The 50th - My Opinion

Some of our classmates were gone by the 40th, never to attend a reunion again. Some of the Haves are now Have-Nots: wearing a pacemaker...can't golf like I used to...doctor said it was too much steak and booze...he died in a car accident...sure miss some of the ones that are gone now.

Then comes the summer of the 50th reunion. A bittersweet time in our lives, perhaps the last time we'll all be together again. It may be the last reunion, the last time we'll see our high school friends, the last time we'll dance to the music of Buddy Holly. It may be the first time that it doesn't matter to anyone who has what or who never had it to begin with.

The joy of having material things loses ground as the years evaporate like a silent ghost in the night, leaving changes that far overshadow what we "have." If we live long enough to attend a 50-year reunion, it's truly a gift that we can still travel across the country or the world to see classmates and friends from another lifetime.

It was with those once tender young hearts that we learned one of the most valued lessons in life: Friends, and the memories of what once was, are the priceless possessions. There isn't a price tag. We wouldn't trade it for anything. It's the one thing we all have.

You may not remember me, but I remember you, perhaps only because I'm looking at a familiar teenaged face on a name tag. And it's good to see you. I don't care how you lived your life. I care only that you're here and that you seem happy. I don't care that we are fat or thin or rich or poor.

I care only about the years that are gone and the friendships we once had. I care about a time long ago, a time that we can no longer reach out and touch. It took nearly a lifetime for us to understand the real value of yesterday.

Perhaps now we will better cherish the promise of tomorrow.

While these are my thoughts, this was written with the assistance of an anonymous author whose opinion is similiar to mine. I cannot take credit for every word.