This weekend is my high school class’ 25 year reunion. It is such a difficult thing to grasp – I’ve been out of high school for 25 years. Twenty Five Years. There are bloggers out here who haven’t been alive that long.

It’s been quite a while since I was back in New Madison, Ohio. The last time I was there, I was driving a big rig cross country for a living, and was passing by the area, so I stopped in. I saw a few friends, shot a few games of pool at Jack’s Place (is it still standing?), and then moved on down the road. Of course, since I was going to drive truck for the rest of my life, I knew that I would be able to stop in there anytime I was in the area.

I stopped driving for that company about two months later, and started driving for a local cabinet shop in Paso Robles, California. Funny how life takes you down different paths.

Speaking of different paths – after graduation, four of us enlisted in the Marine Corps. Bob Fugate, Kenny Earles, Gene McNew and I signed up during the school year, after we had turned eighteen, and planned to serve together. The USMC doesn’t always take your thoughts and feelings into consideration when you enlist, so naturally, that’s not the way it happened. Kenny and I were at USMCRD San Diego at the same time, but we were in different platoons. Bob went to Parris Island, and Gene decided not to go.

Bob just retired last year from the Corps, after serving as a helicopter maintenance crew member and leader for 22 years. He’s getting married soon, and that’s another big event I’ll be missing.

Yes, missing. As the class gathers tonight and tomorrow, to catch up, to refresh memories, to mingle, I will be here in Arizona. Life threw TMBWitW and me a bit of a curve, in the form of a savings-draining series of auto repairs that pretty much chewed up the travel funds. So, while they are gathered in the Moose Lodge (here’s to you, my fellow classmates! may we all be blessed with at least another 25 years!) I will be here puttering about the house, and thinking of all of them.

I am curious, though – how many of you will check out this entry? Can we have a roll call of comments? Members of the class of TVHS 1980, please sign in below.

And, if you are former faculty, I would like to hear from you, too. Who knows – this may turn into a short series here on the blog.