Reunion Results with Video Documentation

Well, we made it to the Thirtieth High School Reunion, or some such number. Not everyone was able, or wanted to come, and they missed out on a good time of catching up. Our high school reunions are different than most. We all lived together on a mountain in Western North Carolina, in a strict environment, but with people who really did care about you (no matter how annoying you were). It was like going to church every day of your life. I like church for the most part, but sometimes it gives me a headache.

I tried to lay down the rules of a reunion in my previous blog. These rules fell on deaf ears obviously. The roadmap to success is to follow directions. Speaking of directions, I needed directions in a bad way. No, I did not have a GPS, I had a Rand McNally. Let me show you how that worked out for me.

Yes, so we did finally make it. It only took twenty five years to go to another reunion, but it was worth it. We had really small classes in high school, and we lived together, ate together, showered together, played sports together, and dated the same forty or so girls. It was very cool how we all jumped right back into the melting pot and became Ben Lippen Stew again. I, of course, am not so much substance in that stew, just mostly bits of salt and pepper. I was disturbed by the violations that I encountered right off the bat. Here we have documentation of dancing, touching, and crazy laughter.

I know, scary right? This is why we have rules. You break the rules and you must pay the consequences. Welcome to gf D-Hall. No writing of words or restrictions, no, just Worldwide You Tube.

Got that?

OK, on to the reunion the next afternoon. This was a lot of fun, mostly.

I was impressed beyond my expectations with the photography of this event by several classmates. I will have to collect some of these and share them with the blog world. I am sure I will have to pay a fee as some are professional photographers. Very nice job Ricky, Ben, and Beth as well as others. I on the other hand do not claim to be any thing by amateurish with my newly acquired photo hobby. So then, here are my pictures during picture time.

I also had the opportunity to spend some time with my family at this reunion. My son Alex and his girlfriend Katelyn came for a day visit. This was a well received surprise and we took advantage of it with some time in Charleston with them.



After some shopping we ate at Hyman's Seafood Restaurant, and then took a "Ghost Walk" through downtown.....spooky. Yea.

While on the Isle of Palms we checked out Fort Moultrie and also discovered a "Fort Church".

Finis

It was a good weekend that I really needed. The weather was perfect so that I did not need all of the sweaters and long sleeves that I had packed. Thank for all of you for inviting me, and putting up with my new video toy. A special shout out goes to Dawn Garlow who is our undecorated "Secretary of Alumni Affairs". This is her new title. She keeps up with everyone's email addresses, sends out myriads of birthday reminders, and overall keeps us all in the loop when the rest of us are "too busy" to communicate with each other. Thank you Dawn, great job.

P.S.

As I started to write this blog, which was to be a funny documentation in a gf way, I felt as though someone has kicked me in the stomach, and I had the feeling of disappointment, as though someone had tossed my ice cream cone into the dirt. One of our classmates Tom Scott has passed away. Tom was a real good guy. He was smart, funny, and a great athlete. Even though I had not kept up with Scott (like many others) I thought of him often, and I missed him at this reunion.

I will continue on, and I will do what I do in this blog, and that is be a distraction, an annoyance, and sometimes if I try real hard, I can make someone laugh. That is what I need right now. We will miss you Tom.