Day 247 -- thoughts on high school

Last weekend, a small group from my high school graduating class met for lunch in Moose Jaw. I had been home in June, so didn't head west again for a weekend. Several people sent notes when they were unable to attend. Most attendees were from around home with a couple travelling in from a day away. There was an evening event in town to remember a dance hall that had stood for decades and has been a gravel parking lot for the past 20 years or so. I wish I had been there in person, but I was there in spirit. Thinking of all the oddness of high school -- some really fun memories and some less than wonderful ones. Being a nerdy science geek, I was hardly part of the 'in' crowd, but I did have some great companions.

High school is a proving ground of sorts. Even coming from larger elementary and junior high schools, high school is like being thrown into the deep end. It seems to value homogeneity, and any one not meeting the decreed norm can be ostracised. I went to the same high school where my parents met and most of my aunts and uncles went.(there were 3 others schools in the city). I even graduated with my dad's youngest brother.  Few people believed the truth about how we were related and chose to believe were just cousins. This is a great example of the narrowness of thinking in high school when frontal cortexes are still years from fully integrating their circuitry in the brain. <smile> Others were just plain unkind. The group of us who tended to be outside that 'norm' spent time together and helped each other through the unpleasant social aspects of high school. My dates in those years were from elsewhere -- other high schools in town or even other towns. There was acceptance, I just had to search for it. All that being said, I think many of those I graduated with have come a long way and attending a reunion is not outside my idea of something that would be fun to do. However, I do think that any planners will need to consult a mathematician because I am certain that the math was wrong on how many decades it has been since we walked across that stage. <grin>

One song line came to mind when I knew this lunch was going to occur. I wrote a short note letting folks know what I've been up to over the years and that I wished I could be there visiting and reminiscing with them. Today I'll share that song with you all. Enjoy!

Still Crazy After all these Years -- Paul Simon