Today, I was looking through an MSN group that features and upcoming reunion of my high school band program (I'm a geek, and damn proud of it) next year, and reading some of the posts in it and seeing some of the names there got my head spinning.
Then I realized that I've been away from that institution for almost a decade and a half.
It's bad enough when I realize that kids that are old enough to drink now were born when I was in the sixth grade, but I've been out of high school for almost fifteen years? Wow.
I don't think I know of anyone's high school class that has scattered more than mine (I would venture to say that less than five percent of my graduating class still lives within spitting distance to the old stomping grounds), but with the wonderment that is the internet, we can all stay in touch as often as we can. Most of the guys and girls that I was close to are just a few keystrokes away (it even got two of my closest friends from school to be in my wedding), but I do miss having them be a five-minute drive from my house.
I know that a lot of people refer to their childhood and adolescence this way, but I really do believe that growing up for me was a much simpler time. Being 1,500 miles away from the town that I call home still gets to me every once in a while (I've been in Dallas just over ten years now), but I'm lucky enough to be in a position that I can visit every couple of years.
It's also kinda cool to have a wife that likes to go with me. The first time I took her with me home (for my ten-year reunion... that was strange because I didn't think I'd changed THAT much, but most people that I hadn't seen thought SHE was in the class), she was like a kid on Christmas morning. I had her film our vacation, as I thought that she would film more things that people wanted to see. I had grown up around the area, so I was sure that there were a lot of things that I take for granted. She was amazed by all of the palm trees and Publixes (Publix is a chain of grocery stores in the Southeast, so you can imagine my confusion). She's been back with me once since, and we had an even better time.
The second trip was for the wedding of my best friend, Ricardo Rincon, this past August. We stay with another of my closest friends, James, who has a wonderful girlfriend as well, and were incredibly gracious in opening their home to us. I don't know if I could live in South Florida again (the cost of living alone will kill you), but it's nice to go back home periodically to recharge the batteries and remember what it was like.
On to other matters...
We had a great weekend, with friends coming into town to visit. These visitors (along with the above mentioned website) were the inspiration for this posting. Having Mikey come in from Arkansas State University was absolutely a pleasure (but not in the biblical sense), and having Mario visit so we could all be together for Episode III made the night even more special than it already was.
Dropping Mario off at the airport on Sunday morning, I'll freely admit that I got a bit misty. Much like I did when he moved away last year, I felt like a part of me was gone. Having someone else from the East Coast to bond with made me miss home a little less. We seem to be just a bit of a different breed of cat, and we've shared some memories that will last a lifetime.
As somebody that I KNOW reads this thing from time to time, I just want to say that your friendship is one that I truly treasure, and you're the best. Hold it down for me up there, old friend. We'll get up there to see you someday.
BB
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