' 64 High School Reunion

I really wish I could attend my 40th High School reunion next weekend, but I have a schedule conflict. I tried to help the hard working reunion committee by attempting to find the classmates who have gone "missing" and even with lots of online information available, I only had limited success.

I did discover some interesting trends: a fair number of classmates are living in Florida; there are still lots of classmates in our hometown; quite a few classmates are already retired (at 55); many classmates have been married to their original spouse and a surprising number of classmates have email addresses.

The high school graduating class of 1964 was smack dab in the middle of several social and political revolutions: the Civil Rights movement; the anti-war (Vietnam) movement; the sexual revolution; and women's' liberation. The years from 1964 to 1974 were packed with events that profoundly changed out lives. The cold war was a pressing reality in our youth -- there was a Nike missile installation in our town -- we had civil defense drills where we had to crawl under our desks.

One of our classmates was the first young man to refuse to be inducted into military service, for which he was arrested but eventually he did serve in Vietnam. Another of our classmates enlisted right out of High School and was killed in Vietnam. Somehow, our class transitioned from "Father Knows Best"/"Donna Reed" lives into something quite different. Our musical favorites changed from the Kingston Trio, to Bob Dylan, to the Beatles, to Jimmy Hendricks and Janis Joplin.

Many of us are very fortunate, we are one of the last generation to have a lifestyle better than our parents. I have a sense of amazement when I think of who we were and who we have become. I no longer remember who was "most likely to succeed" but it seems to me that we have all succeeded.

Best wishes to my classmates, have a wonderful time.