It’s the People Stupid

"Of All The Gin Joints In All The Towns In All The World, She Walks Into Mine."

"Here's lookin' at you kid."

Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca"

I went home to Visalia, California this past weekend for a Reunion party with some of my classmates from the Mt. Whitney High School class of 1974. Of course, I will have something to say about it. And, I have been on hiatus from blogging for the past couple of months.

By the time you get to be 68 years old, you’ve had a few experiences and a significant amount of learnings. Births and deaths, marriages and divorces, illness and health, sadness and happiness, lousy golf games and less lousy golf games.

I had a revelation on Saturday night, September 28. 2024 at the Whitney Wild Oak Ranch in Exeter, California. Some of you, maybe most of you, figured this out long ago. Its not about the things that we’ve done, the places that we’ve gone or the events we have experienced. It’s not what we believe or don’t believe or how we vote

No, its none of those things.

It’s us.

I talked with George, Karen, Debbie and Debbie, Michelle, Cliff, Chuck, Warren, Tony, Gordon, Steve, Jim, Sue, Mary, Dave, Dwayne, Charlie, Art, Don, and others that will come to me as I revise this. I talked to people that I hung out with and knew really well and I talked to people that I barely ever knew. What really matters?

It’s the acquaintances and friendships that we’ve had, rekindled and maintained over the past 50 years (and counting). It’s keeping in touch with each other and strengthening the bonds that we were born into.

As kids, we really didn’t get to choose anything. Who we were born to, what schools we went to or what kind of an upbringing we had were decisions that were made by someone else and not in our control. Eventually, we grew into, let’s just say, adulthood, and we got to make decisions for ourselves about what the rest of our lives would look like.

I’ve never been good about keeping in touch with you all. I’ve at times been aloof, busy or just plain clueless about what ya’ll have been doing, living, experiencing, suffering through, celebrating through.

Well, I get it now. I no doubt missed out on some wonderful opportunities in life because I was too much into myself. I can’t get those opportunities back. But, I can learn from what I missed out on in the past. On September 28, 2024, I woke up to opportunities lost and relationships that could potentially prosper and grow with our reconnection on this evening.

In short, thanks to the people who have understood this simple truth for a long time that it is about the people in our lives. Special thanks to the Class of ’74 Reunion committee who made it possible for us to get together again and provide me with an opportunity to learn the most basic and fundamental lesson of all.

It’s the people, stupid! It’s the people.

Thanks to Michelle, Tony, Dwayne, Chuck, Charlie and forgive me if I have already forgotten the names of anyone else that served on the Reunion Committee. You folks on the committee, don’t hesitate to tell me who I missed. You guys are awesome. Thanks for the memories and thanks for giving me yet another chance to wake up and smell the roses.

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