Is 20 Years Long Enough??
Oct. 12th, 2004 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanI'm in a quandary.
About a month & a half ago, an invitation came in the mail from my old school to attend my 20 year reunion. $100.00 to go to a cocktail party in the school grounds, black tie, but no dinner. I was soon contacted by the only person from my year that I've bothered to keep in touch with, asking me if I wanted to go. My response at the time was something like 'Why would I pay a hundred bucks to get drunk at my old school, surrounded by a bunch of idiots I had no respect for 20 years ago, less respect for 10 years ago at THAT reunion & not even be fed... when I could go to a decent pub with you, have better conversation, cheaper drinks & at least have the option of steak & chips or a pizza. All for a lot less than these silvertail arseholes are expecting me to pay??'
His thoughts were roughly the same. We weren't going this time...
So, yesterday, my mother gets a phone call from Les Owen, a particularly thick slice of meathead I remember all too well, wanting to get in touch with me about the upcoming reunion. He didn't even leave a phone number for me to call, even if I wanted to. How far he's come... My friend Stuart gets a phone message from James Bush, a slightly smarter specimen (he left a number), asking the same kind of questions. Stuart is now weakening - if they've gone to this much trouble to find us (he's moved about 4 times in the last 10 years), should we just bite the bullet & go??
My feelings for my erstwhile classmates are as described above. However, nostalgia can take an easy hold... & if Stuart & I show up in the same state as 10 years ago (as stoned as Ayers Rock) & spent the evening being brutally honest about people... like we always wanted to, it could be fun. 10 years ago, most of 'em were balding, paunchy & under-assistant merchant bankers. Curiosity could also take an easy hold. But it's still $100.00 for underproof cocktails & half-boiled conversations...
What to do...??
About a month & a half ago, an invitation came in the mail from my old school to attend my 20 year reunion. $100.00 to go to a cocktail party in the school grounds, black tie, but no dinner. I was soon contacted by the only person from my year that I've bothered to keep in touch with, asking me if I wanted to go. My response at the time was something like 'Why would I pay a hundred bucks to get drunk at my old school, surrounded by a bunch of idiots I had no respect for 20 years ago, less respect for 10 years ago at THAT reunion & not even be fed... when I could go to a decent pub with you, have better conversation, cheaper drinks & at least have the option of steak & chips or a pizza. All for a lot less than these silvertail arseholes are expecting me to pay??'
His thoughts were roughly the same. We weren't going this time...
So, yesterday, my mother gets a phone call from Les Owen, a particularly thick slice of meathead I remember all too well, wanting to get in touch with me about the upcoming reunion. He didn't even leave a phone number for me to call, even if I wanted to. How far he's come... My friend Stuart gets a phone message from James Bush, a slightly smarter specimen (he left a number), asking the same kind of questions. Stuart is now weakening - if they've gone to this much trouble to find us (he's moved about 4 times in the last 10 years), should we just bite the bullet & go??
My feelings for my erstwhile classmates are as described above. However, nostalgia can take an easy hold... & if Stuart & I show up in the same state as 10 years ago (as stoned as Ayers Rock) & spent the evening being brutally honest about people... like we always wanted to, it could be fun. 10 years ago, most of 'em were balding, paunchy & under-assistant merchant bankers. Curiosity could also take an easy hold. But it's still $100.00 for underproof cocktails & half-boiled conversations...
What to do...??
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-12 04:45 am (UTC)$100, and they don't have the decency to feed you?? I wouldn't bother, myself.
Set up something for the night before, or the day after, if you're keen to catch up with folks flying in for the thing, and have a decent, reasonably-priced and comfortably-attired night. If you know someone going along to the "official" function, then get them to hand out invitations/details, or just catch up with the ones you actually feel like catching up with.
My 10-year reunion should happen next year; they never bothered telling me about the 5 year one, so I don't know if I'll even hear about it. But if I do, I'm trying to work out just how to deal with it, and something akin to the above appeals.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-12 04:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-12 06:24 am (UTC)I was thinking more of going with your lovely wife's suggestion, and taking along the most gorgeous woman I can find for the evening. Or possibly two of them.
They could help me hold the python, perhaps...
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-12 03:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-12 06:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-13 01:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-12 05:28 pm (UTC)http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp10082004.shtml