Reunion Wrap-up, Part Deux

I've received lots of responses, most via email, to my last post, and amazingly enough, all of it was positive. So thanks everyone for chiming in. And I did hear from Sandy, so we are once again connected. WOO HOO!!! As at our 20-year reunion, I was once again impressed with how many of you guys married up and how lovely and wonderful your wives are. Frankly, I'm a bit befuddled by it all. You guys have sales skills I never knew about.

My mind is still reeling from ALL the events of the weekend--not just my grand-scale humiliation--and I have some thoughts to share with specific people. Forgive me if I don't include everyone...

Louisa--you are my second greatest regret. I so wish you had been able to come. I plan to check in with you around Thanksgiving as we are definitely coming to Oklahoma. Cash has the opportunity to see his secret crush at a shin-dig in Tulsa and he refuses to miss out. Imagine that! See you in November, friend.

Jamie--thank you for being you. Love the ponytail. Your wife is awesome. So I've inspired you to blog, have I? That could mean one of two things: either you liked what I wrote and want to "go and do likewise", or you thought what I wrote sucked and you think you can do better. I'm going to assume the former and be happy with that. The nice thing about blogging is that Pam Pack and Kate Turabian have absolutely no input.

Bob--you are a riot. I am so glad you and Heidi came Saturday night. It wouldn't have been nearly as fun without you. I also couldn't have gotten through The Revelation without your "help". I owe you. Congrats again on #4.

Dan--Dude, you rock! I have all your albums!!! I have had so much fun reconnecting with you and getting to know your fantastic family. Cheryl is wonderful, and your girls are a joy. I look forward to many more years of professional sporting events, Steve Taylor listening parties, and rubber-band shooting. I NEED MORE COWBELL!

Sandy--YEA!!!! I am so excited to hear from you!!! I promise to do better at staying in touch.

Doug--I talked to Cash about the bike stuff. He said if you pedal really fast and steer around them you won't end up in the trees. And just to ease your conscience, I have completely forgiven you for forgetting we went to the Junior-Senior banquet together. Teresa is wonderful...tell her to call me when she's in town and can do lunch.

Craig--no need to worry about me showing up unannounced at your front door. I've come to terms with things and the torch I've carried all these years is more like a Bic lighter these days. Thanks for being such a good sport and taking it so well. Oh, yeah, Happy Birthday!

Hunter--you have a daughter named Katy and she's really really really smart. It just can't get any better than that! Your wife is precious...she's coming to stay with me for some time. I'll call you when I decide to give her back.

Dana--I am so glad you came! I have missed your sweet smile over the years.

Jana--I'm so bummed you didn't/couldn't make it!!!! Yes, I still live in Austin, but we have moved since you last stopped in to see us. Lucky for you, we’re closer to town. Come see us when you're here in April.

Philip--CALL ME. RIGHT NOW.

Julia--thanks for the offer (all of them) of your guest room. I just might take you up on that some day. It was good to see you. Thanks for the giggles.

Libby—have I ever told you that you make me think of Jackie O? Please take that as the compliment it was intended to be. I still laugh about you giving me grief about kissing Matt. You are so cool. Glad you’re back in Texas.

Mike--I'm stunned...I had no idea you had a crush on me, but apparently I was the ONLY ONE who DIDN'T know (I'm feeling Craig’s pain here.) I guess, however, the one date we had didn't live up to the hype of the crush. Sorry to disappoint you. ;-)

And last but certainly not least:

Charlie: WHERE ARE YOU?


Now for those of you who gave me all that grief for drinking WATER while the rest of you were consuming tasty adult beverages, please allow me to elaborate.

For me, liquid consumption is a matter of practicality rather than entertainment. I drink because I am thirsty. Most tasty adult beverages require too much effort to enjoy. Beer tastes like what it looks like, and tequila always requires a tongue-shaving the morning after. And believe me, those nicks and cuts just aren't worth the effort. Alcoholic beverages I do enjoy are the ones with the little umbrellas in them, and the cost is just stupid. I can pay $8 for a Bailey's on the rocks, or I can have the whole bottle for $15. (Do I sound like Ford here?) If I have the option of picking either a dip cone or a daiquiri, without hesitation I will take the dip cone every time. Without question I would choose flan over a top shelf margarita. I would rather have Carino's chocolate cake (the one that's heated up with the little toffee flakes in it...mmmmm) a la mode over a Coors Light, Coca Cola Cake over Bud light, peach cobbler instead of Michelob, and a batch of chocolate-Reese's peanut butter chip cookies over anything. Give me liberty, or give me Bennigan's Death by Chocolate. I can't think of a better way to go.

One more thing: Craig has requested that witty banter be volleyed back and forth via email. It gives him something to do while wiling away the hours at work. Dan, Ford, Bob, can one of you be in charge of this?

