Nashville, Tennessee
On a recent trip to Tennessee, I stayed at the home of a high school friend. We attended a lunch get-together with a few other high school classmates. After lunch, many of us adjourned to my hostess’s home for more conversation and reminiscing over chocolate martinis.
Talk included stories of our misdeeds in school, which teachers were fun or were too strict, how certain boys turned out and “those” girls who everyone talked about in whispered asides in the hallowed halls of Nashville’s West End High School.
We discussed a certain teacher who many of my classmates intensely disliked. But this same lady rescued me from the clutches of an English teacher who openly ridiculed and intimidated me, and I’ll be forever grateful. I was eventually able to get to know Ann Dembsky in ways that many students didn’t, and I recognized her very funny and sometimes bawdy sense of humor; her empathy for the underdog; and the fact that her life had not been easy. She helped form my sense of fair play, my love for classic literature, and she encouraged my need to think outside the box.
This was all part of my yesterday – and the memories will add to my tomorrows.
Many years ago, our class committed to hosting a reunion every 5 years. As high school graduating classes go, ours has stayed in touch by phone, occasional lunches, email, and those all-important five-year reunions. Each one would bring a few newcomers back to the fold who had missed previous events.
Finally in 2011, we reached that memorable 50th high school reunion. It was great to see old friends and renew acquaintances. Many of us engaged in a tour of our old school that enjoys a long history of events and impressive students. Maybe it was just good to see so many of us still alive and kicking, because we have lost a few along the way.
Perhaps as we move into our senior years, it’s a good time to look back to our roots. We are far better prepared today to analyze our childhoods and teen years and how they shaped us. Each of us has a history, one that helped make us who we are today. We should embrace the good memories, dismiss the not-so-good as lessons learned and carry both with us into the future.
