Monday, October 29, 2007

I knew you, but I can't remember how

One of the interesting things I noticed at our reunion recently was that I remembered quite a few people from their names and their yearbook pictures, but I didn't remember in what context I had known them.

I have only kept in touch with two people from our class in the 40 years since we left Woodson, and one of them didn't graduate with us. Gary Oleson was one of my best friends, and Tracy Antley was with us for three years before her military dad was transferred.

Some of you I knew because you were, well, famous at Woodson. I actually saw one person who I had seen in the news. No, not O.J. You probably remember that our own Lee Millette was the judge in the Washington sniper case.

Then there's movie star Mike Willis, airline captain Mike Morton, and I think someone who was the emporer of Togo. Or maybe he owned a Togo's franchise. I can't remember.

But it was exceedingly odd to see Helen Roberts, who I couldn't have recognized in a year, and to know from the picture on her name tag that I had known her.

Editor's note: In the Biblical sense?

Not me. I didn't even know what the Biblical sense was at that age.

Some of us were obviously scarred by high school. Nothing made me sadder about the reunion than reading Jeff Newman's entry in the memory book, unless it was all the people I would loved to have seen entries from who just weren't there.

I knew Gail, Carol, Jennifer and a number of you in high school, but for the life of me I can't remember how or why. As for the lovely Dale and a few others, they were way out of my league in 1967.

It's funny. Forty years ago, we all probably had a lot to offer to each other that we never gave. I've seen posts here from folks who are amazed to learn that people they thought had it together in high school were just as scared and insecure as they were.

I was stunned to read Stacy Delano's post about her lousy time at the prom. I thought I was the only one who went with someone I had absolutely no chemistry with, but I suppose there were more than just the two of us.

Actually, it doesn't matter how we did or didn't know each other then. It's now and moving forward from now that matters, and that's one of the reasons I started this site.

I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you.

2 comments:

Dale Morgan said...

You flatter me, Mike. No way was I out of anyone's league. I cannot tell all of you how many times I wanted this guy or that to ask me out and I did everything possible to make it known without actually asking him myself...and he did NOT ask (happened a lot). Stacy Delano, Judy Hart & I laughed about all of us having that same experience over the reunion weekend. Some other ladies did, too, but I will not speak for them. Seems everyone's personal perspective was sort of warped back then. I guess it took 40-44 years to find all this out.

Mike Rappaport said...

We were all so insecure back then, and I thought I was the only one.

My own particular problem was not getting my driver's license until two weeks before the prom.

That and being a year younger.