A very good evening to you all. As one who has been absent from class, as it were, for these fifty years, I am genuinely delighted to be back among you this reunion weekend.

On behalf of the class officers, and in support of the Reunion Committee’s goals for this event, I’d like to offer some thoughts about the meaning of this reunion.

 

First, how do we grapple with the fact of 50 years? 50 years is an extraordinarily long time:

 

What is important, of course, is not the fifty years, but the lives that have richly and eventfully filled those years—and how we share that bounty in this reunion setting. This is the second thought.

In a way, we all started long ago in the same place. And—interestingly—tonight at least—we have all ended up in the same place. How strange and wonderful is that?

Although we may not appreciate it now, this gathering may prove to be a landmark event in our lives. It is like the near-earth passage of a 50-year comet, and we should be open to all its possibilities.

In our conversations with fellow classmates this weekend, we intuitively sense the value of reconnecting. But we should also take note of the underlying dynamic:

We all are enriched by one another’s life stories. Each classmate’s story adds, in some small way, to our own story going forward, to who we are continuing to become.

In economics, this is called “wealth creation,” and we should all leave here a little wealthier than when we arrived.

 

The third—and most important—thought is that this reunion has a future. Unquestionably, the reunion is about the past . . . but it is not just an indulgence in nostalgia, it is also a platform for our future interconnectedness.

Not only is this reunion the basis for renewing old friendships, it can become the basis for new friendships with classmates who we may have discounted years ago but who now could become good friends.

From this perspective, this event is not just a re-union but also a pre-union for the relationships that could thrive among us in the years ahead.

We are all facing old age together; we can all benefit from mutual support.  Who better to sustain us into old age than this ready-made group of friends?

We are all the same age. We all grew up with likeable Ike, grooved to Elvis, and came of age with the Kennedys. And we all have affection for Milton and Milton High.

And so, we are prewired to relate to one another. We are a natural audience for both the recounting of one another’s histories and for the exploring of one another’s still-evolving aspirations. In this latter sense, we are in high school all over again.

So . . . let’s make a pact—tonight—to face the future—as much as distance and circumstances will allow—together.

 

I’d like to leave you with this prescription:

Treat this reunion as a gift box . . . with a big bow. Each of us is one ribbony loop of that bow. Like a wide-eyed, impatient child, tear into that bow, rip open that box to discover and cherish what lies within.