7PM...oldest daughter and I are eating dinner in front of the TV when the phone rings. We roll our eyes (another salesman, no doubt) and continue to eat, waiting on the answering machine to pick up. The machine clicks on, and some strange voice says, "This is Joe Turner from Twin Lakes High School. I'm just calling to see if you're going to be able to make it to our 30th class reunion in West Palm Beach...."
Daughter's eyes got big as she turns to me, and she says, "30 years?!" I can only sigh...she's graduating high school this year.
1977 was so long ago...an easy year to remember since our country had just celebrated its bicentennial. Twin Lakes was one of those schools caught up in desegregation. It was downtown, a rather shabby part of downtown at that, and they bussed a lot of us suburban kids from the hinterlands. It was an old facility, but it was a short drive away to a famous subway sandwich shop and the beach...yep, we all missed a few classes. We had "The Wall" out in front of school that was the gathering spot for breaks, lunch, and rendevouz points for skipping. Twin Lakes closed its doors about five years after we graduated, and I hear it now serves as some sort of storage facility. The folks planning the reunion are offering a "ghost tour".
I hope their reunion works, but from the looks of it most of the folks from 1977 are 'missing.' They have 20 confirmed deceased, which seems pretty hefty given our class size. The close friends I had haven't been found yet. After 30 years, I doubt I'll ever hear from most of them.
30 years ago.
1 comment:
Next year is my 50th. class renunion.
There are six of us that have managed to maintain a loose connection over the years. We even went to the same grade school. We meet for lunch now about every three months to watch each other get older and older and one us dying, carrying his oxygen tank....sigh
And like you, our high school was demolished in the 80's to make way for another motel. (Vanderbilt area, y'know?)
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