I survived the first night of the reunion, and now I’m feeling really silly about how nervous I was. Everyone was very nice, and considering that there were only about a dozen of us alumni there, it was no big deal at all. No one got belligerently drunk or anything (sadly).
One of my best friends from high school came with another one of my old friends, but, other than those two, everyone else that came was not what I would call a good friend from ten years ago. Sure, I went to school with them forever and ever, and I wish them well, but as far as plumbing the depths of their hearts and minds over what they’ve discovered from the daily parade of their lives thus far, I took a pass.
Everyone has kids, or is pregnant, or is going to be married soon. There was a lot of talk about various fraternities.
We met my mom and took a very sleepy Auggie to his first fireworks display. He was fairly freaked out, but only whimpered a tad. After a while, he even clapped a little for some of the prettier ones and said a tentative, ‘Oooh…’ Very cute.
Jackson puts on a decent fireworks display, I must admit. Even Tim was impressed. But I had to wonder, given the current state budget troubles, if fireworks are a little extraneous. Sure, call me a killjoy, but you should know that I am a huge fireworks fan. And I understand the joy in celebrating the birth of our nation, “now more than ever.”
However, I’m also aware that fireworks are fabulously expensive (and fabulously dangerous to make and set off). Couldn’t we just do more of a district sort of thing, instead of every single teeny town in the state doing their own display? Sure, the traffic would be a nightmare, hundreds would fall ill from West Nile after being set upon by Jackson’s huge mosquito population, and more than a few rednecks would scuffle over imaginary affronts, but I think that, in the long run, we might be able to save a band program or two.