High School Reunions - Would you go?

[GAME05]

I forgot to plan the 5 year and the 10 year is supposed to be this year. I'm desperate for an idea that isn't completely lame. Any help out there for a good reunion idea?

for my fifth some years back, the class president, the day before, called whatever names she recognized in the local phone book and just invited everyone to a bar.

 

[homer]

"Not lame and reunions don't really go together. "

 

But you've never attended one of yours. How do you make this statement?

[dadofandrew]

The whole idea is lame...you don't care enough to get together on your own, so let's plan a get together.

 

My wife has gone to both of hers, she hasn't minded them, but has been disappointed by both. None of her good friends have bothered to come, so it's just talking to people who you may know their families or something.

[homer]

Well I ran into a girl at my 15th that I hadn't seen in years and just met up with her this past weekend in San Diego. It's a great opportunity to re-connect. But I guess if finding new friends from old acquaintences isn't your thing then it would be lame.

[bando1234]

My 10year(11 year) went well. I talked to a lot of people I never talked to while in high school however I had a lot to drink also.

My 15 year I did not have a drop to drink , saw most of the people I saw 4 years earlier & talked mostly to my friends spouses. Mostly baseball. I had fun however I heard someone mention my name. While I was talking to my friend he told me that he volenteerd us to plan the 20th. I have a few years yet.

[hawing]

At my 20th reunion I discovered that a pal from high school (who I'd hardly seen in the intervening years) follows the Angels as closely as I do the Brewers. That was a fun discovery, and if nothing else I figure if we ever get to Anaheim, we've got someone to go to a game with.

 

As a bonus, a TV in the bar area at the reunion dinner had the Brewers on that night. They beat the Twins. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[bretsky07]

I went to my five year this summer, it was just a bar crawl. More importantly, Braun hit a three-run shot and Prince followed with a solo in coming back to beat the Astros in the 9th on the road. The night got a lot more drunk after that and I forget the rest.

[Fatter than Joey]

I married WAY over my head, so these sort of things work out pretty good for me.

 

I don't do a lot of social things, so I enjoy doing reunions.

[temke]

i just skipped a 10. like many have said, i still see my good friends from HS on a regular basis. honestly, i really dont care all that much about what everyone else is doing. there are maybe only a handful of people from HS that i woud be interested in getting in touch with.

 

my wife is also in the process of skipping her 10 as well.

 

maybe for 20.

 

also, IMO 5 year reunions are silly. the people who went to college are just finished and probably have some entry-level job, the non-college people are likely set in the work force, the burnouts wont show anyways, and the girl that was pregnant now has a 5-year old.

 

if you really want to know about someone, google them

[don1481]

It's funny... every once in awhile I run into a classmate from high school. 90% of the time, they don't even recognize me. Yes, I understand that it's hard not to recognize this much awesomeness but I'll admit it - I've changed a lot over the past *cough* years.

 

I don't think I'm going to attend my 10th; I don't think the room could handle this much awesomeness.

[bjkrautk]

I would go to my 10-year reunion this year....

 

...if it hadn't been scheduled for the weekend after Thanksgiving.

 

(FWIW, We didn't even have a 5-year.)

[SeriesFinale]

I went to my 10th at the last minute a few years back and had a fantastic time, both with old friends and people I never got to know too well in high school. We had some good food, got dressed up, walked down memory lane, ended up on the beach late at night, etc. I'm one of those people who lived about 1500+ miles away from his hometown (3000+ now), but I'm not sure that would have made a difference for me in terms of the fun I had.

 

"you don't care enough to get together on your own, so let's plan a get together."

 

There are a few friends of mine I get together with occasionally, who happen to members of my class, but the reunion is a different kind of thing completely for a different purpose. If you don't want to go, don't go. Of course, every party does need a pooper!

[nohopspanther]

My 10-year for Brookfield Central is scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend which is exactly why I skipped the 5 year. I'm considering going, but I'm a season ticket holder for UWM men's basketball and there is a home game against Drake which is a good opponent so now I'm waffling. I also got an invite to play in a turkey bowl with friends that same day. I messed up my ring finger in last year's game which I had avoided the previous 4-5 years. I can't imagine playing this year and being capable of walking upright let alone wanting to go to a reunion afterwards. Besides, if people really want to re-unite, they can stop by the school and see me teaching anyways.

[RoseBowlMtg]

I have been to been to 4 of mine.

 

10 yr was the hardest day in my life where I had to go to Waunakee to bury a friend. Much too young to die at 28 so we went to Rips after to get ripped for our friend. We drove back to Milwaukee and after saying the same thing to so many people, (how are you, what you doing?, kids?) I finally couldn't take it and told an acquaintance that we buried a friend that day who got eaten by a bear. I ended up getting really smashed and ended up naked in the hotel hot tub with some sympathetic women friends.

 

20 yr my wife was pregnant so the drinking was less. 20 yrs people were not talking their successes and like Homer I talked with many I didn't know as much in high school. Pretty laid back.

 

25 was a blast and seeing the video was a lot of fun.

 

We just had the 30 at an out door spot with a full moon live band and 145 or our 300 classmates. This was by far the best. Shorts and fun instead of dressed up and more formal.

 

As I have gotten older I don't get out as much since we are doing so much with the kids so seeing some buddies I knew in a formal state is very fun. Talking to classmates you didn't know much is very cool seeing how everyone is so comfortable with themselves with none of the oneupmanship displayed by some folks at the 10 and 20 yr. They have gotten better for me. Hey it's a chance to go out and have fun which is tougher with kids.

