Remember When

May 25, 1969. Graduation Day. Forty years later I still remember. But only bits and pieces. Caps and gowns. Tassels turned. Cake and punch. Presents. Photos. Hugs and handshakes. Laughter and tears. Goodbyes.

I still have my senior cords. I still have my class ring. But somewhere through the years I lost my Spanish Club pin and my yearbook and some people I wish I'd known better.

I doubt that anyone knew Dave Shore would leave us so soon after that day. If they did, I didn't. That's one of my regrets—that being so insecure, I isolated myself. But while I don't want to forget what I didn't know, I'd rather remember what we shared.

Bonfires and pep rallies. Homecoming. Football and basketball. Tennis and track. First dates and first kisses. First jobs. FTA. A Cappella choir. Tri Epsilon.

I remember the musicals, especially The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Years later I performed in "Molly" again, in the oldest continuously-running Little Theater in America. Still later in life, I wrote and directed and produced plays and founded a community theater.

Some of us followed some of the paths we were on in that year. Others went off in new directions we'd never dreamed of. Where have your memories taken you?