My 40th High School Reunion Pt.3 DAY TWO

       My 40th High School Reunion  Pt. 3  

                           DAY TWO

     I was really tired the next day when I pulled myself out of bed to get to the luncheon planned at Chucks.  I was good to see Ann Love there, & Dena Merril too.  I would have really missed visiting with Ann so Im glad I went.  Kaye Dempsey Davis (she just never ages,) Margaret Steenson Filingeri (what is she, a size 4??!)  Bill & Margaret (so nice!) Stallworth Olderog (Bill is still so handsome & sweet for all you ladies that didnt make the reunion,)  Carol & Dave Frederick Covin (love them!) Dena Merril Harrison (she & her husband Michael have a big Kareoki busness going in Tx,) Ann (love her, a true sensitive soul)  & Alice Marie & John Wright Payn were all assembled & snackin' down.  It gave me a good opportunity to catch up with Alice & John & look at their wedding & honeymoon pictures!  Love is always so wonderous, better than anything else in the world!  I am so happy for them, they compliment each other perfectly!

     I'd been told that many were meeting in Bonnie's room to watch the Texas/OU game & have a few laughs.  I also heard that some of that group managed to set the alarm in Ann Upchurch Clark's room at 0645 the next day!!...  Very devious, haha!!  It wasn't me, Ann. (Ann, btw is still just exquisite!)  I know I missed a ton of Fun darn it, but I had other plans.

     Instead, I went to drive thru the old neighborhood again, I just can't seem to stay away.  The house I grew up in is 'For Sale' & I approached the front steps & boldly rang the bell!  How many times had I gone in & out of that door on dates & stood & kissed goodnight on that front porch?!  A kindly old man (he was probably a few years older than me) answered the door & let me in to look around!  I spent the next two hours in yesteryear as hiswife took me thru their home.  I have much to say about this & will send it out in a separate email.  I left truly feeling you cant go home again.  I proceeded to Dallas to check out the house I lived in thru the 5th grade.  It is so grande & Beautiful!  But most of the houses there on Glendora Ave in the Hillcrest district have been torn down & mansions have been built in their place.  Definately not My old neighborhood.  Once again it was confirmed; you can't go home again, & seriously why would I want to?

     Okay, so much for my little drive down my personal memory lane, I had to get back to dress for our Big Reunion Dinner!  I stopped by to see if I could help with the decorations but everybody had it covered & they were just finishing up!  The place looked great!  There was a board with messages from some who couldn't attend.  (This was a wonderful idea, & if any of you defer coming to the Next reunion I HIGHLY suggest you send a message for us.  It IS the least you could do!)  Better yet, be there or be square.  There were many boards with many pictures.  There was the L O N G, huge  mural of most everyone from our class.  Purple, white, & gold balloons were on the greeting table where Ann Richardson Rankin was handing out RHS65 baseball hats, a computer dvd with all of us on it, & a list of attendee's along with those wonderful yearbook picture nametags to wear! 

     I went up to change clothes.  What to wear, what to wear...  I'd brought 3 different (black shroud!) outfits & tried each one on.  Nothing really worked.  I put on a girdle to try to hold in my big gut & butt, but I pulled it off at the last moment.  Phuck that shit, love me as my bigger ole' self or just walk away, Renee'.  I settled on a sheer, beaded long tuxedo blouse & silk trousers.  To hell with it all.  I didn't have time to curl my long hair, so I pulled it back in a tight ponytale once again & told myself I looked chic.  My fingernails had broken off on my last flight, so I went with stumps, but then my nail polished bubbled up & there was no time to change that.  Who cares, I was over it by now. Enough time wasted on trying to get it together, I took my satin antique purse, walked out & slammed the door behind me.  It was my last night in town & I couldn't wait to get back to our class!

      The party was great!!  Everyone had arrived!  They all looked magnificantly beautiful!  It was so exciting!  Gwen Myer(fabulous, of course!  She now goes by Johnnye) & her handsome hubby Phil Summerson, Joe Bush (my Prince Charming from our 6th grade 'Snow White' show,) Marianna Butler Krystinik, Stan & Mary Ann Green, Lee Halford, Steve Higgins, Jim & Shan Fincher, Charles Major, Sam A. Martin, Sonny & Vickie Newsome, Judy & Jim Lawton Albert, Bob Shepard, Rick Sparks, Scotty & Lee Twitchell, Kathy & Don Warner Pederson, Barbie & George Bender Derby, Gail Thompson Peters, Ray & Sheila Zajicek, Mary Wise Thgompson, Connie & Bob Dent Rietschel, Glen Mims & Leticia, Ronnie Penix, Rosemary McCasslin Thayer, Patty & Stephen London Bonney, Carl Sherrin, (my 6th grade boyfriend) the Stringer cousins, Candy (sparkling) & Suzanne (exquisite) Linda Sims Michaels came back to us, Jim McConnell, Patricia & Frank Morris McGee, Richard & Lisa Bejcek, David & Sandy Cecil, Phil Cutts (looking so dapper, Im sure it was hard for him without Kaecie, It was hard for the rest of us too) Marilu & David Dooley Meredith & her Mom (Marilu looked resplendent!) the extremely talented & joyfull Carrell Lee Grigsby & her hubby Steve Etter, Doug Phelps (Lindyhopps online to our emailers) Linda Lisherness Hardy (just beautiful!) our Wonderful Wendall Housley, the infamously halarious Linda Chambers Rodgers & her adorable mom, Mary & James Wolff Franklin (still lookin' good after all these years,) Rosie & Sam Peterson Kartalis (damn, they look great, Rosie looks extrodinary!) Coach Broom & wife, Mr Passmore & wife, Gloria Snyder, & last but certainly not least, Leonards BEAUTIFUL mother & her friend.  God, who have I left out??  Im going blank.  Im sorry whomever I havent mentioned, & this page is only those I hadn't spoken of in my part two writing.  I was so happy to finally get to know Barbara Light Lacy (so cool!) & her adorable husband SalDe Jesus!  Barbie I miss the directory book you did last time!

