No. 35: Part Two: That 40th High School Reunion + a Birthday

No. 35: Part Two: The 40th High School Reunion Pics 

I went to my 40th High School Reunion. But first I reminisced and posted lovely high school photos of some of my friends from 40 years ago. While I was at the party Saturday night, I did my best to get pics of those same people.

Some comparisons....

Curtis in 1974

Curtis

(With Lisa Laird Married Name that I Don't Know) 

and Brown

 And here's Brown in 1974 

with Carol that is no longer with us.

Brown and I talked about how much we wish she were still here. 

So both of these guys are looking pretty good. The hair isn't as long but at least they still have some!!

Right? 

Me with Mary in 1974

Me with Mary now.

I think Mary looks almost exactly the same, just shorter hair. And both of our faces are thinner. 

What's up with that? 

Me with Emily.  

Wish I had gotten a better pic of her. 

I swear she looks better now than then.

Half of Brown, Me, Emily and Kevin, back in the day.

Here's Bobby/Bob and Kevin now. 

They are just as adorable as ever except with, again, shorter hair. 

And Bobby then. We need to know his secret. 

You know, the "never age secret". 

 Sally, Me, Liddy- 1974

Me, Sally, Liddy- 2014

Sorry we are a little blurry- cell phone pics.

I believe we have all gotten blonder. 

Imagine that!

 Tricia then.

Me and Tricia now.

This was about the 7th selfie we tried taking...I had to break out the reading glasses just to see what we were doing. Both of us were pretty close to hysterical.  For some reason we just 

couldn't get it right. Some alcoholic beverages may have been consumed at this point.

Anyway, same smile, same fun person.

Tricia with Martha/Ann

Lynn, Peggy, Martha now Ann, Allison, Anne, Liddy, Me

And in the back middle we have Martha/Ann again, looking not one day older.

Did Robert E. Lee have something really magical in the water fountains? 

And just because- me and Liddy enjoying the night. 

We were good at that then, 

still good at that now.

The guys haven't aged. The girls haven't aged. The years have been good to all of us.

Thank goodness. 

Love them all. So happy I got to visit.

Thanks for indulging my stroll down memory lane.

No. 35 is officially complete.

AND.....

Today is 9/11.   For most that day is a day of remembrance, a sad day when many lives were lost senselessly.
For me it is my middle child's birthday along with my handsome soon-to-be-wed nephew's birthday.
A reminder that while there is evil in the world, there are also reasons to rejoice.
Happy happy birthday Belle and Brian.

Hard to believe that this baby...

 Born with a full head of black hair...

became this baby...

and turned into a natural blonde. 

Life is full of surprises.

Throw back Thursday: In Honor of No. 35, Go to My 40th High School Reunion

Throw Back Thursday: Whereby I Post Embarrassing Photos of Friends from High School


It's going to be a high school reunion. No. 35 on the list.
Forty years.  That's a long time.

So of course I had to find me some old photos...you know, to jog my memory of how darling and cute we all used to be.   As opposed to how mature and dignified we all look now.

I remember pulling up to the building at my 30th reunion. There was a valet parker. As we waited in line to get to the valet, we watched people exit their cars. I turned to the hubs and asked "Are you sure this is the right place? There are only old people here."  Yep, it was the right place.

This time I know what to expect.

But first- a stroll down memory lane.

The dances:

 A Cotillion dance with Dale.

He didn't go to our school but friend Liddy and I both dated him at different times.

And the same dress (quelle horreur) but a different date- 

this time with Curtis.

How come I can't convince my girls to wear the same dress twice? 

Mom's wonderful photography skills.

Half of Brown, Me, Emily and Kevin.
I loved that outfit but how ...homespun... these dresses look.

And Senior Prom:

This picture has been removed because 
I got tired of the "cast fetish" attention. 
But it was me, with my date, and my leg in a cast. 
My date looked like Napoleon Dynamite.
Use your imagination.

My how Prom dresses have changed. 

See here and here for Belle's prom dresses.

Makes mine look pretty tame.

(Also Bunny looked at this picture and said "Looks like Napoleon Dynamite". Yep.)

A Senior Spring Break trip to San Miguel de Allende  on the train:

 Mary and Emily

Me and Mary

The highlight of this trip might have been the flasher who stood outside our 

train compartment window while we were stopped in Monterrey.

He exposed himself while one of us (not naming names) stayed glued to the window, blocking everyone else and squealing 

"O My! Don't look! O my! O! Don't look what he's doing now!"
For about an hour.

Bobby, now Bob, sitting in my room.

Why, O Why did I have a poster of Raggedy Ann and Andy in there? 

Although I do love how Bobby/Bob color coordinates with the room. 

 Sally, Me, Liddy and that black spot on the right is our French Poodle, Eaugarte.

Studying, I think.

 Tricia, learning to macrame´ .

 Me, Charlie, Liddy

We basically all three have the same hair cut.

A particularly beautiful picture of Liddy taken in San Miguel.

And from Tricia's birthday party:

Tricia and Martha

Brown and Carol.
Sadly she is no longer with us.

Billy, Mark and Gwen 

Kevin, DeeDee, now Dee, and John

Ok. So now I'm ready to go the reunion. 

