Our W-L Class of 1970 Mini-Reunion

Washington-Lee High School is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year, although no formal event has been planned to mark this historic milestone in the history of Arlington County. I, along with most of my classmates, who bleed the “blue & gray”, will indeed be Generals forevermore as, for most of us, our high school days are filled with many fond memories. What’s so difficult for the Baby Boomer to come to terms with is our class of 1970 graduated when W-L was only 45 years old meaning it’s been 55 years since our graduation and that’s extremely difficult to accept and comprehend!!

Our 1970 class was nearly 690 students strong. Sadly, so sadly, over the 55 years since our graduation, we’ve lost nearly 110 souls and another 185 have either been lost or can no longer be accounted for knowing a number of those are most likely deceased as well. Hey, our class age is at least 72 years old and the number of those we lose annually will certainly increase each year. I’ve noted in previous posts that it’s hell getting old and I let everyone in on the fact that what I have missing in my life now is “time”!! I also believe most of my classmates would agree in craving more “time” as it ain’t on our side!

Now, I’m no expert by any means, but I betcha the majority of us didn’t stay that much in contact with one another that long after graduation. Oh, sure, many of you did, have, and continue to be good friends and kudos to you! Most of us though furthered our education in some manner attending various institutions both near and far, as others went into the workforce, while some entered the military. For me, the 80’s and 90’s were nothing more than a blur becoming entrenched in my career and helping to raise a family while attempting to maintain a marriage now admitting I lost almost complete contact with most of my classmates–I don’t believe I was alone.

In getting older I’ve finally matured enough to realize and come to terms with what’s truly important to me and that’s my family. I’ve also become much more sentimental while spending time reflecting and reminiscing about life “back in the day” when everything was so much easier and carefree having so little responsibility. Now, that I’m in the Winter of my life and finally, for the past two years, completely retired after a workaholics 52-year career the Baby Boomer still knows the importance of maintaining purpose and focus in order to stay relevant.

La Bear and I have the distinct pleasure of watching the joy of our life, Master M, Monday-Friday from 10AM-4PM. There’s no doubt that little fella keeps us “on our toes”. We do some travelling 3-4 times a year, but really nothing that would “wow” you. I certainly “dilly-dally” in creating posts for my blog where I put into words my reflections from “back in the day” and what I call my common sense thoughts. For the last couple of years, I’ve tried to reconnect with some of those I worked with at Giant Food and organize a coffee or lunch with a group of local Richmond W-L classmates on a quarterly basis which led to the thought of our hosting this mini-reunion which, as you know, was celebrated this past Saturday at The Compound.

Pulling this celebration off wasn’t anything that was going to be guaranteed, but you never know unless you try. We gathered an initial list from those I’ve remained in some contact with, along with others who had attended our 50+ Year Reunion back in 2022, and finally friends on Facebook. Communicating via text, we sent out a “save the date” to 56 folks and when it was “all said and done” 24 classmates attended the mini-reunion along with a number of guests and my family totaling 35 in all.

I was pleased to hear back from 43 of the 56 invitees. Not sure why the 13 never responded as the info I had on them may not have been correct. For the most part, we attempted to invite folks who lived no further from us than three hours thinking they would be more likely to commit. We also wanted everyone to feel very comfortable, so we held it in the afternoon and asked everyone to dress casually. We also asked that our guests just please bring themselves so they could enjoy the fellowship of being together while we provided what we thought was a nice spread of food and drink. Hey, this effort wasn’t really that difficult or time consuming, but what it did was provide me with the added purpose and focus I so desperately need to fulfill.

Let’s be honest, the Baby Boomer is not a very social person. Throughout my career, folks I worked with thought of me as an outgoing extrovert which was a role I was expected to play and I did my best to provide nothing but an “Academy Award” performance on a daily basis. The true reality is that I’m actually an introvert who is a reclusive loner. So, WTBS, during our mini-reunion, once the spread was laid out, I positioned myself mostly sitting in the corner of our family room and merely observing the festivities. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I spoke to and visited with everyone and immensely enjoyed each interaction. But the true joy which filled my heart was seeing how happy everyone was being emersed in loud and continuous friendly banter with many smiles, laughter, and warm embraces–it was extremely satisfying!

Even though many in the group hadn’t seen one another since our graduation 55 years ago, it felt like they had all been together just yesterday and that was also extremely gratifying. You know, we’re not getting any younger and being able to reconnect after all this time is very, very important as tomorrow is never promised. So, I encourage each and everyone to do what you have to do, even if you don’t really want to do it, to keep your relationships alive and attend any functions to which you may be invited–you’ll be glad you did! Please let me repeat–TOMORROW IS NEVER PROMISED!!!!

Not only do I want to thank you for attending our mini-reunion, but I want to thank La Bear for her support in hosting this event. Additionally, I want to thank our son, the King, our daughter, Baby Bear, and our son-in-law, Big Red, for helping with the preparation, hosting, keeping the spread fresh, and the clean-up. Our Beagle, Bitsy, made her rounds with the group while her sister, Biggs, decided to hang out on the lower level of The Compound. I noticed our grandson, Master M, made his presence known by attempting to hold hands with many of you.

In closing, La Bear and the Baby Boomer have already decided to hold another mini-reunion on one Saturday this coming October when the leaves on the trees will be at Autumn’s peak and where we’ll enjoy “Brunch at The Compound” hoping to host many more of our classmates!!

In the meantime, please accept our best wishes and sincere hope everyone stays well! Hey, let’s also stay in touch!!