A year ago I attended my fiftieth class reunion, Billings Central Catholic High School, Billings, Montana. If you are anywhere close, or even if thirty years away, my advice would be don’t bother. Two things were upsetting … the general level of intelligence is not indicative of fifty years of forward movement, and … I’ll be be delicate here, I won’t  be cruel or crude … so many of the women and quite a few of the men too … have gotten really fat. A couple of girls I dated were there, and all I could think was “Phew! Dodged a bullet!”

But that is all cosmetic. It goes deeper. People and attitudes do not change. I was an outsider in high school, and fifty years later, I was still an outsider. That’s a two-edged sword: I would not belong to a club that would have me as a member, but I wanted, like everyone, to be accepted and admired. In high school I did not like being an outsider and took no pride in my status. That mindset, however, inability to blend into the group, has molded me into the person I am, gave me self-employment and a happy life. Two-edged sword indeed.

Continue reading “Ramblings, football is life, and, oh yeah, about a place called Iwo Jima” →