start with the person at the reunion I may have known the longest, Jack. Since kindergarten, in fact. Well, halfway through. My family moved from Calgary to Terrace in January of 1976, so I began school in the bigger city. Jack was in my class then, and through high school we often worked together on the annual, student council, and other activities. His wife Preet was with him, adding to the tally of stunning (well-educated, interesting) women in attendance. We hope to see him in the Lower Mainland again before too long.



I can't recall when I first met Ben. Now a successful furniture store owner, he was also on our plane to Vancouver the next day. It was then, even after catching up at the bar two nights in a row, that we really learned of his love and experience with travel. We hope he's having a great time right now in London and Morocco.


James was the only other person than Dion (and me, but I was manager, not a player) of the basketball team to put in an appearance. We didn't chat much, I am sorry to say. I was always fond of his family, too, and I hope they are well. Dion, for his part, was chagrined to find that James is now taller than Dion.

I think I've known Allan since about grade 2, both from school and church. Curiously, he's someone with whom I have a very tenuous Chicago connection: his older brother David moved here right about when I did, and we always intended to get together while he lived here. No such luck, but I did have lunch with Allan's mother on one occasion and with his father on another. In any case, Allan is another classmate whose great success adds to the lustre of the entire class. He has a degree, his own company, a terrific (and, it must be said, gorgeous) wife, children, and two years of living in Italy working on construction of a theme park under his belt. He, too, lives in the Lower Mainland - not far from Jack, it seems - and given especially how much Conrad enjoyed sitting chatting with Michelle, Allan's wife, while we were all flitting around from classmate to classmate, I hope we get a chance to see them back west one day again.



Finally, a shot of the spouses. Ever patient with all of us. I hope most of all that the loved ones we dragged to the event had a good time. I think it was overwhelming for Conrad the first night, but the second night he relaxed into it and now hopes we see a number of these new/old friends in years ahead.

reunion thoughts: the ladies

Gentlemen, sorry to tell you this, but the ladies outshone you all at the reunion. No, you didn't look badly - a few of you (forgive me, but I AM gay) looked just fine, truly. But golly, were the women from our high school grad class stunning. I'm sure they were beautiful girls - I might have been too busy looking at a phys ed teacher or two instead - but now? Now? WOW! You know, I'm what we jokingly refer to as pure, but even I could appreciate how lovely my former classmates were. Was it some maturity? Was it how evidently contented they all seemed? I don't know, but even I could delight in it.

For example, Michelle. Formerly Mishl, as I recall. I've known her since we were in grade 5 together and some later days waiting tables with her at Don Diego's. Michelle's Dad is my alltime favourite teacher (grade 7) to boot. She was radiant. We had a great chat, and she had even lengthier conversation with Conrad about common interests in woodworking. Yes, woodworking. Michelle was one of about 5 dozen classmates who sent me a capsule bio for a display at the reunion, and hers was one of the best. A "conventional" education/career in biology fieldwork and teaching balanced against a great passion and skill at cabinet-making. We talked some about that, and I really had to respect how she has incorporated both into her life.

Nadina, in the purple above (and I'm really kicking myself for having no photos of her in the green outfit she had on the night before because she looked FANTASTIC in that. Why yes, I am gay, I think we established that already), should have graduated in 1987. A year spent in foreign exchange knocked her back to our class, and I hope we made her feel welcome. In high school, I socialized a good bit with her friends from the class of '87 as well as with her sister, class of '89 (I believe). Before the reunion, my Mum asked if Naomi, Nadina's sister, would be there - she still (warmly) remembers a lunchtime episode wherein Naomi was too drunk to convincingly go to class, and we had to bring her back to my house. No drunk stories for Nadina, and I'm sure she's not broken up about that.

Oh look, Dion - again! Lots of pictures of him from the reunion, but let's focus on the woman with him: Shawnee (the other man in the photo is her husband - and here's where I embarrass myself - Craig/Greg). Shawnee was one of the brains in school. I think I can get away with saying that because supposedly I was one as well. Post-high school, Shawnee was known to me as the classmate who did skydiving. Not anymore, apparently. She now has a great job with a winery (I'm deeply envious of that) and a terrific family. She looks wonderful, all the more so when you know that only about three months ago she had a baby. I'm in awe of her, and I was thrilled to see her there.

Pam (in red, above). I'll get this out of the way now: it was grade 11 or 12 French class when, in my infinite wit and wisdom, I told Pam that she was pretty but that she had no chin. I rue those words. In my defense, Pam told me, when I asked her, that I wasn't attractive but that I was interesting looking. She then added that I have blue eyes.

[sigh]

Forgive me Pam, please, at last. Please. Because really, you were, to me, one of the best looking of our grad class, and to see you on the Friday night, I still hold to that opinion. Between her career as a school administrator and her family life, she's got a full plate and obviously balancing it all very well.

I didn't get enough time to talk with Laura (on the left in the photo with Conrad and Pam), someone I've known since about grade 4 when we were in Bluebacks together. She's married now, and that's all I know. Poor of me. I am sorry Laura, I wish I'd chatted more and found out more.

I've mentioned Becca before. Historically speaking, we've known each other since our Blueback days, around about grade 3. Back then she was very blonde, and her hair would turn green from the chlorine. Becca didn't simply have a huge hand in organizing this reunion. She was also a key person in grade 12 for organizing the grad activities, and after the all-night party at the reunion, we all headed for her mother's place for a big pancake breakfast. It's been especially rewarding re-connecting with her, and I hope that the distance from Bellingham to meeting up with us in Vancouver is not too great in the future. Becca, thank you.

