The Reunion

 

   If you read the last column you'll know that C and I spent a long weekend in South Carolina. The reason why we were there was because it was C's 50th year class reunion. To be more accurate it was 50 +2 as the reunion has been postponed twice due to Covid.

   We had not originally planned on going, but things lined up at the last minute. I had a long weekend off. We were able to get plane tickets. We hadn't been to South Carolina in a really long time. Lynda, a woman from C's class who headed the reunion committee had been urging C to come to the reunion on Facebook. She promised us a loaf of sourdough bread if we would make the trip. C and I discussed it. This was an opportunity that would not come again. We made arrangements for Scamp's care, packed our bags and headed out.

   We flew on a different airline than we usually take when we travel to South Carolina. We actually got a direct flight into Asheville. There is a small regional airport there. The flight wasn't bad, just two hours. However the seats on the plane seemed very close together. I was barely able to get my shoulder bag under the seat in front of me. It got worse when the person in front of me decided to recline their seat. C somehow managed to get his legs in the small space provided. I have no idea how he did it.

    When we landed, we collected our luggage and rental car and went to the hotel. We had stayed there before. It had been a few years and there were some changes. It was still a familiar place and at that time of night we were tired.

   The next morning we checked out and headed to Spartanburg. Put first stop was Krispy Kreme. We always have some donuts before we head out. There used to be Krispy Kremes all over the place, but now there aren't any in Minnesota. We got two each and ate them. Then we headed south.

   Our first stop was Clinton to visit my sister-in-law Mertis. she was cleaning her house. She and her husband are planning to downsize, their large four bedroom, two story house is too much for her to keep up. They had originally planned to move to Myrtle Beach, but decided to stay in Clinton and either buy or build a smaller home in the neighborhood where they live.

   After visiting her we decided to hang out in Greenville. We wanted to stop at a place where we liked to eat and walk around the park by the Reedy River near downtown. It didn't go as we had planned. The restaurant had been affected by Covid and not in a good way. The food was nowhere near as good as it had been. Once we'd finished eating we went outside. It was raining. No walk.

   We went to our hotel to check in. It was nowhere near as nice as the pictures on the internet. We debated moving to another one but everything was full. We decided to make do with what we had.

   We met Lynda and some of the reunion committee at a restaurant that evening. It was so much fun and C was very happy. We were both looking forward to the reunion the next evening.

   We spent Saturday visiting a friend of C. Then we went back to the hotel to dress for the reunion. I wore black pants, a velvet jacket and a red sparkly shirt underneath. C wore dress pants, a shirt and a vest. 

   The venue was not too far away.  It was held in a renovated stable. Tables with decorations had been set up as well  as a table with a computer and other equipment. C got a bottle of water to drink and began to make the rounds. I loved watching him talk, hug and shake hands with everyone. The nametags for those in the graduating class had their graduation picture on them. It was funny to see people squint to look at the pictures in a effort to identify their former friends.

   There was a short program before  the dinner. It began with a tribute to those classmates who had passed away. There was about 30 of them out of a class of 300. C knew nearly all of them. Then they showed other pictures, particularly of the band who won the state Four-A marching band championship that year. 

   After the program, dinner was served. I was amused to see they had found paper trays that looked like school lunch trays. There was a lot of visiting and talking. I could see that C was having a good time. I was too. I found some of the people who I'd met the night before and talked to them along with a few others. I was hoping to possibly meet some of C's high school girlfriends at the reunion. As a member of the football and track teams, he was a popular guy at school. I didn't meet a single one. Apparently none of them had chosen to attend the reunion.

   After dinner there was an attempt to dance by some of the people, but there weren't too many. Most of them wanted to visit and quite a few went home after the meal and group picture had been taken. We continues to circulate and talk to people until it got late. We were among the last to leave. 

   Before we left we thanked Lynda for all she had done. It was so much fun. 

   Several of the classmates have reconnected with C on social media and C has shared some of the music he wrote. It was well worth going.

   Lynda told us she didn't have time to bake the promised loaf of sourdough bread. She told us if we came back for another visit, we could collect it then.

   Maybe next year.....