I'll recognize everyone as long as the guys still have shoulder length hair and the girls are barely wearing any make-up. 

A Reunion Run Through...

Practicing for the Reunion

No. 35 on my list is Go to My 40th High School Reunion.

For my next list maybe it will be go to my 70th high school reunion!
(I have one great champion who says I need to do a 90 x 90 once I'm done with 60 x 60. )

Yesterday I drove my mom and dad to her 73rd high school reunion. She was graduated from JH Reagan High School, Houston Texas in 1941. Amazingly there were 725 kids in her graduating class. That is a huge number even by today's standards. At the time it was the largest graduating class in Texas. 

Reagan was established in 1927 as an all-white high school. Wait! You could do that?? 

Ah! Here's an explanation.  It was named after John H. Reagan (not Ronald Reagan) who was the Postmaster General and then the Secretary of the Treasury of the Confederate States. After the Confederacy fell, he became a U.S. Senator from Texas. He died in 1905 and then had a high school named after him 22 years later. 

The reunion was held at The Golden Corral on the Northwest Freeway and there were 9 attendees (7 graduates and two spouses) plus 5 drivers. Everyone in the graduating group is aged 90 or above...except for the two youngsters who are just turning 90 this next month.  This group meets every month but not everyone shows up every time. Apparently more than a few just come once or twice a year. The Christmas reunion seems to be the big one. 

Stella, Richard, Jean, Annabelle (?), Fred, Roy,  Ilene, Margaret

Roy is the interloper- he didn't graduate with these guys.

In the next room over (still at the Golden Corral) was the Lamar H.S. Men's Club which had men from the 1940/41/42 graduating years. ( The wives are only allowed to come at Christmas.)  This group had an even bigger turn out-maybe 20 to 25 men. They also meet monthly. There was a bit of visiting back and forth between the groups...some of these  people had known each other since grade school.   Lamar High School was opened in 1937and was my high school's biggest rival.

Hedley and Jean Mom

He's from Lamar, she's from Reagan.

Lamar was Robert E. Lee's rival by the time I got to high school.

Before lunch started there was a recap of the news which pretty much was a list of who was in the hospital/rehab/ground. Then everyone ate and visited. No alcohol was served. Everyone behaved.

Delivering the news.

I'm not sure I will be able to say the same for my 40th coming in September. 

Dad and Margaret.

Mom swears she always gets a pic of them hugging.

Had to carry on the tradition.

 A note: 

Robert E. Lee High School, my high school, was built in 1962 to relieve overcrowding at Lamar HS.  It is now officially Lee Senior High School and references to General Lee have been removed from the school.  Robert E. Lee was a General in the Confederate Army. 

A little revisionist history anyone? 

Getting Set for No. 35: Go to my 40th High School Reunion

On Pins and Needles in Preparation for No. 35: Go to my 40th High School Reunion

Well,  the plans are set for the Robert E. Lee High School 1974 reunion. 

It will be 40 years since I graduated from High School.

The party is September 6, 2014 which gives me about nine months to get back to looking like this:

(You know, just so everyone recognizes me….)

Me. Back in the 70s.

While I was back in Texas last week, I visited my old place of employment, Mirvana Acupuncture.

And I had a facial acupuncture treatment. 

Warning: These pictures are not for the needle-phobic.

 Me, getting poked.

See? I'm smiling.

Because it DOES NOT hurt.

Facial acupuncture is a wonderful process that makes those delightful little crow's feet less obvious. 

It gives you a glow. 

Results are subtle but obvious.

As in, I arrived at my friend Diana's house on Monday night after waking at 5am, rushing and stressing at the DMV, getting packed and dealing with last minute "O! I forgot we need to pick this up before we leave" demands from the girls, flying two hours (TSA Agents!!), landing in the dark and snow and then driving in that same dark and snow and the first thing she said was "The trip home must have been relaxing. You look so rested."

(The trip home was not relaxing or restful, just to clarify.)

No, dearie, I look rested because I had acupuncture.

And I will be having it again. Not because I want to deny my crow's feet.  I agree with Cameron Diaz on this one:

‘Guess what this means, I’ve smiled my whole life.’  

But I do like looking rested. 

Also, because it is a new year and I'm doing the new year/new look thing, I got a  new haircut.

Still smiling. 

And a little explanation of how facial acupuncture works…

The needles are very fine and slightly feathered.  The practitioner threads the needles just under the skin which causes the body to think "trauma". But really, it's not traumatic at all.  The body then sends blood cells and collagen to repair the area. This plumps the areas where the needles were inserted, making the face look rested and fuller. 

Or you can read the slightly more scientific explanation in this article:

But how can sticking needles into the skin improve our faces?

... when needles are inserted at pressure points, energy and endorphins are released. This minor trauma improves blood flow and stimulates cell re-growth.

'We put needles in at vortex points where energy is travelling to and from organs along lines we call meridians,' she explains. 'When energy flows more efficiently, circulation is improved, helping the body rejuvenate.

'Traumatising the skin by inserting tiny needles will also encourage the production of healing collagen, the protein which the body uses to keep the skin youthful and elastic.'