1976 -- It was a very good year

People don't change. My hypothesis was proven last night at my 40th class reunion.

In some contexts, the "not changing" thing can be bad. But when you see a smile -- a very distinctive smile -- that you haven't seen in 40 years it's a wonderful thing. The personality behind that smile comes through and it's like no time at all has passed.

I know class reunions can be intimidating. You wonder if you'll know anybody. Or if anyone will remember you. It's scary. Maybe you've put on a few pounds (who hasn't?) or maybe your hairline is thinner or nonexistent. The wrinkles. The disappointments in life. They all take their toll.

But here are a hundred or so people who share not only a graduation year, but a history that very few others could really understand. Who else was 5 when John F. Kennedy was assassinated? Who else was 10 when Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were gunned down? Who else was a senior in high school when the Vietnam war ended?

My parents and their classmates went through The Great Depression together. My children and their classmates remember 9-11 through the context of the classroom.

I remember when Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. My music teacher, Mr. Ward, who was 21 at the time, explained the situation to us. He was so visibly distraught that I understood how grave this event was for my country. It's my first memory of a day of sadness and hopelessness that touched the entire nation.

He also taught us the song, "Abraham, Martin and John," the tribute to the memory of four assassinated Americans who fought for social change: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.

As a child of the 1960s, I'm glad it was teachers like Mr. Ward who taught us not only with his words, but with his emotions. 

And I'm glad it was my classmates from Center Cass School who lived through those times with me. We weren't all best of friends. We weren't always kind with our words or our actions. But we had a bond, and as I found out last night, it still holds.

My heart was really full last night. Yes, I had to read nametags and yes, I had to search my memory in some cases. But really, those gangly fifth graders and those sometimes rebellious and often funny high schoolers really are the same people they were.

All very beautiful in their own right, and all brave for facing the fear that is a high school reunion! Until next time, stay "Forever Young," everyone.  

A bestie from Downers Grove South! So glad I got to hang out with Kim Carlson Blackburn!

Sheena and I were friends even before elementary school!

William Ward and me at the reunion. He taught music and much more.