     I tried to talk to as many as possible, but I didnt succeed very well.  The dinner buffet was excellent, I was starving after that crummy salad at Chucks.  After we all chowed down, visited, & yucked it up the real fun started.  First James Foos (looking really good) introduced Coach Broom telling a story about when he & friends papered Mr. Broom's house.  Then Linda Foos (she is beautiful!) introduced Mr Passmore speaking about being a school principle herself now.  But THEN Mr. Passmore got up (with a 4 inch goatee-beard looking more like a surviving beatnik/hippie than our illustrious principle) & began a hilarious monologue, going on & on, one zinger after the other, totally jubilant & visibly exultant that man Cracked us up, we were all on the floor laughing hysterically!!!  Now, did you EVER hear him make even a peep in school??  I didn't.  As John Roberts said shaking his head, he wasn't wasting it on us, he Definately wasn't wasting all that on us back then!   Wow, who knew??  Ole' Schecky Passmore was brilliant, a regular Milton Berle!  Now that was a true TREAT!!!

     After that Carrell Grigsby (Ms. Professional Photographer Johnson) directed us out into the atrium area & proceeded to take group pictures of us all, one after the other, to make a new long mural like the old one up on the wall.  Im thinking she'll put some up on our website too, maybe.  She was amazing, did all that so fast!!  No wonder she's so successful! 

      It was all so wonderful visiting with so many, if only for short increments at a time.  Slowly folks started dwindling out the door & before you knew it the clock struck midnight & workers came in & started tearing down the diningroom set ups.  Oh no, not yet!  Dena had brought her own printer & was giving out pictures she had taken of us all as souveniers, something I thought was exceptionally creative!  Crazy Ass LEOnard hung in there with me to the bitter end, till he too had to leave & hitch a ride home with Charles.  I just didnt want it to end, I just didnt want ANYone to go.  Kaye Dempsey Davis & I then migrated to the bar to join the last few straggling hold-outs:  John Roberts, Carol & Dave Covin, Patty & Stephen Bonney, Sam Martin & Doug Phelps.  Finally, they kicked us out of the frickin' BAR (oh yeah, it's Texas) so we all meandered out to the Lobby & sat there.  We just wanted the night to go on & on.  Eventually Kaye & I hugged everyone goodbye & forced ourselves into the elevator & up we went. 

     So there I was, back in my room #1509 looking at that slamming, panoramic view of the lights of Richardson in a trance.  It was finished, the party was over & I was deeply saddened.  It would have been easy to plunge into sorrow, & I began to feverishly review the happiness of the reunion so as to keep my spirits high.  So dreadful to think that we have to wait 5 more years till we're all together again.  I hope the leaders, the wonderful group that worked so hard to put this extravaganza together for us aren't suffering from post partem party depression today!   I could see how it might happened.  I began to slowly pack up my suitcases while I ran a hot, steamy bath.  I sat down & began to write what I remembered. Soon the sun would come up & I'd have to check out.  I didnt want the night to end, even sitting there alone.   Time for sleep, I'd need my wits to sit standby for a flight home on this holiday (Columbus) weekend. 

      With regret, I pulled out of the hotel & onto the Central Expressway the next afternoon.  As luck would have it, I knew the crew working my 300pm flight home & thankfully got on with a window seat, even!  The bad news:  We were delayed on the tarmac for 2 hrs before even getting in line to take off!  Not to worry, tho.  I had a whole big tablet of Richardson Hotel Paper & I would continue to work on this major epistle for my blog - as if anyone would ever want to read it.

      It was just a wonderful fun experience.  Thank you all, whomever put out all that energy to make this happen for us!! And thanks to all you grads who came.  We showed up for each other!  You are all just so swell, even the ones I might have forgotten to mention. Take care, may God watch over each one of us...  Until we meet again!