[gypcasino]

10 yr was the hardest day in my life where I had to go to Waunakee to bury a friend. Much too young to die at 28 so we went to Rips after to get ripped for our friend. We drove back to Milwaukee and after saying the same thing to so many people, (how are you, what you doing?, kids?) I finally couldn't take it and told an acquaintance that we buried a friend that day who got eaten by a bear. I ended up getting really smashed and ended up naked in the hotel hot tub with some sympathetic women friends.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/gypcasino/eek2smiley.gif

 

 

[Bert55]

OK, I am the old guy here and I have to admit that after 25 years, I decided to go to a re-union. I never wanted to go, but thought what the heck. I had, for the most part, a great time. It really helped that I had given up alcohol and "other implements of distruction". They all got stupid and I endedup talking to people that I never gave the time of day to at the end of the night and had a great time.

 

My thoughts for all these years was....I had very few choices in my early life, one of them who I went to school with. I appreciate the memories now, as one time they were painful. These people I graduated with are my HISTORY. And I can't change it.

[Roscoe Chill]

I wasn't too excited about going to my 10th (the only we've had) since I hung out more with people from the year before and the year after more than I did with people in my class. But I'm still very good friends with three people from my class, and we went, and it was a blast I must admit. Very fun. You forget about some people in your class whether you want to admit it or not. And you get pleasantly surprised...PLUS, if you're still single some of the girls you graduated with are all grows up if you know what I'm saying...some of them you won't believe. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Of course if you're not a social person, you won't like it.

[bjkrautk]

10 yr was the hardest day in my life where I had to go to Waunakee to bury a friend. Much too young to die at 28 so we went to Rips after to get ripped for our friend. We drove back to Milwaukee and after saying the same thing to so many people, (how are you, what you doing?, kids?) I finally couldn't take it and told an acquaintance that we buried a friend that day who got eaten by a bear. I ended up getting really smashed and ended up naked in the hotel hot tub with some sympathetic women friends.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/gypcasino/eek2smiley.gif

I know that's not an easy anecdote to share, and I probably shouldn't make light of it, but did anyone else flash back to Will Ferrell's cameo in Wedding Crashers?

[TracyThom]

I was friends with pretty much all 150 people I graduated with. I'm very much looking forward to my next reunion. Our 5 year was held in a bar. IMO, 5 years is too soon. I was one of the few people who had an actual career. Most people were still in college or had jobs that they had no intentions on keeping. Plus I was one of the few who was married with kids.

 

Our 10-year ended up getting cancelled because the bar/banquet room it was going to be held at was vandalized with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage and never reopened. There was talk of doing an 11-year, but it never materialized. I have to wait until 2010 for our 15 year.

[dadofandrew]

I did get a recap of what folks were up to for the 5 year...and was amazed we had some divorced people. I had barely had a serious girlfriend at that point.

[jaybird2001wi]

I started this topic as just a mere thought and early this morning I was chatting on AOL IM with this girl I graduated high school with who now works in Germany as a DNA and Biotech Analyst and she invited me and like 30 or more people to her parents' house in our hometown around Christmas when she returns to the states.

I never really believed she would be this nice to me, so now I may just be willing to show up just to say hello for a short time. Besides, she said her parents will be supplying the food and drinks... so why not?

[DHonks]

my class hasn't had one. The first one is the 10 year, and that's coming up in '09. I figure that if I can go, it'll be nice. But then again, I still see plenty of folks from high school. We're planning on going to Vegas this year in January, so that'll be where I'll see the key folks.

[hawing]

In advance of my 15 year reunion, we received a form to fill out for a booklet. It didn't ask for much: spouse, kids, your job, spouse's job...and the one that threw me for a loop, grandchildren. I was trying to figure that out - after all, we were all pretty much about 33 years old for that reunion - but between step-grandchildren and one woman who had a kid while we were in high school, there were indeed a few.

[pretendastronaut]

Well, for one, I win the small class award, with a graduating class of 42, and unlike other comments, I tend to think that small class size is what made our reunion more successful, you know everyone, even if just a little and you literally remember spending your whole childhood with most of them.

 

We didn't have a 5 year (which I agree, is pretty pointless), but we had our 10 year last summer and it was a lot of fun. I actually just very recently ran into a guy from my class, who in highschool was really one of those kids that was on the very bottom of the totem pole, and he told me that he had a great time at the reunion, that everyone talked to him and was really nice to him. You still see people gravitate to the people you expect them to, but the groups weren't as important.

 

I also ran into another classmate a few months back who wasn't at the reunion and I wish he would have been because he's simply had a fascinating life since highschool and I'm pretty proud for him.

 

I also just attended my wife's 10 year a couple of weeks ago, and it was a bit different, but I actually had a very good time and even made a few new friends that we intend to hang out with.

 

They're not all bad, they're mostly what you make of it and nothing else. If you go in with attitude and stand on the wall, then yes, it'll be everything you decided it will be. But if you let go, be able to break any ice that exists and be willing to talk, you'll find most people will be the same way and you can have a good time. You can't really complain about other people's clicks if you're obviously not willing to move on yourself.

[Jimbo]

I ended up getting really smashed and ended up naked in the hotel hot tub with some sympathetic women friends.

I didn't have any friends like that in high school. No wonder those years sucked.

 

Seriously, I've been to all four of mine. In two years will be the 25th. By now everyone has mellowed out and most anyone is willing to talk to anyone. I was at the last one for four hours and still wasn't enough time, and I wasn't popular in school. It's what you make of it. I don't live in the same city I grew up and I went to a relatively large school, so going to these things allow me the only opprotunity bump into people I went to school for as many as 13 years. There are not necessarily "friends", but aquaints who helped each other make it through the years. I find it interesting to see how they ended up and what road they took in life.