On This Date in 1998

Dear Gary and Kathy,

We weren’t able to synchronize our summer travel schedule with the reunion. Andy’s baseball schedule determined our itinerary, and the last weekend in July was reserved for a baseball tournament. I was able to enjoy a vicarious experience when Rick Dies unexpectedly sent me a copy of the booklet that the planning committee together. He mentioned that the turnout was below expectations but on a par with other class WAHS class reunions that have taken place recently. 

This note is coming to you from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, at the home of Alice and Larry Richard, JoAnna’s folks. We’ll be here through the 25th and then travel to Warren where we’ll spend a week. This is the first year since Andy has been in school that the Christmas break is scheduled for a full two weeks, so we are taking full advantage of it.

On Saturday, JoAnna and I were able to take a walk along the shore of Lake Michigan in weather more appropriate to Easter. Our walk today, though, will require full winter gear as the wind chill is below zero. 

The boys are excited because they’ll be able to celebrate Christmas twice this year. Eddie celebrated his 8th birthday on Saturday so this is a particularly lucrative time of year for him.

I’m still at the Middleton Public Library – in my 13th year now, by far the longest stretch I’ve been in any one job. I have plenty to keep me busy, both within and outside the walls of the library. This year I served as president of the Wisconsin Library Association. JoAnna is currently between jobs, by choice. The boys have quickly adjusted to a stay-at-home mom, previously a foreign concept to them.

Our boys are growing up so fast. Doesn’t everybody’s? Was it you or Bob and Mary Thompson who mentioned last year that you’ve entered the empty nest phase of your life? Maybe both of you have. We still have the teen years to endure.

On This Date in 1998

Dear Tina,

So did you head east to Warren, midsummer, for our 30th high school reunion? At the beginning of the year it was on a list of events I wanted to incorporate into my 1998 schedule. I was actually looking forward to it, somewhat of a surprise considering my rather lukewarm experiences at our 5th and 20th editions. I even imagined conversations with certain classmates: Gail Benson, Bill McGuckin, Melissa Vought. Don’t ask me why those names floated into my head.

Andy’s baseball schedule clarified our summer plans. He had a tournament scheduled for the last weekend of July, which, of course, coincided with our reunion. As it turned out, the boys and I were in Warren the following weekend, JoAnna’s ultimately successful efforts in reclaiming the state senate for the Democrats the reason for her staying home. (She’s the director of the state senate Democratic caucus.)

Once I realized I wouldn’t be attending the reunion, I wanted to get my hands on the booklet the planning committee prepares. I procrastinated for weeks, telling myself to write Rick Dies a letter. I had heard from my sister-in-law that attendance was below expectations. There’s gotta be some extra copies in someone’s closet, I figured. Guess what I received from Rick Dies one day in the mail in late August? Yes, the coveted booklet. I studied it carefully, eager to know who has grandchildren, who’s living the deluxe lifestyle, who doesn’t seem to have changed a bit since 1968. What really bowled me over – and this observation will give you an indication of just how carefully I reviewed the contents – is how many of our classmates still live in the Warren area. It’s easily more than 50%. I have to admit that I have come to appreciate Warren a lot more than I did in high school – its history, its architecture, its foothills setting – but I can’t imagine myself ever living there. During the 20 years I’ve lived in Wisconsin, I’ve become a tried-and-true Midwesterner, even though my Packer allegiance is still pretty weak.

What a strange Christmas letter, you must be thinking. Admittedly, it’s very self-indulgent, but it is inspired by you, Tina. I think it would be fun to talk on the phone some evening and catch up on each other’s life. Mine has been very good. JoAnna and I have a wonderful relationship and, as you can see from the enclosed photograph, we have two handsome boys who add so much to our lives. I hate to end this letter on a downbeat note, but I find that Mike (Foster) regularly walks through my thoughts. The last time I talked to him was in 1975, when he confessed to me that he way gay, a fact that I had been aware of, in an unspoken way, since the summer after high school.

I still miss him after all these years. In spite of all his idiosyncrasies and his high-maintenance personality, he was a wonderful friend.

I send along my sincere best wishes for the new year.