As we grow older, we all hear stories about the good and bad old days of high school. Many of those memories came rushing back this afternoon when in attendance of a wedding reception. Without even considering who would be there, I walked in and suddenly started seeing some of my old high school classmates in the crowd. Some of them I haven’t seen in years and years. Others that were there were clients and customers of some recent years as well as many years past.
It’s funny how people have perceptions of classmates during high school years and then have a bit of a turn-about years later. I can say without a doubt that I was not a student that was part of all the clubs and extra curricular activities. My high school years were plainly school and work at home on the farm. I had chores in the morning and chores in the evening and never considered myself a lesser person for it. That’s just the way life was during those years. For some strange biological reason, I didn’t start physically growing until I was out of high school and didn’t finish until I was near 21. I really didn’t think any of my other features changed other than my height. I found out differently at my five year high school reunion. Many of my old classmates at that reunion didn’t recognize me nor remember me. It’s funny how quickly people forget after not so many years.
I spent most of my time this afternoon chatting with a woman and her husband who was just a grade behind me. We definitely had some laughs talking about the old days. I was even being a bit naughty to a few by saying, “Oh my goodness! You’re short and old!” I think I will be the topic of conversations for some time. The woman of the grade below me did hear me say that and said, “I do remember you having a bit of a sharp tongue sometimes at school.” Likely she would have heard my acid tongue when someone was being a bully or condescending in the halls between classes. I’ll never forget a time when I verbally challenged a much larger student who was being a brute. He and his buddies chased me all the way home. Unfortunately for them, they encountered more than they would ever have expected at the doorstep.
Over the years, I’ve had elderly clients that were quite poor as well as those who were quite wealthy. It seems the older most of them get, the less the material world means to them. Relationships become more important–especially with old friends and family.
In thinking about the whole thing, it’s interesting how the winds of fate blow each and every one of us in directions we never would have imagined at the time. As the years continue to pass, we find our egos diminishing and discover that we’re pretty much at the same level as everyone else simply due to the weights of time.
