The Big Four OH!

The Big FOUR OH

The Big 40 for Tolentine’s class of 1975 was held last evening at the Renaissance Hotel in Westchester.  The party began in the hospitality suite where there were snacks, drinks, smiles and hugs.

 The chatter was deafening but joyful; as if we were all shouting to speak and straining to hear.  We enjoyed this brief visit, grabbing moments with everyone we could speak to and exited to change clothes and prepare for the evening.  While it was held in essentially the same location as our last gathering five years ago, for me this one had a much different feel.  Perhaps it was the logistics of the room.  Perhaps it was the timing.  Or perhaps it was the culmination of everyone’s excitement to see high school friends once again. 

The crowd grew in numbers continuously for the next 45 minutes with the noise from the conversation escalating.  I found myself taking a step back to just bask in the sheer joy of seeing old friends reuniting two-by-two.   It was heartwarming.  There were many smiles and a few tears of joy.  

The backdrop of 70’s music fueled the groups energy level as the conversation continued.  It was necessary to work one’s way through the crowd to realize all who were in attendance as pockets of groups of old friends seemed to collect.  From the first song to the last the dance floor was jumping.  There were those who danced the entire night and others who danced on occasion – but everyone danced and everyone sang along to those songs that were oh so familiar.

As most are aware, I do not live locally, nor have I for many years.  While I have embraced my life and the abundance of goodness it has brought me, what I do not have where I am is ‘history’.  My roots; my beginning is and always will be here.  To return home to my beginnings does not resurrect painful memories of a difficult time. Rather it comforts me in the knowledge that we are all still together in life.  What we have – what has been nurtured by our class representatives, our friends and ourselves is something few have the privilege to claim as their own.  This class of ’75 has remained, for all intents and purpose, intact. 

We have always been told that time passes quickly.  This is truthful – but not quite accurate.  Time accelerates each year more quickly than the one prior.  It is ten, twenty, then thirty, now forty years gone by; the lives that we spend – the families that we form and the memories that we hold in our hearts our only evidence.  For this group of adults we have become, the reunion is the bridge that cements that last foothold to our youth.  It is our opportunity to join hearts with those who share the memories of our beginnings, remembering a time when our only objective was to have fun and to reinforce that having that as a priority was indeed a priority worth having. 

Members of the class of 1975 – you belong to us.  We all belong to each other.  To all those who attended, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to see you again and share yet another evening of memories.  For those who were not in attendance - you are a part of us.  You are loved.  You were missed. Our moments together are a celebration of our bond – and you are with us in spirit; always.