"Has It Really Been 30 Years?"... or "You Look Great!" - Part III

Continued from yesterday – this is all about the Parkway East 9th Grade 30th Reunion.

I’ve read a couple of recaps and updates with pics of the actual reunion that took place at Llywelyn’s Pub in Webster Groves. From 7pm until after midnight, over 100 classmates teachers and our principal, plus assorted spouses reconnected with names and faces that we hadn’t heard or seen in 30 years.

To say it was an amazing, incredible, mind-blowing night is an understatement. But it was. The years fell away as we laughed and chatted and reminisced. And what was so amazing is that many of the labels that we gave ourselves or were given by others no longer mattered. It was as if they no longer existed. The social barriers just weren’t there because we were one united group of alumni.

I’m not always a social person. I don’t always feel comfortable in large groups or know what to say or talk about. But none of that awkwardness existed for me on Saturday night.

Walking into the private room at Llywelyn’s, I felt like I was on that old toddler show, “Romper Room.” I see Anne and Cindy and Sonya and Kevin and Linda and… the list was endless.

I’m amazed (and yet not) by the wonderful, generous and incredible people that our class has produced. Every story seemed better than the last, yet each one touched me. As I exchanged “catch-up info” with each person, I was stunned anew to realize how truly stupendous my classmates were and are.

I almost don’t want to do an individual recap. I’m afraid my memory will fail me and I’ll forget to mention someone. But if I do, it’s not because I’ve forgotten seeing them, it’s just because my tiny brain can only hold so much at once. While telling my mom and trying to recap, I kept saying, “Oh! And I also saw _____.” So here goes:

I found out many wonderful things about who my classmates are now. For example, Anne Broeder is a vet. Which is not surprising since she was always interested in animals and drawing horses throughout grade school, junior high and high school. And Ellie Grossman has her own web site and column at www.mishegasofmotherhood.com. Cindy Musterman, who I embarrassed by showing a picture of us from summer camp, owns a local college in St. Louis. And the list goes on. I spoke with Laura Keister (who lived 4 houses away from me) and Lisa Fuchs, who went to CA for 8th grade spring break with Holly Johnson, Lucy Jung and myself. There was Julie Bernstein and Jill Spiegelglass. And Stephanie Berin and Lori Oberdorfer. As I continued to move into the room, I talked with Kevin Levin and Leslie Stevens and Crystal Freeman.

I sat down and had a bite with Anne, Cindy and Chrissa Pavlopoulos, who used to work for Boeing. Michele Finbloom joined us – believe it or not, she works with my aunt at OASIS. I was able to catch up with Glen Mitchell and Margaret Shoptaw and David Brown and Andy Brown and Jeff Eissman. I loved talking with Sandy Beringer and helping her look for (and stalk) her first love from junior high.

And then there were the people who I saw, but never had the opportunity to even say hi. The night just wasn’t long enough.

I can’t thank the reunion committee – Kevin Levin, Linda Bloomfield, Sonya Moranz, Ginger Fawcett, Diana Allen – enough. Not just for all their hard work, but for the great conversations and catching up.

As a writer, I should have a multitude of words and adjectives at my disposal to describe that night. They all seem so inadequate.

So I’ll just say that I hope we do this again and twice as many graduates of the Class of ’79 from Parkway East Junior High are there. Go Eagles!