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EDISON HIGH SCHOOL 10-YEAR REUNION, 11/26/05 So here's my account on our 10-Year Reunion. Last names will not be mentioned in whole to protect us not-so-innocent ;-) Anyway, it was quite the active day for myself, since I ended up also being scheduled for the afternoon at the library. This was so one of my co-workers, herself an EHS alumni (though 2 years prior to us), could have a belated Thanksgiving celebration. A combination of wanting to be helpful, and fear of her wrath, made the decision obvious for me, so I manned the reference desk from 1-5. It was a good day at the library though, so no problem. After taking the train back home, I got dolled up and all, and then headed for the Victorian Manor a bit after 7. I wandered back and forth the ground level briefly, not knowing just where we were at; I also assumed that the reception from 7-8:30 meant we'd be meeting in the lobby or some such thing. All the better; I also did have some serious jitters I needed a little time to work out. Even though all the conversation on the group helped a lot, as did promises of seeing many people I haven't been around in ages, I still didn't quite know what to expect. Would I receive any ribbing from people who may have remembered my unfavorable quirks and such? Would the insecurities of the past and now come to haunt me? Regardless, I eventually figured out that we were actually upstairs...so it was right to the hall set aside for us, which consisted of an area of tables, a small bar, and a dance floor complete with DJ. When you signed in, you got a sticker with your name and senior year photo. First people I ran into, almost right at the doorway, were Janet (master, as she later revealed, of the “Janglish” language…apparently involves conversing with her after some drinks) and Stella...the latter of which was the chairperson of this reunion, so to say, and deserves all the credit in the world for organizing things. She is engaged to be married on St. Patrick's Day (joining my cousin's birth among the special things about that day), and our sisters remain friends since their own high school days. I was still a little shaky, but extremely glad to see everyone: Phil, Jeff, Tom (who was actually one of Ken Jennings' opponents on Jeopardy!), Wendy, Tara, and more were around when I first got there. Lots of people had fiancees or husbands/wives with them, which really made me feel old! Moreso since our own home includes a bride-to-be! Two newlyweds, Mike and Danielle, came too, they are still local and I've seen them during my summer bike rides, which is how I found out about them (they married 2 months ago, IIRC). Actually, they discovered ME first, as I stopped near their house one day cause I was stopped by their dog, being that I can't resist saying hi to a friendly canine. The fun really picked up upon the arrival of the Art Class Gang: Carolyn (think I saw her from time to time in the last decade), Amy (who I usually meet up with at St. Matthew’s carnival during the summer), and Melissa (who I have not seen at all since graduation, and I was not disappointed on Friday!!!)…later to be joined by Darryl, whom I did see sporadically as well, but not so much in recent years. He’s another I was extremely happy to see, and I wish I talked more with him, but we were all over the place of course. I know I didn’t know where to start! Moreso when we had the arrival of Sara, a.k.a. The Elusive Miss P. herself. We actually had a class together at Rutgers 6 years ago. She’s such a character, and a very valuable confidant of course. We all are in our own ways, actually. Other people I recognized fondly include Colleen (still see members of her family from time-to-time), Liz (quite the world traveler, also, I recently discovered an article about her receiving a fellowship in marine policy), Jason, Chris, Kryztof (like some others, we go all the way back to grade school; lots of time…and defaced video game magazines!), Mike, Larry, Leana, Lindsey, Cindy, and Jen. I probably didn’t get everyone in the midst of this paragraph, and for that I apologize. Dinner was a buffet and was excellent…I had a kind of meat lasagne, chicken, salad, and some awesome mixed vegetables (seriously…it was almost like they knew I was coming). Before, during, and after, lots of talk and pictures were had by all. Extra cameras were supplied to provide pictures for ReunionMakers’ website (nothing yet, by the way). So many great memories, and lots to catch up on. A lot of fun memories came from those of us who went to Thomas Jefferson Middle School, as we recalled the likes of my obsession with Croonchy Stars, the Swedish Chef’s short-lived cereal; old teachers; Earl the Dead Cat (the mascot for honors English); and for the select few, memories of the infamous Sra. Braverman (Spanish teacher from the 7th grade, best known for getting mad at the students, but not coming up with a better reprimand than calling us “pumpkins”). Someone (amongst the group of Carolyn, Amy, and Sara) brought some grade and/or middle school photos. I know I’d still miss a lot if I tried to name the other stuff I remember off the top of my head. The DJ tried to help, though, by presenting a segment where he asked random questions, and had the people they applied to come up on the floor and explain. I got to do so twice: for “appearing in a movie or TV show” (in a stretch, I gave myself credit for my research role on Open Mind) and for “meeting a celebrity,” which of course I had several meet