Clarence Page wrote a great editorial today on why class reunions are a good thing. I couldn’t agree more.

Now mind you, I didn’t have a particularly great high school experience. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great. I was basically a fat, shy wallflower and because of that, I wasn’t part of the “in” crowd, although I never felt disconnected from my classmates (at least I don’t remember feeling that way). Moreover, I suspect that my high school experience is not that much different from the average person’s.

So why do I love attending our class reunions? As I thought about it, I realized that it’s more than just about my high school experience. It’s about my Van Wert experience. For most of my classmates, we were blessed to have grown up in stable homes within a tight-knit community. There were lots of eyes on us and that tended to keep most of us out of real trouble. More importantly, we grew up together. Yes, there were several elementary schools but I grew up with a lot of my classmates, from kindergarten on. As a result, we developed a bond that is really quite powerful for me. There is a sense of community that for the most part just isn’t present in this country anymore and I think we have lost something very precious as a result.

So when I see these folks at class reunions, even those with whom I was not particuarly close, it is a poignant delight. For the most part, we have aged pretty well and most of us have done well in our lives (at least the folks who show up for the reunions—I can’t speak for the others). All of this is a delight.

What’s poignant for me is to remember from whence we came and sadly what is no more. That’s why I am always delighted to reconnect with my old classmates, even if I wasn’t a close friend to some who come to the reunions. It just doesn’t matter that much because we share a common gift of community. I remember a time when I couldn’t wait to leave Van Wert so that other people wouldn’t be in my business. It didn’t take long for me to realize, however, that this was a better alternative than living in anonymous isolation in a bigger city.

And so when I come back for these reunions, I revel in seeing my old classmates and enjoy hearing about them. It all goes by too quickly, of course, and I always leave them with a sense of wanting more. Yet I also realize that it cannot be because life moves on. Sadly, this reunion is the first for me without either of my folks being alive and that leaves an obvious hole for me this time. But the point is I had two great parents when I really needed them and for that I am ever thankful. I suspect most of my classmates would say the same thing about their folks and that’s precisely the point.

That is why I am profoundly thankful for the opportunity to physically reconnect with my old classmates, i.e., to reconnect with my old sense of Van Wert community, and for having been part of a community that helped establish this wonderful connection that time and space just cannot break—at least for me.

It was really good to see you, Class of 1971. Take care of yourselves in the next 5 year interim so that we can reconnect again. In the meantime, know that I’m never far from you, even when geography suggests otherwise.