It Just Hit Me ...

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... that I graduated High School 43 years ago today. I still remember sitting on a folding chair on the EA Laney High School football field that evening, wearing my cap and gown over my shorts and t-shirt. It was much too warm and humid to dress up under the gown. The details of the graduation party will be left to your imagination. Suffice it to say that I awoke the next morning with the first and worst hangover I ever had. I did not make it to my tenth or twentieth reunions. When my thirtieth rolled around, I was back in NC and in touch with some of my classmates on Facebook. I decided to go. What struck me as odd was the way certain of my female classmates who wouldn't have given me the time of day back in 1979 were so happy to see me in 2009. Those now grown women hugged me like a long-lost friend when the girls they had been wouldn't have given me a second look. The best moment came when I was talking to some friends and heard a vaguely familiar female voice ask, "Doug, is that you?" I looked up and saw my high school girlfriend, whom I hadn't seen or spoken to since graduation, holding out her arms to embrace me. We hugged and I saw, over Gail's shoulder, K looking at us with daggers coming out of her eyes. Fast forward 10 years to our 40th reunion. Gail and I have stayed in touch over the 10 years between and have even gotten together for coffee on the occasions I visited Wilmington. K and Gail had become friends via FB and my wife insists my old flame sit with us. It's been 3 years since then. I've seen Gail once in the meantime. I wonder where I'll be when our 50th Reunion comes around in 2029. Have you been to any of your school reunions? What did you do if you ran into your old flame?