and greets at concerts under my belt for, as well as my brush with heaven when I met Joanna Lumley. Speaking of which, before dinner someone actually asked if I posted a picture of me and my “wife” on the group, most likely referring to my “Patsy” picture. Or maybe Petula. Looking on my photo album, I now see I could also have been “married” to my library director Gail (who I actually think Liz with her brunette hair reminds me of, at least they looked alike in the picture we got together), Frank Marino in La Cage getup (boy would the honeymoon provide a surprise!), Carole from The Magic Garden (when I was *7*, talk about a swinger!), or I could have had a harem or two of Red Hat Ladies. Dancing soon began, but me and my second left foot sat out. If you’ve seen my photos, you know I did get to capture the action quite a bit. Sara and Colleen were the show stealers, hands down. Them and the “wind-down” dancing that was taking place when a lot of the people had gone. The music became more 1985 than 1995 by then, as they were relying on an ‘80s compilation (also accompanied with DJ and manor employee sticking the microphone in the faces of random people, getting them to do assisted karaoke)…Danielle, Jason, Mike, and others didn’t let good dance time go to waste by any means though! Some of the others went to Season’s, which is a bar and Italian restaurant also close to my home. So I left the dancing behind to do so myself…I couldn’t resist snapping a picture or two of the manor’s lobby, decorated very nicely for the holidays with a Christmas tree and all. At Seasons I met Amy, Melissa, Sara, and Kryztof…Danielle, Mike, Darryl, Jason, and others followed later. Amy’s gentleman friend dropped by too. Our good times continued, as we sat around, talking and drinking (well not ALL of us) and all. Just being with everyone was an awesome experience in general. My day finally ended around 2 am, and a more satisfying one I couldn’t ask for. It was just wonderful to spend time with everyone again. My only regret is that I couldn’t catch up with each and every one there. That and I wish it could go on for even longer, of course. I always valued the people whom I had nice memories of, and who I got along with well. I never really showed all my appreciation back then, being shy and insecure then (and to an extent, that is how I remain in many ways). But now that we are a bit older, wiser, but still very fun, this was a great chance to come back and show that appreciation, as well as to keep myself from staying on a low note as far as my memories of EHS are concerned. While a lot of it was rough on me, I also got to know some valuable friends and acquaintances, and being back with them reminded me of how true those mutual feelings are. The line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet comes to mind: “But never doubt that I love.” With us so reconnected, I believe I indeed won’t.  ANNE MURRAY: WHAT A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS IN NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ, 11/29/05 So here I am, just hours removed from my first-ever Anne Murray concert, in the form of "What A Wonderful Christmas" at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. To all the Snowbirds who wrote about their experiences, let me tell you, you were right: there's nothing like seeing Anne in person. The day wasn't without fuss, though. I knew I had to get there early to get my backstage pass for the meet and greet, but taking time lightly, when I left I had to pretty much make a beeline right to the theater. I got there OK and did get my passes (yes, "passes"...this becomes important later), and I had some time, so I thought I'd go to a nearby shop for a present for Anne. Since I was in a hurry to get right to the theater, I did not get a chance to do so before. All right, except by this time, the predicted rain we were supposed to have tonight started to build up steam. Nonetheless, I got to a Rite-Aid a block or two away, where I found a plush stick reindeer (wacky enough to be memorable, I thought) and a giant Hershey's Kiss in Christmas color. The wind, along with the rain, picked up on the way back, but I made it in one piece :-) Shortly before the show, I talked a little with two ladies sitting by me, Barb and Elsa. They pointed out their friend, Mindy, who was in the same row but way to the left. (This too will be important) Well, soon enough it was time for the show to begin, and what a show! I was just watching some videos a friend gave me in the days before the concert. This was as if I stepped into one of those videos, a lot of which was from the '80s and '90s, mind you. Anne looks great and most certainly sounds great. I was like, "Time? Age? What are those?" As is the usual with her Christmas-time shows, the program has two parts. The first was dedicated to her hits and many tracks off of "All Of Me." We got the title track, "Dream A Little Dream Of Me," and "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter," in addition to "Put A Little Love In Your Heart," which opened the show. The songs from the CD got good responses, as I recall. First "hit" song she did was "I Just Fall In Love Again," and I think a lot of you know why that would be special to me. If not, I mention it later. There was also "Shadows In The Moonlight," "Danny's Song," "Daydream Believer" (besides the Christmas song, that got Anne into my conscious...as whenever I heard the Monkees version I thought of her name), "Snowbird" (which actually did not get