After Reunion Thoughts

"Fellow classmates,
Bill Killian and I were basking by telephone in a the post-reunion glow recently and during the conversation he suggested that it would be great if everyone attending just sat down and penned a few lines about what they liked and maybe did not like about it and we could post it on the Web site. I thought it was a great idea – but most of the goodies you see on our site came from his mind and that of Ron King.

My role was to kind of put things together online like a mechanic.

They kept coming up with ideas and we kept adding to the site and because of their ideas and thos of others on the reunion committee, our site has literally set the standard for others to emulate ….. just as the class of ’67 itself!

I was honored to do contribute anything I could to the effort because, frankly, I was beginning to worry that this monumental event might just float on by. This was because in the past Sherry Austin had played such a vital role to see things were done. I was overjoyed to hear from Bill earlier this year we would indeed have a reunion.

I will admit to thinking about not coming because of if my physical appearance. Gone is the young svelte lad who wore a size 28 pant in high school; he has been supplanted by a grey haired, very fat old man with bad knees and other ailments - I was embarrassed to be seen this way. But, I am also a realist and that means there is a fair chance that I might not be around for the next reunion and I wanted to rekindle that flame we all enjoyed so long ago of being classmates just one more .time.

One of the things I like to say is that I am living on borrowed time because of all my car wrecks and a plane crash – not to mention sinking my poor grandfather’s boat in Lake Norrell (grin).

I think I can speak for many of you when I say the reunion of ’07 was probably the best we ever had. While it was not as well attended as that first in 1977 at the Bauxite Community center (take a gander at some of the leisure suits and girl’s hair-dos in that picture), I think we bonded to each other more closely this time.

Deciding on the casual theme was inspirational because we could be comfortable and the venues were excellent. A special thanks to Donnie Burks for the Saturday morning get together at the Hardin Sports museum. Although I was but a lowly band member and later on the school paper, I was proud to see the memorabilia from not only our class, but also others. Everyone who cares about the Panthers, Bulldogs and Cougars owes a debt of gratitude to the selfless individuals who donated personal items to the museum named after a coach that many of us were privileged to know and who died shortly after our reunion – Tom Hardin.

One of my earliest memories of Benton High School was when Coach gave his farewell speech to the school in the old girls’ gym. There were very few dry eyes in the room as he spoke of his love for Benton and fans who made it great.

Saturday evening’s get-together at Sticky Fingerz was my first trip to the Little Rock River Market area and it brought back memories of other places like Beale Street and the San Antonio River Walk. The food was excellent, but the comradeship inside that building during the few hours we were together will remain with me until I have my ashes are partially scattered over Benton.

My wife and I had many wonderful conversations with classmates and I am grateful she was able to meet so many of you. I also learned something from a classmate I considered part of the “top people” when I was in school. This classmate told me that he/she sometimes felt like an outsider because she/he had moved into the district and had other mitigating factors. I never knew this and I was honored this person felt comfortable enough to tell me this.

I was also touched with the stories of classmates who have overcome adversity and keep on fighting the good fight. Janet Riley’s story and poem were wonderful, as was Beth Marshall’s attitude and “can do” energy that added so much to the reunion.

Nick Landers and Bill Killian are worthy of special mention for the program …. I especially liked Nick’s joke about the man who had “10 to live” .. nine … eight … seven. (grin).

Thanks to Bill’s awards, we now know that Wayne Brown has a wonderful family life and lots of kids and grandkids to take care of him when he gets old.

A special thanks goes to Bill Struble for his idea to borrow fellow classmates’ camera cards to later put them on a DVD and also on the Web site. They added a lot to and if someone wants to take on the job of captioning all of them let me know and I’ll send you instructions how to do it (grin).

One would think that I since I make my living writing that I should be more eloquent about our 40th reunion. However, this is something I feel that must come from the heart , not a style book.

I encourage others to do the same. Just sit down and write what you feel – I promise Mrs. Kelly won’t be grading you on style or punctuation.. Bless her – she felt sorry for me and let me escape with a “D” ……
.
To all who came to the reunion, please accept this as a blanket “thank you” note for taking your time and energies to join with the rest of us for two wonderful and memorable days in August.
Those who could not make it, you all had reasons and there is no recrimination, only sadness that we didn’t get to see your face and hear you laugh one more time."

Dave (Flash) Hughes
Herndon, Va