Fifth Reunion Versus 40th Reunion

My 40th college reunion is in the books. It was a record reunion with 89 officially back and at least another dozen who came back, but did bother to tell the college.

As I compare how this reunion was to our fifth reunion I found some distinct difference and some total similarities.

Both reunions were 48 hours of non-stop fun with only about eight hours sleep of those 48 hours. The main difference is it is going to take two or three days to recover from this one.

The best part about all reunions is reconnecting with old friends. As my friend Dave says, “We are only going to tell all the same old stories.” The reason we tell old stories is those are the ones in our long term memories. We can’t remember the stories of things that happened last week, but ask me about what we did freshman year and I can tell you a story about every weekend.

At fifth reunions you see who got thinner, who got fatter, who got married, who is pregnant, who is moving up the ladder, who doesn’t know what a ladder is. At 40th reunions you see who got thinner, who got fatter, who got a new hip, who got a new knee, who doesn’t have hair, who got divorced, who got remarried, who got a forth spouse, who has a grandchild, who has retired, and who knows that the ladder is the least important thing.

At fifth reunions you don’t need to look at people’s name tags, at the 40th you not only look at their name tag, you pick it up off their chest so you can see it better and then, introduce yourself. At all reunions to tell people what they meant to you, how you first met them or how they inspired you. At 40th reunions sometimes you have a recollection about someone and they still don’t know who you are, but you fake it better.

At fifth reunions you drink beer on Morgan Rocks and ask people to chip in. At 40 some drink beers, or wine, or seltzer or water, but thankfully no one needed ensure. At 40 you thank Sally, Britt and Nancy for providing all the drinks with out any fanfare. (Seriously we thank them for all the drinks!)

At fifth reunions you dance to the band Bradley in the Hub. At the 40th you dance to the band Bradley in the Hub, but when you get in bed that night you wonder why your Achilles tendons hurt. At fifth reunions you don’t need to stretch before dancing hard, at 40 you realize too late that you should have stretched before dancing so hard.

At fifth reunions you look at around at the 40th and 50th reunion attendees and think you see your Mom’s best friend. At the 40th you talk to the fifth reunion folks and find out they are friends with your kids.

At fifth reunions you rediscover why you loved these people in college and promise to keep better in touch. At 40 you know why you loved these people, the ones you can remember and discover new people because neither of you remember if you knew each other or not. At 5 you say see you soon, maybe a wedding or another reunion. At 40 you pray you will see these people at 45.

To all my Dickinson friends, the ones I still talk to everyday, the ones I just get Christmas cards from or Facebook comments and the ones I just got to know recently because our paths didn’t really intersect in college, but now I like you, thanks for making reunions a can’t miss occasion. See you all in five years if not before.