Thoughts on Going Home for the 45th Reunion
I’ve known Joe Roberts for over 60 years. From about 3rd grade, he was part of a group of 4 young boys that lived within 2 or 3 blocks of each other, often played together, and advanced into high school as classmates together. After leaving our home town, he eventually ended up ‘back East’ with a successful career in law, and we didn’t often get to see him, except for Reunions.
Joe always had a way with words, and after our 45th high school reunion (we’ve since had our 50th – ouch!), Joe wrote a piece about his experiences ‘returning home’ for our old local hometown newspaper. Many of us liked it then, and I’ve recently found myself thinking of it again. I asked Joe if I could share it for today’s Guest Voice, and he agreed.
He and I talked briefly about possibly making it more general, and removing some of the specific local references. But the more I re-read it, the more I realized that it is exactly the specificity that contributes to the generality! It isn’t so much about the Reunion as it is about returning home. Substitute your own town for “Liberty”, your own reference points for those mentioned here, (and even your own reason for returning instead of a Reunion?), and most of us have experienced precisely the same things. The universality remains, and Joe has captured it well.
So, I have left almost everything as he wrote it, and I think it makes it even stronger. I give you Joe’s thoughts on returning home for our 45th Reunion. I suspect you’ll like it as much as I did. See 45thReunion.