Later today is the big night for the Class of 1970 from Archbishop Ryan High School in Omaha, Nebraska. It is our 50 + 1 Reunion. I haven’t attended since 1995, our 25th. I am so looking forward to this one. Through the magic of Facebook, we’ve reconnected with people across the world (we have one person, Anna Merola, who lives in Italy!). It’s been fun building that friend’s list over the past few years.
My besties from that era and I are texting back and forth like teenage girls, setting up a Happy Hour meeting on some unsuspecting bar/restaurant. Jan, Kris, Mary, Georgene, and I will get reacquainted before we meet with other classmates. One memory I have of these gals is Mom would drive us all to Friday night dances. She always said, “You need to all wear the same perfume. I’m getting 8 distinct scents here, it gives me a headache!”
Tabu, Ambush, and I forget the other popular scents of the times. Yardley was big. Twiggy ruined self esteem of many of us (at least me). And the Pepsi generation ruled, and they quoted Mick Jagger as saying, “Don’t trust anyone over 30!” We listened. We hated the war (that was a hard one for me; my relatives all served in the wars and conflicts before Vietnam), rejected the establishment, and probably were all Democrats. Bobby Kennedy visited Omaha, at a small baseball park called Christie Heights, before his ill-fated trip to California. Kent State happened; we had race riots in Omaha, Martin Luther King, Jr assassinated, too. Chaos. There were riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago that year.
And now, 50 + 1 years later, many of us are now Republicans or Independents, we’ve had divorces, breast cancer, illnesses that are hard to believe, divorces, miscarriages, near-death-experiences, births and deaths, loss of parents, retirements, disabilities, and the smartest, most beautiful grandchildren ever born. We’ve done so much; and much more is left to experience. I pray we are still reuniting for many years to come.
Here’s a Bon Jovi song about Reunions. I have a recording of one by Rick Tiger, but can’t seem to find it now on YouTube. Rick visited Omaha in July and we hosted him at the VFW Post. We talked about writing and song writing. He told me next time he comes into town, we will write a song together, on our deck overlooking the wetlands. I’d be crazy to turn that invite down! Stay tuned, kids, there is a lot more to do! Writing is writing, eh? Life is nothing but exciting ahead.
To everyone having reunions this summer, have fun. Share your life, share you! We’ll be at the Field Club this evening. Looking forward to it! We will definitely see each other tomorrow! Take care.
Kathy Raabe 