"REUNION REFLECTIONS"

The joy of this reunion has been, for me, in two parts. Working with Danny McMahon and Bob Johnson (the "Media Subcommittee") on the Reunion DVD (which will be mailed out in a few weeks) has been and continues to be the most fun I can remember having in decades.

The other part was the actual reunion at the Odyssey where everyone was having such a fantastic time. As I had feared, there just was not enough time. It was all over way too fast. There are a few conversations that were particularly meaningful to me.

For one, Bill Pawlak and I made true confessions to each other. Like the aforementioned Danny (Mac) McMahon, Bill and I go back to 3rd grade at Our Lady of Peace. Bill confessed to me that he had once taken a dime from me and later gave it back on instructions from his confessor. I confessed that I have always felt bad about punching him once, for no better reason than that was the type of kid I was. We made up at the reunion. There is not a nicer guy in the whole world than Billy Pawlak.

I had a delightful conversation with Alfonso Covarrubius who is enjoying his Golden Years after retiring from the US Postal Service. I was fortunate enough to have an extended dinner conversation with Tom Stratton. Tom remembered how my little car would often get stuck between first and second gear, and he remembered how to reach under the hood and get it going again. You may recall that Tom was always the guy who would fix the film projector when it jammed. But most of all we talked about the present and how we both have technical jobs that are ideal for old geeks like us who are better with computers than with people. And we found the perfect women to put up with our strangeness. It was so great to touch bases with Tom again after 40 years.

Peggy Jones had me (and many others) laughing with her wit and she told me something about myself that I will ruminate on for years. It was fantastic to talk with my old friend Colleen Murphy (my cousin's cousin). We shared how terrified we were of our common uncle when we were kids.

It was great to see Danny McMahon, his sister Patsy and, at breakfast Sunday, his mother, Verena the Great. It was a special treat to see my lovely second cousin Chris Belle Monroe having such a fabulous reunion weekend after all the pain and heartache she has been through recently.

It was also really neat to see my sister, Christie, my date that night, dancing up a storm, once again.

The joy of reconnection that was in the air, in that room at the Odyssey, was something that I will never forget.

Biggest surprise was the large number of the guys whom I now have to look up to. Wasn't Poltl a little guy??

My favorite group was the large number of guys who managed to stay awake for Mr. Diaz's early morning Science Seminar and who were able to goof off in Fr Weber's speech class ("able, ible, eyeble, oble uble") because the good Father was always too busy to actually attend. If you remember Pete Herron crawling out of Fr. Kernan's podium, you are in this club. Great to see all of you!

I could go on and on. It was simply wonderful. I had no ideas reunions were so much fun!

Thanks for the invite!!

Marty
Santa Rosa, CA

(Ed Note: This is the first in a continuing series of reflections on our reunion. Notes from clergy, faculty and classmates began arriving in the media sub-committee email box on the morning of the 29th of October. We will continue to share them with the Class as we receive permission from the senders. If you wish to have your reflections posted, please remember to add a specific authorization allowing the committe to post your thoughts. The legal department thanks you.)