Day 28: Class of ’77

We called ourselves The Crew, by virtue of one of those stories that were very funny in high school but which would take far too long to tell in a blog post and wouldn’t be funny to anyone but us, anyhow.

I’m not even sure how the six of us became friends: Barb, Bill, John, Ken, Mary and me. We must have had classes together. Probably it was because we didn’t fit into any of the cliques – not the jocks and cheerleaders, not the stoners, not the geeks, definitely not the goody-two-shoes.

We spent weekend nights and sometimes weekday nights going out in Sandusky and partying. There was not a lot to do for fun, so we amused each other.

We did the crazy stunts that you do in high school – some of them dangerous, some just stupid – and somehow all six of us graduated and didn’t die in a car wreck.

After high school, I went away to college and then to work in another part of the state, Ken joined the Navy, and Mary got married; but Barb, Bill and John stayed in the area and stayed friends.

For years I didn’t have much contact with them. Then in 2012, classmates organized our 35th class reunion, and I came to Ohio, and Bill, Barb and John were there. It was absolutely wonderful to see them again.

Tonight I spent an evening with Bill, Barb and John, and their respective spouses. Their faces are so beautiful to me, their voices so familiar. I like to watch them and listen to them, remembering what I love about them: their honesty, their thoughtfulness, their humor.

We still have a good time.

Here, in honor of the class of ’77 and its friendships, is a penny from the year we graduated:

Still looks pretty good.