A Dream I had

To the class of 1970


It has been a week since the reunion and the thought still lingers. It's difficult to express how I feel about the whole process leading up to and the reunion itself, so many realzations it's hard to decide what to write. It has been 4 months since the preparation began and in some ways the planning was the most fun [and challenging] Reuniting with classmates and working out all the details gave everyone the opportunity to truly re-connect [for better or worse]  in many ways I was truly thrust back in time, not unlike planning the winter formal or one of those silly sock hops in the gym, [get out the crepe paper].Get ready here I will attempt to put it all in perspective.

Rocky River, Ohio, how lucky we all were to have spent our childhoods in such a beautiful town, [oak trees on the beach for instance]. Although time has brought many changes to its fabric,[namely  Westgate, hate it] it is essentially the same, the winding streets of tangle town still hold for me the same feeling of permanence and well established order, they imprinted upon me as a child and teen. An vision of social order that I still carry with me to this day, search as I may I have never found a similar example anywhere else. Rocky River was the fulfillment of the post war American dream for our parents and we were the fortunate recipients. As I wandered past each house I found that I still remember each inhabitants name, the Long’s, the Keidels, the Brook’s, the Kennedy’s the Zannes, the Luck’s. It seems to me that every house held a classmate,and you knew them all. [the baby boom were us] By national standards ours was a small class, that small size made it easy to become familiar everyone. Our class [like no other] was caught in the center of the erupting social change of the 60's. We set out to change the world, ironically the world and the passage of time has changed us instead, except for one commonality we all share..growing up in Rocky River. Of course the other reason is that we have less time in front of us than behind, hence the reason for the current solidarity we are all feeling for the class of 1970. Admit it! we all miss that simpler time that was our youth.

The idyllic life we led in the fifty’s and sixty’s is made bittersweet by the state of our world today, our peace signs and loud protests pale in comparison to the tragedies that have transpired since. This reunion seems to have been more important and necessary than all the previous gatherings. There was a greater need to touch home, perhaps it is our curiosity as to how others of a 'certain age' are holding up or is it the sad state of a nation that seems to be losing its meaning. I venture to say the reason is, the need to connect with our first friends. The desire to embrace our past and the people and places that made us who we are today. The process of aging has a way of making it easier to remember the distant past more clearly than yesterday, it’s as if the older we grow the younger we become..[that’s a real good thing] it's as if you start living your life all over again. This reunion really brought it home for me. This is where it all started. Despite the years between we all still see each other through the eyes of an adolescent, the us full of promise and exciting expectations...the affirmation of who we are by our first and most influential peers is what we are seeking.

As the years have passed it has become apparent to me that our lives are not about things.

Life is about the others with whom we have laughed,loved,fought,forgiven and in some cases lost too soon. The sight of so many of my first friends gathered together once again brought a tear to my eye, especially during these difficult times. To connect again with those who shared my dreams for the future when our lives lay in front of us, that’s what is important to me now. It’s comforting to realize we still have our common bonds and we are not alone in this challenging ride through time. Thanks to all, and thanks for being you.

“I wish I may I wish I might sit simply in that room once again, ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat I’d give it all gladly if our lives could be like that”

Bob Dylans Dream