Five
years
ago,
I
attempted
to
put
our
reunion
in
perspective
by
focusing
on
how
different
our
lives
in
1948
were
from
the
environment
of
1998.
Now I
would
like
to
focus
on
how
different
the
perspective
of
this
year’s
high
school
graduates
is
from
ours.
First,
the
people
graduating
from
high
school
this
year
were
born
in
1985.
The
Compact
Disk
was
introduced
one
year
before
they
were
born.
They
have
no
meaningful
recollection
of
the
Reagan
Era,
and
probably
do
not
know
that
he
had
ever
been
shot.
The
Vietnam
War
is as
much
ancient
history
to
them
as
WWI,
WWII
and
the
Civil
War.
They
don’t
have
a
clue
of
how
to
use a
typewriter.
They
have
always
had
an
answering
machine.
They
cannot
fathom
not
having
a
remote
control…..(but
then,
neither
can
Margy.)
Popcorn
has
always
been
cooked
in a
microwave
and
Michael
Jackson
has
always
been
white.
They
probably
can’t
imagine
what
it
was
like
when
every
family
had a
mother
and a
father,
or
that
it
wouldn’t
have
occurred
to
either
parent
to
hire
a
lawyer
to
get
their
child
out
of a
"bust".
Our
parents
sided
with
the
law!
There’s
no
question
that
they
think
that
any
world
that
didn’t
have
gay
rights,
computer
dating,
dual
careers,
day
care
centers
and
group
therapy
was
ancient,
boring,
out
of
touch
and
totally
irrelevant!
Yes,
by
today’s
standards,
we
were
a
crazy,
uncontrolled,
and a
rather
backward
generation.
Imagine
walking
up to
Gardner’s
and
hanging
out
in a
booth
listening
to
records
instead
of
burning
our
own
disks
off
of
the
internet.
We
thought
it
was
OK.
We
also
thought
it
was
OK to
pray
in
school,
to
salute
the
flag,
and
have
Baccalaureate
services
for
the
graduates.
We
even
thought
that
it
was
OK
and
appropriate
to
have
a
Christmas
tree
or a
Nativity
Scene
in
front
of
the
Municipal
Building.
We
were
very
much
aware
that
teachers
could
and
would
punish
us
for
disrupting
a
class,
without
having
to
face
a law
suit
from
parents
charging
child
abuse.
Parents
seemed
to
have
a
completely
different
role
then.
Most,
if
not
all,
of us
were
far
more
afraid
of
our
parents
than
either
the
Principal
or
the
Police.
Can
you
imagine
one
of
our
guys
then,
wearing
an
earring?
We
all
knew
then
that
anything
made
in
Japan
was
junk.
We
believed
that
a
lady
needed
a
husband
to
have
a
baby.
When
we
were
in
school,
the
worst
thing
that
you
could
do
was
smoke
in
the
bathrooms,
flunk
a
test,
chew
gum
in
class
or
play
hooky.
Our
prom
was
in
the
Gym
or at
the
Women's
Club.
We
danced
to an
orchestra,
and
all
of
the
girls
wore
pastel
gowns
and
the
boys
wore
suits,….
most
of us
for
the
first
time,
and
we
stayed
out
all
night…….with
parental
permission.
Some
kids
went
steady
and
the
girls
wore
a
class
ring
wrapped
with
dental
floss
or
yarn
so it
would
fit
her
finger.
Remember
playing
baseball
without
an
adult
to
help
us
with
the
rules?
Baseball
then
was
not a
psychological
group
learning
experience…..it
was a
game…it
was
FUN!
I
guess
it is
rather
amazing
that
we
have
lived
this
long,
if
only
because
we
rode
in
cars
without
seatbelts
or
airbags.
Our
cribs
were
covered
with
bright
lead-based
paint.
We
rode
bikes
without
helmets.
How
about
the
air
we
breathed?
Forget
about
cigarette
smoke,
the
air
from
the
mills,
trains
and
factories
was
enough
to
give
any
EPA
official
nightmares.
Well,
we
have
survived
this
long
in
spite
of
everything,
and
now
we
are
getting
close
to
the
point
when
we
stop
lying
about
our
age
and
start
bragging
about
it.
Some
people
try
to
turn
back
their
odometer.
Not
me! I
want
people
to
know
why I
look
this
way.
I’ve
traveled
a
long
way
and
some
of
the
roads
weren’t
even
paved.
When
you
get
dissatisfied
and
think
that
you’d
like
to go
back
to
youth…….think
of
Algebra,
English
Comp.
And
Trig.
I
don’t
know
about
all
of
you,
but I
am
happy
to be
here.
I
can’t
drink
like
I
used
to, I
don’t
remember
names
like
I
used
to,
…I
can’t
do a
lot
of
things
like
I
used
to.
Our
lives
have
changed…..
6:00
am is
when
we
get
up,
not
when
we go
to
bed.
Most
of us
watch
Jeopardy
with
its
geriatric
commercials
and
the
Weather
or
Movie
Channel
instead
of
reality
shows
and
bad
sitcoms.
Dinner
and a
movie
is a
whole
evening,
not
just
the
beginning
of
it,……
but
I’m
damned
glad
to be
here,
I'm
glad
that
you
are
here
and I
wish
that
more
of
us,
who
really
wanted
to
come,
could
be
here.
Now
let’s
have
a
great
reunion!
Bob