much of a response, compared to...), "You Needed Me" and "Could I Have This Dance?" Everyone loved the latter two, and with CIHTD?, we even had the sing-along moments. Of course, the show was not without Anne's trademark personality. Amused by the fact that only a few people acknowledged the mentioning of "All Of Me," she told us it's only been out for a year, and maybe it took that time to finally get to New Brunswick? And of course there were her famous email segments. There was one in each half of the show. Among the stories, there was one about a man who was critical of a white dress Anne wore at one show, that apparently gave outlines of her leg when she moved certain ways. "Betty Grable you aren't," he commented, and Anne replied to us that he was giving away his age with that comparison...plus she thought he was actually getting excited when recalling that choice of apparel! Another person told Anne that her friend visited while she watched "What A Wonderful World," and was surprised that the "woman from 'The Sound Of Music'" was still active! Yet another provided a unique testimonial for one of her CD's, saying it helped them fall asleep! There were many more, hopefully someone else who was there can compliment my recollections. After an intermission, the second half was all Christmas songs, and the stage was decorated accordingly. Now this part would be extra special, since my mom and grandmother always loved Anne's Christmas albums. Songs included "Mary's Boy Child" (with that fantastic "Oh my Lord" end part), "Silent Night," "Silver Bells," "Go Tell It On The Mountain," "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas," "Christmas in Kilarney" (VERY happy to hear this!), and "Winter Wonderland," which had another sing-along segment. I think it was then that I decided to use my stick reindeer as a prop, and waved it around as I sang. Think Anne even noticed and pointed it out! Anne teased the end of the show, but then came back with her yellow roses and sang one more song...shoot, I can't remember it by name...something about snowing in California, I think (inspired, said Anne, by the fact that her tour bus had just gone through a region where it snowed for 13 hours!) A great show, but that was by no means the end of our fun. As you remember, I met Elsa and Barb before the show. I also remembered that my M&G actually entitled me to give a pass to one guest. So during intermission, recalling that I talked about how I got my M&G, I offered one of my passes to one of the ladies. They respectfully declined, as they said they knew someone who'd want that even more: their friend Mindy, who's been a fan for 30 years. So we went over to her seating area and I got to give her the pass. Needless to say, we were fast friends. In fact, I met quite a few people tonight! Anyway, the time had come for our meeting with Anne. Unfortunately the backstage area required a brief outdoor trip, and the rain was still out there in force. No matter...we were going to see Anne and two things could stop us: no one and nothing. There were a couple more ladies also with M&G's, and I was the designated photographer for everyone. As we arranged a system for distributing the pictures, Anne herself came in with Darlene. I didn't know where to start, but she was accepting and very friendly towards us all. I just had so much I wanted to mention to her: how we all loved her Christmas recordings, how much I enjoyed seeing her in person, and my beginnings 3 years ago in becoming a fan myself. I pretty much really got interested in Anne when I saw her Sounds of London segment with Dusty Springfield. I said so (in context of my newbie-ness compared with Mindy's decades of fandom), and Anne called Dusty "her favorite singer." To which I mentioned the thrill of hearing I Just Fall In Love Again...I know Dusty would be proud of her performance of that, and probably all the rest as well! We all got to have pictures taken and autographs...since I have a signed photo already, I had some other articles for certain people...with the holidays coming soon, I don't want to say any more!!! I also got to give Anne my gifts...thanks to her, I discovered that my stick reindeer was a musical one, in that you pressed a certain area and it would sing "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer." Anne hinted that her new "friend" might be at her other shows :-) Also gave her the Hershey's Kiss, saying that a "great big Kiss" was something I wanted to give her for a long time :-) :-) :-) Well, all good things must come to an end, and so we all went our separate ways for the night. Rain didn't let up as I went back to the parking deck I left my car at, but that was the least of my thoughts, actually. Again, a great concert, some great new friends (some of which are local too!), and a chance to meet one of my most favorite singers. What more could you ask for? Needless to say (but I want to anyway), many thanks to Anne for sounding and looking as beautiful (if not more) as she does on videos and CDs, and truly making this a night to remember. Moreso by also giving us the genuine, warm personality she is known for both on- and off-stage. I know I will always appreciate the time she spent with us fans! Thanks too to Darlene and Diane for making our meeting with Anne possible. And thanks to Mindy, Elsa, Barb, and all the people I met tonight...it was great to meet you all, and I hope some good friendships will follow! Post a comment in response: |
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