MEMPHIS TECH HIGH 55TH REUNION
APRIL 21 , 2006
With excitement and denials that fifty-five years had passed since we last
joined together as a student body, we arrived in Memphis from the north, south,
east and west to meet, feast and renew friendships of bygone days.
With worry we asked ourselves will I
recognize anyone? Will it be necessary to thumb through yearbook pages to match
names to faces? Will anyone remember me? Will resurrected memories close the
distance the class of ’51 has traveled and darken the strands of gray we wear or
cover and erase the no longer smooth contours of our youth?
Nervous but excited, we entered the
Goldsmith Room at the Memphis Botanical Gardens on Friday night. Magically five
and a half decades disappeared along with worries and inhibitions as we
discovered the fountain of our youth.
From all directions squeals of recognition filled
the hall. Hugs and kisses were a red carpet of welcome. Cries of, “Happy to
see you. Why, you haven’t changed a bit. Remember me? We were in Louise
Clark’s fourth period English together or was it Spanish or Art? I’ll never
forget that winning touchdown you scored in our last game with Central, the
annual minstrel shows and the aroma of delicious concoctions created in Miss
Millett’s cooking classes.”
We were on a sentimental journey that instantly
took us back to that carefree time of fun, games and going steady while passing
classes with varying shades of flying colors when our futures were yet
unknown.
Revisiting the Tech High of 2006 the next day
again sent us back in time. Walking the once-familiar halls, visiting the
school office, auditorium and classrooms awakened more memories. Voices from
the past of friends, teachers and Mr. Highsaw could be heard by those who
listened.
After our morning tour we met at the Aintree
Farms Club House that night to nourish ourselves with Memphis barbeque, fried
chicken and good company. Some of us from distant parts had forgotten what real
southern cookin’ was like, but recklessly threw caution, calories and
cholesterol numbers to the wind to digest the lip-smacking feast.
We delighted in hearing how others had
lived their lives since graduation, about their experiences and careers, their
marriages, progeny and the adventures of their golden years. And finally it was
time to say goodbye taking with us new memories of our Tech family to savor over
and over while promising to meet again for our 60th reunion.
Hopefully, those who could not be with
us in Memphis in 2006 will give themselves and us a unique treat in 2011, one
they will also savor for the next five years. Though our hair may then be
whiter, our eyesight dimmer and our hearing on lower volume, we promise you an
experience you will not want to miss and maybe you, too, will discover your
fountain of youth, at least for a weekend.
Joy
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