You can go home again...

You can go home again, it's just not quite the same.  Yes, that is the old family farm.  It looks the same, but the vibe is not there.  The prodigal returns?  Not quite...  However, upon returning to my hometown in upstate NY,  Clinton, for my 50th High School reunion, I discovered some things never change, my love for people and places, all rushed back as I drove through the gap that led to the Mohawk Valley.

Looking through the windshield, I savored that Upstate is unique and just being there, with the Erie Canal on my right, generated so many flashes of memory, I knew it was gonna be worth the 17 hours getting there.

This area used to be the home of many factories.  I actually drove past the iron works where I had worked as a kid.  The region has been through tough times, but Clinton, the home of Hamilton College, seems as pristine and bucolic as ever, really a dream Upstate village.  It's dairy country, too, so my classmates came from all of the above.

And, oh, what a feeling to see them.  One never knows how one will respond, but, for me, it was that rare combination of happiness, joy, amazement, sadness and nostalgia..... and some other stuff, too.  The Class of '68 had just under 130 people in it and about 70 showed up.

I had to laugh at the juxtaposition of being in Teotitlan del Valle just recently for a quinceañera and then last Friday, walking into the local VFW bar for the first get together.  "Whoa, where am I?"  The thing was in an adjacent room.  There I was presented with my name tag with my Senior pic on it and a very well done booklet with everyone's current photo and bio.  The committee who put together the weekend, worked for over a year preparing and... well, it was absolutely perfect.  Saturday, a tour of the high school and wow, what a facility.  I taught in a rich Yankee prep and this school's facilities blew it outta the water.

Amazing science classrooms, language labs, athletic facilities and this amazing theater, yours for only 29 million.  Graduating classes average less than one hundred.  I hope they know how good they've got it.

A 50th is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I had to take it.  You should, too, if you can. Alas, there were dear friends who never even got the chance.  Fortunately, Muertos has taught me how to continue to think of them, to know that they are still with us.

So no photos, no blogging, it was just one of those things where you have to simply live it, savor every moment.  It's all a blessing, all the people, places and those wonderful memories, frozen in time, at least, in my mind..... ahhhh...and all the hours cutting that lawn...

"Uh... who were all those old people, anyway?"