TCA class of '82, you are awesome! My life would be so different without you all in it. Thanks to everyone for the impact you have made in my life. See you in five years if not sooner!!!

Ramble, Ramble till we're blue, We're the Class of '82!

Sorry to be delayed in posting the events from this past weekend. I know you all have been waiting anxiously to hear about it...all two of you. ;-) So here goes.

This weekend was my 25-year high school reunion. I attended a small private school (it was small back then, anyway) in the Dallas area, and our graduating class was a whopping 42 people. The title of my post was our class motto. Don't ask me what "rambling" is...it's been too many years. All I know is that you know it when you're doing it. However, it would be much better explained by some of my guy friends. Any volunteers?

From all outward indicators, it was a fabulous weekend. There were a lot of people that I hadn't seen in several years, and it was good to see them all. My biggest regret: I missed seeing my friend Sandy. She was one of my best friends in high school, and I wish I had been better about keeping in touch with her. She came to the first night of the reunion only, and she left before I got there. Sandy, if you're out there reading this, I MISS YOU! And no, I didn't just fall off the edge of the earth again. Your email server considers me to be spam. (Go ahead, Python fans, sing out!) Too many emails with the same subject line, I think. You would think I would learn to pick up the phone and call. If you fix the email thing, I would love to hear from you.

From my perspective, there were two huge questions that dominated the weekend: 1) Where's Phillip? and 2) Who was your secret crush? We still don't know the answer to the first question, but I left him a message on his answering machine letting him know just how unhappy I am, as well as an email in his Inbox. We'll see what kind of excuse he has for missing out. As for the second question, well, that was a question I would have preferred unanswered. It's a funny story, in spite of my great humiliation. Some of the names are being changed to protect the innocent or those who just shouldn't be identified.

Friday night, I went out with three friends after the Homecoming football game (which my team won decisively...was it 62-0?) to continue catching up. Someone posed The Question, and my girlfriend Lisa (a.k.a, The Great Keeper of Secrets) spilled the beans as to who my big crush was (thank you very little). After the class had dinner together Saturday night, there were six of us who decided to continue the party at a burger place across the street from where we had dinner. One of those people was Bob, who had been at the table with me the night before when my big secret had been revealed. Also sitting at the table was a classmate who, after consuming large quantities of liquid courage, decided to bare his soul and inform another classmate that he had been carrying a torch for her for 29 years. The Torchbearer's good friend--we'll call him Craig because, well, that's his name--was ecstatic that this was done, because he had been hearing about it for lo these past 29 years and had grown just a little bit weary of it. The Torchbearer's good friend was also my secret crush that I had had since he walked in the classroom door in 7th grade.

After the discussion about the Torchbearer and the Object of his Affection had run its course, the conversation then took a turn in my direction when Craig--a.k.a., my secret crush--wants to know just who my secret crush is. Surprisingly enough, I had actually given consideration as to whether or not I would ever tell him. It had become a topic of conversation with my 8-year-old daughter last year when she asked me if I had ever had a crush on anyone. I told her yes, but I didn't want to tell her who. She is another Not-So-Great Keeper of Secrets, so that little tidbit of information would be out at the most embarrassing moment possible (which is not too far off from what actually occurred Saturday night). I had decided there was no real good reason to ever speak of my secret crush, so when Craig put me on the spot, I panicked just a bit. Here's how the conversation ensued:

Craig: So Katy, who was your secret crush?

Me (panicking and trying to stall while still appearing calm): You really want to know who my crush was?

Craig: Yes.

Me (closes eyes and shakes head no): Mmmm...no.

Craig (starts guessing): Was it Joe?

Me: NO, he was too mean.

Craig: Was it Fred?

Me: NO! I mean, nothing against Fred, but no.

Craig: Well, he sure had a crush on you.

Me (brightening): He did??? Really?

Craig: Oh, yeah.

Me: Wow...who knew.

At this point, Bob decides to jump in and give Craig a little help.

Bob: Craig, I'm going to help you out here. (gesturing with fork in Craig's direction) Think lower football number...think shorter...think...the person I'm pointing my fork at right NOW.

Me (cringing and hoping beyond all hope that last clue wasn't a dead giveaway) Ouch.

Craig: Me?

Don't ask me what kind of expression Craig had on his face...I couldn't look. He was thoroughly surprised, however.

Craig: You're kidding. I had no idea. Why didn't you ever say something?

Me: Well, it's not exactly the kind of thing you just walk up & say, "By the way, just thought you should know..." Besides, I figured out that I'm way too old for you. (Craig's wife is five years younger.)

Bob: Wow, Craig, I can't remember the last time I've seen you blush like that.


So there you have it...my great humiliation. Fortunately, Craig didn't run out of the restaurant screaming...well, not very loud, anyway. It was pretty funny to watch it all unfold, even if it was at my expense. I have more thoughts to share, but they will come another day.