Get-Togethers That Are Good for the Soul - Time Out #312

Two brief comments before the meat and potatoes topic this week.

1) Happy Labor Day, and a long holiday weekend to all of you, celebrating Monday's unofficial end of summer. Hopefully, some forecasted cooler weather, too ?

2) This installment marks the beginning of my 7th year (# 312 articles) of writing this weekly/Saturday printed column, originating from my computer keyboard to your reading eyes. I continue to be thankful to local editor Beau Simmons, and his Stillwater NewsPress staff for their efforts in assisting me with this continued labor of love from me to you.

Enough said about that.

Now let's concentrate on today's main topic.

How about a quick mental escape from a hot summer weekend in Our Town?

The solution, my #56 high school reunion!

That's certainly an odd celebration number isn't it, dear local readers and those far beyond?

Yes, but COVID-19 turned our entire planet totally upside down for sure during most of 2020.

So, our efficient event organizers, Judy Ricks, Mary Kay Cathey, Liz Campbell, Linda Kinsey, and Judi Baker, didn't let a pandemic halt their reunion planning. These hard-working women merely moved our #55 get-together exactly one year forward, and, of course, the event was, once again, a super success. Well played, ladies.

It was quite amazing over a third of our living classmates made the pilgrimage to Our Town for the Friday-Sunday affair. Some didn't have to to come far; many actually live here, or within an hour's drive. We did have a few who attended their first reunion since our high school graduation, and, remember folks, that was SO long ago, our local school was then named C.E. Donart High School.

Most attendees, however, had returned for our half century reunion, six summers ago, so we once again renewed our most recent memories of the not that distant past. We merely closed the conversation gap of not seeing each other for the last 6 years.

Of course, COVID-19 was one of the major topics of typical classmate conversations, but even the viral pandemic had stiff subject competition; compared with what I term "organ recitals", i.e., personal-aging health issues. Occasionally, during some of the many chat sessions I had with my classmates, yours truly would have to gently steer my dear friends away from going too deep into the health-related discussions. Basically, my peers were offering me/others too much medical information, if you know what I mean?

Whether it was during the sandwich-eating session on Friday evening, the narrated bus tour Saturday morning around Our Town, the sit-down supper on Saturday evening, or the Sunday brunch in our home, overall great conversation and fellowship dominated each gathering.

Some of the best-remembered stories we related to each other were 100-percent true, while others were slightly (?) fabricated, i.e., the facts were fudged just a little to make the tale more entertaining.

Oh, well, maybe we can reinvent the legendary yarns again in 2025 during our 60th reunion? Any betting odds on that possibility out there among you?