Gina didn't attend the reunion, but she did show up at the bar for a different function on the Friday night. She glowed.Look at her! Her husband was a classmate as well - a rare case of intra-class romance that has held up over the decades. Good to see her.

I asked Dion over dinner on Sunday in Vancouver whom he thought were the most beautiful women among our former classmates. Rachael's name was quick to his tongue, and I agree, utterly. Curiously, Rachael is someone I'd seen within the last decade, quite by chance. At the time, she was working at Re-Bar in Victoria, a restaurant I've long liked. Now, with her chef husband, she is elsewhere in that city. I'll have to look her up when next I'm there. What struck me was how serene she was among all the goings-on. Serene, lovely.



The other woman in that last photo is Lee - I think I've known her since our days at Clarence Michiel as well. Another new-ish (three months or so) mother - a good year for babies in our class. And to look at her, you'd not know - she's in wonderful already. Because it was her first time apart from the baby, she stayed only for short periods of time. No matter - we got to say hello and see that each of us was doing well, living happily. I love that she lived a mile from Adam in London (she still lives there - our class has scattered a bit).

I have photos of the men, of course, but they'll have to wait - we have a jaunt up to the UP after work tomorrow, so some packing needs doing before bed time.

reunion thoughts: regular contacts

Not everyone at the reunion was such a long-lost contact. Were I still living in Terrace, I'm sure I'd see or hear from a number of my former classmates with some regularity. Just the same, though, in recent years at least, there have been a couple of classmates whom I've kept in touch with: Dion and Liza.

Sorry, they're not a couple. Dion is happily married, but he was flying solo at the reunion. Minna - his truly gorgeous and successful wife - could not join him. We missed her. Several people asked me and Conrad about her, and of course we could only say good things. We look forward to seeing her later this year, we hope.

But back to Dion. Here's someone Conrad and I think the world of. Dion is such great company, and I'm so proud of all the success he's had in his career and personal life. A great job with Kohler, a past in semi-pro rugby, a lovely home in a good Auckland neighbourhood, a great dog. All that, plus Minna. And as if that wasn't enough, he had a bottle of Central Otago Pinot Noir to share with us in his room before we came down to dinner on Saturday. I've known Dion since he moved to Terrace from New Zealand and was placed in my Grade 4 class. I can still recall our teacher, Mrs Hamilton, trying to break him of the habit of saying "nought" instead of "zero". How funny to think back on that.

In the last photo, he's had a very good time (wink, wink), but Conrad - I swear - was sober. Caught mid-laugh is all. In the second photo, Dion is with me and Steve, Liza's husband. Which brings us round to her quite nicely.

I've not known Liza quite so long as Dion, and she was still pronouncing her name "Lisa" when we first knew each other. I always thought she was sophisticated and worldly in our small town, and my impression didn't change when I met up with her in adult life over lunch in Toronto, back in about 2002. Or was it 2003? 2003, the summer of SARS, was when Conrad and I met up with her and Steve over dinner, and we hope to repeat that this fall when we're up there for a wedding. But Liza? Still beautiful, seems to be happy, both of which are delightful to me.

I do think it a bit funny that I have more photos of Steve than of Liza from the two evenings, though...

:-)

everybody loves a parade

You know how (well, maybe you don't, but pretend you do) every small town has its annual celebration? Its yearly Carrot Festival or annual Hunting Hoe-Down? My hometown, Terrace, has its own: Riverboat Days.

The Saturday of the August long weekend, a parade makes its way from the 4700 block of Park Avenue, along Eby to Lakelse, then up Lakelse to the Legion Hall. I have memories of watching it - and of being in it. When I worked at the Terrace Public Library, I walked in the parade at least once, as part of a "bookworm" entry that was modeled on the Chinese dragons that have many people walking underneath. This year, I returned to the parade, this time as part of the Class of '88 entry.

Let's give credit where it deserves to go: Mitch had arranged for the truck that the kids rode in. Allan created the banners - as we waited for more people to show up, we pointed out where we all had signed them. I hope that they last right through to future reunions.

And then there's the two of the organizers who made it to the reunion. Three people pulled us together, in fact: Becca, Melaney, and Michelle. Michelle - the Olympic athlete among us - gave birth to her first child one week before the reunion. The timing and the trip over from Spain, where she lives, would have been too much too soon. Thank you to her for all she did - I credit her and Dion with being the ones who really got me interested in coming to the reunion.

Ah, but Becca and Melaney made things happen, and very well at that. They were there awaiting us all at 10:30. Others trickled along (and credit to Anita who recruited classmates from among the spectators as we walked along) before the start. Claus, Joletta, and Allan shown here.

And then we were off. How cool to see familiar faces in the crowd. And be assured, there was a crowd. Not Gay Pride in Chicago crowd, but a very encouraging turn out in a town that's not doing well economically. Jennifer had her pom poms from when she was a cheerleader 20 years ago. Someone let Liza drive. Becca was dancing away to 80's tunes.






I had fun.

Conrad managed to get some pictures of the rest of the parade,







including a Don Diego's entry! And hey, that's my former next door neighbour in the orange as part of the cluster of class of '78 grads. And that? One of the 2010 Olympic mascots taking part in the parade and staying at our hotel. That there? Sumi. I dunno - cute, but not my idea of a mascot for the Vancouver games.