The 20th came mired with problems. First, no one remembered who was chairing
the reunion. Fortunately the guy who volunteered at the 10th to chair it
contacted the class officers and reminded them. That person was me.
The decision gave me a few more gray hairs before my time as the class officers
did in fact spent all the class money for the 10th. I had to start with money out of
pocket. There was also a rumor that a large contingency of Jewish
classmates were going to sue the reunion committee if the date was not changed.
Apparently the original date was set for Yom Kippur in September, about the same
date as the 10th reunion. Fortunately I hired a reunion company that was able to
reschedule the date to November. The hiring of the reunion service freed up
all the classmates to allow them to just have a good time -- and we did.
The reunion featured two tables of memorabilia from twenty years past, a decent menu at the Burlingame Crown Plaza Hotel and the same band that played at the prom.... "Jest Jammin". Yes, they have a website. And yes, a live band played at a reunion, the same band that belted the tunes at the Fairmont twenty years before. The cost was rather pricey (a mere $55-$65, depending when you paid), but how often does one get the chance to relive the past with the actual people from that past? I guess if you married someone from that past (well, enough of that for now). We also received a photo album and a badge pin with our old school picture on it as part of the ticket price . Very professionally done. I was impressed.
I spent most of the evening chatting with an old friend and taking in the memories of the past. My goal was met for the 20th, and some of that topic was part of the discussion as well. Again, I went alone, but this time I wore a band of platinum (that would be my wedding ring for those of you not in the know). I decided to put some old feelings to rest at this reunion, and with the platinum band I felt safe in doing so. I might have embarrassed some of my classmates by telling them how I felt about them 20 years ago, but now it was said and done. I have no regrets even to this day.
An impromptu picnic followed the reunion the same weekend, and plans for the next reunion were discussed. It was less formal and was held at Sigmund Stern Grove in San Francisco. Only a handful of folks showed up, but we had a great time. We didn't have to dress up and we were able to bring our kids. The question was...."Would the next reunion be the 25th or the 30th?" Lets just say it wasn't the 25th.