Randy McDaniel 40th High School Reunion

It seems like yesterday I was walking to Principal Rolsma's office to explain why I thought it was a cute idea to unzip the bag on that belt-sander in Mr. Jacobs Shop class.

Turns out it was actually yesterday plus a little over 40 years ago.  Really?  you mean Richard Nixon isn't President and Jeremiah isn't a Bullfrog anymore?

Wow.  Kenny Chesney was right...'Don't Blink'.

I attended the 40 year Class Reunion of the 1973 graduating class of Edgerton Minnesota High School.  It was held over the weekend at the Luverne Country Club and when I walked in and looked around, well....

I was stunned.  Did I really go to school with all these old fogies?  Of course, they looked at me and thought 'Hey, who's the old wrinkled skinny bald guy?'.

Thank goodness we all wore name tags with our High School graduation picture on them.

36 graduated in that class, with 35 still on the planet and 29 attending the reunion.  Not bad.

The last time I had seen some of these folks, it was Boones Farm Strawberry Hill and very quiet steps up the stairs to the bedroom above Mom and Dad's room.

Now it was 'How many Grandkids do you have?' and 'Are your folks still around?".

Yep, that's the motley crew right there in that picture up above.  That's me, the Brad Pitt look-alike, in the upper right hand corner.  As i recall, most of the others in the picture were trouble-makers and I was the elite of the group.  Hey, I'm writing this and that's the way my memory bends.  It wasn't me who got kicked out of all those classes, flunked German Class as a Freshman and threw those water balloons at Mr. DeJong's car.

It was just someone who kind of looked like me.  Except that kid had hair, was fatter and didn't have the wrinkles.

Damn, it sure was plumb good talking to all those kids.  Yeah, that's what we were that night in that place.  Kids again.

And in one more blink of an eye, we'll gather again at our 50th.  Don't laugh.  You'll blink and you'll be at yours too.