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Classmates and Class Acts
We have photographs from our 45th Reunion held at the Belleview Biltmore. I am sure you will be able to recognize a few of your friends and classmates. We also added a few photographs from our 40th Reunion as well.
From time to time we take stock in our possessions and treasures. First we have to decide what are our valued possessions and can we lay claim to them. Usually we start by surveying all the material things we have purchased and surrounded ourselves with throughout our life. Once we inventory those items we find they have devalued throughout our ownership with only miner exceptions.
Oh, once in a blue moon we will accidentally purchase an item or two that actually increases in value over time but this is not the norm for the things we purchase. We then find that we could live very well without many if not all of these valued possessions. Not only could we live without these prize possessions but we would have less to worry about, less to maintain and less to guard or watch over.
It makes you wonder why we have accumulated all this stuff and is accumulating stuff what life is all about? I am not meaning to degrade or devalue yours and my stuff, just thinking about all those material possessions and who will want them when we are gone. The true treasures in life are our family members both immediate and extended. Even though we sometime have problems with them they are our biggest and best treasures. There are other true treasures in life too!
Those other true treasures are the friends we have made throughout this short life span of ours. Indeed, it is a long proven fact that these treasures increase in value every single year of our life. It is not without regret that we have not communicated with those friends enough over the years. I certainly have not told them how much I love and appreciate having them in my life often enough. Last but not least I have failed to tell them they are my riches, my treasures and I do cherish them so.
When I am no longer capable of enjoying my friends then I will no longer be cognizant of life itself.
~ Jim Kramer
It’s not known what traits it takes to turn an acquaintance into a true friend. Maybe it’s different for each individual or it could have something to do with the alignment of the stars, planets and moon. Friendship is really difficult to define and most likely it doesn’t matter what the definition. Webster’s defines friendship as one attached to another by respect or affection verses an acquaintance as personal knowledge of or with another person. The important aspect of friendship is the simple feeling in ones heart.
The old saying, “Friends may come and friends may go,” was undoubtedly said by someone that has never had or known a true friend. I say this in all sincerity; once a real friend comes into your life and heart they never go. A friend remains in your heart forever and that’s all there is to it. This all leads me to thoughts about our 40th Year Reunion of classmates and friends.
It was so odd to find and experience the rekindling of friendships at our 40th Year Reunion. We may have changed in appearance: more weight, less weight (that would be nice), less hair, gray hair, a few wrinkles, maybe a lot of wrinkles, eyeglasses, dentures, maybe moving a little slower, not hearing very well, etc., etc., but the glow of friendship was overwhelming and those physical changes overlooked. Our physical appearance that some of us worried about meant absolutely nothing to our longtime friends. The love felt at our 40th Year Reunion of friends and classmates was so radiant and in fact contagious. This bonding of friends is very difficult to describe but absolutely wonderful to experience. In talking with many of you the magic of the moment was not just felt by me but by most everyone I spoke with.
The feeling of friendship, love and trust was so overwhelming it created a strange but lovely glow about the rooms. The unbelievable honesty and directness of folks talking about their life experiences was almost shocking at times. There were things said by folks that normally would only be told to their therapist and/or a really good friend.
It’s strange how four decades has done little to decay the bonds created in our high school years. I believe that if anything the four decades has made those bonds even stronger. I know in some cases more than a few people were very nervous about meeting or seeing their classmates and friends again. Maybe it was due to our physical changes or maybe it was the thought we may not have lived up to what we thought others might have expected of us. In either case, these worries proved to be totally unfounded and our friends embraced us as they did forty years earlier, my how I enjoyed every minute of it.
~ Jim Kramer
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