It Came And Went

Last Saturday something occurred that I had literally waited ten years for (not a 49ers championship I’ve been waiting 14 years for that) my high school reunion. And guess what, I wasn’t there. Yep, I made the command decision to skip it. I knew it was coming, never bought a ticket, and eventually it came and went. I felt like I would only go if I really have something to brag about. I suppose I could have gone and told everyone about Pete Chat and how they should all be reading it. Since I don’t, I forewent the event and went tubing down the Potomac River somewhere near Harper’s Ferry (feel free to skip HF in January which was the date the last time I went, it’s cold and everything is closed). I thought I would be bummed out that I didn’t go, but when I heard that Josh, Thomas, Danielle (relative newlywed and my prom date)and Javier weren’t going, I was like that is fine.

That being said, I have been totally obsessed with seeing the pictures from the event. I wanted to see who got fat, who was bald, who got married, who died, who looked great, and who had changed the least. Since high school when I changed my physical description from svelte to lithe, I have been just fine with being a bit on the skinny side. When I meet new people they find it hard to believe that I am 28, most people think I look like I’m in my early twenties. One McNeighbor even thought I was pre mission ; ). After looking at a few of the photos on Facebook, I have never been more proud of looking young and skinny. Wow! I had to email Thomas this morning to encourage him to look at the Facebook pictures. I didn’t notice too many balding people but there was a copious amount of ridiculous facial hair, and people who had put on the lbs. Now, I must say that I looked at a few pictures and thought that person looks exactly the same, that person looks about a million times better, and did I go to high school with that person.

Ryan called me during the event but I was already asleep. He put Emily and Alison in the phone and it would have been fun to talk to both. Ryan told me there was no program, and no dancing, just people sitting around catching up on old times. Romie, Kenny, Jenny, and Wyatt were also no shows.

I doubt anyone would have remembered that Austin Powers 2 was the number 1 movie. The Sun Screen Song by Baz Lurhman was giving us advice for the future. For kicks I looked it up and dang, it was still quite profound. Enjoy.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than

it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…