School Story
Dear West High '83 Alumnus...
Thank You for being a part of my life all those years ago. We could have played the same sport on some sunny day in Torrance. Maybe we were in choir together (shyness kept me from reaching for Aristocracy...although I had the pipes). Or, we might have shared a memorable class, crossed paths at the library, or perhaps student lockers near one another.
All of us had our favorite (and not so favorite) teachers, didn't we? We all treasure our own unique scrapbook of funny, and embarrassing, proud, and achingly poignant memories of our years at West High.
Whether we shared meaningful hours together, occasionally saw each other, or barely knew the other even existed, we spent formative years in the same place at the same time in our lives, and I would like to pause to remember and recognize those irreplaceable memories.
The high school memories we cherish are not merely things that happened TO us in some parallel universe or alternate reality. Those remembrances of events and days gone by ARE basic elements of our lives. Vital threads in the rich tapestry of our existence.
They also bring out the tears. Some happy. Some sad. Many bittersweet. As Streisand once sang, "...misty water-color memories of the way we were."
In the end, it may indeed be true that life can only be understood backwards...but, it must be lived forwards...inexorably forwards.
For those of you who never knew me...I grieve. There is indescribable value in our essential humanity. I mourn both for myself (who missed out on the chance to know you)...and for you...who missed out on the chance to connect with me. Human being to human being. I would have been a good friend. Definitely, someone worth knowing.
What keeps people apart? Possible reasons may be a topic for conversation at another time. Regardless, I shall always remain...
Your Fellow Classmate,
Donovan Matthew Rhee
