50th High School Reunion Reflections

To borrow a title from a book  by Georgia Hunter (an excellent WWII book by the way)  – We Were the Lucky Ones.

Most of our graduating class was born toward the end of 1957 and into 1958. Baby boomers through and through. Some of our parents fought in Korea. Some of our siblings fought in Vietnam. But we were the lucky ones. Vietnam ended about 4 years before we graduated and the Gulf War was still about 15 years away. The only war we had to deal with was The Cold War and that was more about ideas and ideologies than about guns and bullets. I am incredibly grateful that I did not have to go to war – and even more so that my kids did not have to. We were the lucky ones.

But the Class of ’76 was lucky in lots of other ways too.

We have lived through and experienced a lot of history that has both changed and shaped our country: JFK’s assassination. The Civil Right’s Movement. Vietnam. RFK and MLK’s assassinations. The moon landing. Watergate. The collapse of the Soviet Union. AIDS. The computer age. The fall of the Berlin Wall. The Gulf War. 9-1-1. The onslaught of social media. The first black president. Covid.

We have lived in perhaps the most economically prosperous 50 year span in our country’s history. On our graduation day in May, 1976 the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 983. Today it hovers around 49,000.

Technology has fueled most of this growth. When we graduated high school our big bulky televisions could get maybe 3 channels. There were no cell phones. There were no personal computers. We used record players to listen to music. Nobody owned a microwave oven. We used printed maps to get from here to there. We read newspapers that some of us delivered to people’s houses each day. And very few people had ever heard of Chick-fil-A.

It was a simpler time.

And it was a safer time.

And it was a wonderful time to grow up – especially in a little town like Aiken, SC. Our population was under 30,000 people. We had one public high school. In the summer we would tell our parents bye, get on our bikes, go meet friends, play all day, and for the most part our parents had no idea where we were and couldn’t get in touch with us. We would show up at home for supper. And repeat the next day. And somehow we lived to tell the story.

We were the lucky ones.

• Friends were real people not digital measurements. You actually had to talk to people to communicate. No texting. No email. No Facebook. Real live conversations in person.
• If you wanted a date you actually had to ask someone out not check out their profile and swipe one way or another.
• There were only two genders and nobody was confused which one they were
• Presidential elections were civil and men acted like men whether they won or lost
• College athletes were loyal to one team and stayed 4 years and people still remember them because they were not one and done
• A cup of coffee didn’t cost $4. Neither did a gallon of gas. And you could go to the movies for under a dollar.
• Parents didn’t have to worry about what their kids might see or hear on TV
• And we had great music – my personal favorites were The Doobie Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, Jim Croce, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Seals and Croft, and Chicago

Yes, we were the lucky ones. And that brings me up to our 50th Reunion.

We live in an era where reunions are for the most part becoming obsolete. Facebook and Instagram have made it possible for people to stay in touch with who they want to stay in touch with. It would have been easy for us NOT to have a reunion for this very reason. But I’m glad we did. And even though I had very brief encounters with most people, superficial by and large, there were a few renewed friendships that I suspect won’t end last Saturday night.

I recently read a book, Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi. In the book Theo initiates a lot of conversations with people he has never met before.  I came across this line: “For (Theo), each face revealed a mood and hinted at a story and begged a question.”

That line sums up my reunion experience. I probably had 50 mini-conversations. And  I wish I  had an hour  for each one so that I could hear all the stories that led up to the weekend. As much as we try to “put our best foot forward” for things like this it is hard to convince our face to lie. I saw faces with sadness and courage and joy and fear and regret and hope and excitement and contentment. And I know that there were stories behind every expression and I had so many questions that were begging to be asked. But alas, not the time or the place.

If you are reading this and ever want to take the time to share part of your story with me I would love to hear it. But beware, it may prompt lots of questions from me. My email address is shayreyner@gmail.com. If you want to know more about my story you can find much of it on this blog. For the past 15 years I have been trying to chronicle a written legacy for my kids and grandkids (and future great-grandkids).

I will close with a few observations from my weekend…

It had probably been 30 years since I had been to Aiken. I grew up on the south side of town. It has changed A LOT. The other parts of town not so much. It still seems like a great town to live in.

Ben Talbert and his team were awesome!

You would have thought that after 50 years I would know who the first baseman is.

Karl Rouse is amazing!

We were the lucky ones. Or as a man with a faith story, perhaps it is better said “We were the blessed ones!”

Much grace and peace to each of you!

Hail to Aiken, Alma Mater
Tender, fair, and true
Grateful we with love unfailing
All our vows renew.