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poltr1This was the weekend of my 30-year high school reunion. Many people dread high school reunions, including me. I wasn't the most popular kid in class. I didn't know if people were going to welcome me or snub me. And I know going in that I'm a very introverted person. Large parties just aren't my style. I prefer smaller, more intimate gatherings.
Thu 8/11: Left my hotel room in Fishers, IN, to do some needeed shopping, and to ship out M's birthday present. Then headed up northeast on I-69 to Fort Wayne, took I-469 around Fort Wayne, and took US 24 to Toledo. I like the decorative work they did with the bridges in Paulding and Defiance counties. Picked up the Ohio Turnpike near Toledo, and stayed on I-90 to Buffalo. Survived the Dead Man's Curve in downtown Cleveland. That is one nasty turn! I forgot what time I arrived at my mother's home in Buffalo.
Fri 8/12: Did a little more shopping, especially to pick up the foodstuffs I can't get in Buffalo. Went driving along the East Fork of the Niagara River, and stopped for lunch at the Isle View Inn. Had a dozen steamed clams and a beer. Then went to my old high school to meet up with my classmates and to get a tour of the school.
Boy, have things changed since I graduated. They filled in the old pool and put in a "turf gym". They built a new natatorium (pool) behind what used to the industrial arts wing. They renumbered all the rooms and replaced all the lockers. Apple computers were in many of the classrooms. And the most prominent change was in the social studies and science wings. What used to be "open plan", with wooden cabinets separating the classrooms, is now "closed plan", with tiled walls and floors.
We then headed to Banchetti's Grove in West Amherst for a buffet dinner and open bar. My expectations were exceeded. More people were interested in talking to me than I thought. There were a few I didn't get to, though. I left around 11:15pm.
I then headed to Pete Rao's place for an after-party party. I sat around the campfire and had a beer or two. If I had my swim suit with me, I would have gone in the hot tub. I left around 2:30am and had a nice relaxing drive home along Tonawanda Creek.
Sat 8/13: Took my mon grocery shopping at Tops. Then went to visit my friends Bill and Darleen and their boys, at the splash pool in West Seneca.
Day 2 of the reunion was at Average Joe's Bar in West Amherst. They served pizza and wings, along with beer and mixed drinks. Talked with more people whom I haven't seen in years. Reggie Holloway's band, G.S.V. was playing lots of jazz and pop tunes I recognized. But I'll admit, there where times that night I felt like I was on the outside looking in. I don't like butting into or interrupting existing conversations. Nobody likes a buttinsky. So I flitted from conversation to conversation. At one point, I Went to an empty corner to decompress and chill out after a while, and to watch the rest of the crowd. I think I left a little after 1:00am.
Sun 8/14: A relaxing Sunday. Drove around the Amherst Campus of the University at Buffalo -- another one of my old stomping grounds. Had dinner with good friends Louis and Liz at John & Mary's Subs. Then took a nice relaxing drive to Lockport and back.
Mon 8/15: Returned home, via the same route I took. Stopped in Toledo to have dinner with friends Tom and Su. We went to Poco Piatti in Perrysburg (or Maumee). A nice pizza place with a Mediterranean flavor (and food!).
All in all, it was an enjoyable weekend. But there were a few that I didn't know well in high school and chose to keep it that way. They didn't or wouldn't say hello to me, even after I said hello first. (I don't need to name names. They know who they are. I should be thick-skinned and not let this bother me, but dammit, it still hurts!) But as the old song goes, "You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself." Thanks to the planning committee for organizing a great weekend!
Thu 8/11: Left my hotel room in Fishers, IN, to do some needeed shopping, and to ship out M's birthday present. Then headed up northeast on I-69 to Fort Wayne, took I-469 around Fort Wayne, and took US 24 to Toledo. I like the decorative work they did with the bridges in Paulding and Defiance counties. Picked up the Ohio Turnpike near Toledo, and stayed on I-90 to Buffalo. Survived the Dead Man's Curve in downtown Cleveland. That is one nasty turn! I forgot what time I arrived at my mother's home in Buffalo.
Fri 8/12: Did a little more shopping, especially to pick up the foodstuffs I can't get in Buffalo. Went driving along the East Fork of the Niagara River, and stopped for lunch at the Isle View Inn. Had a dozen steamed clams and a beer. Then went to my old high school to meet up with my classmates and to get a tour of the school.
Boy, have things changed since I graduated. They filled in the old pool and put in a "turf gym". They built a new natatorium (pool) behind what used to the industrial arts wing. They renumbered all the rooms and replaced all the lockers. Apple computers were in many of the classrooms. And the most prominent change was in the social studies and science wings. What used to be "open plan", with wooden cabinets separating the classrooms, is now "closed plan", with tiled walls and floors.
We then headed to Banchetti's Grove in West Amherst for a buffet dinner and open bar. My expectations were exceeded. More people were interested in talking to me than I thought. There were a few I didn't get to, though. I left around 11:15pm.
I then headed to Pete Rao's place for an after-party party. I sat around the campfire and had a beer or two. If I had my swim suit with me, I would have gone in the hot tub. I left around 2:30am and had a nice relaxing drive home along Tonawanda Creek.
Sat 8/13: Took my mon grocery shopping at Tops. Then went to visit my friends Bill and Darleen and their boys, at the splash pool in West Seneca.
Day 2 of the reunion was at Average Joe's Bar in West Amherst. They served pizza and wings, along with beer and mixed drinks. Talked with more people whom I haven't seen in years. Reggie Holloway's band, G.S.V. was playing lots of jazz and pop tunes I recognized. But I'll admit, there where times that night I felt like I was on the outside looking in. I don't like butting into or interrupting existing conversations. Nobody likes a buttinsky. So I flitted from conversation to conversation. At one point, I Went to an empty corner to decompress and chill out after a while, and to watch the rest of the crowd. I think I left a little after 1:00am.
Sun 8/14: A relaxing Sunday. Drove around the Amherst Campus of the University at Buffalo -- another one of my old stomping grounds. Had dinner with good friends Louis and Liz at John & Mary's Subs. Then took a nice relaxing drive to Lockport and back.
Mon 8/15: Returned home, via the same route I took. Stopped in Toledo to have dinner with friends Tom and Su. We went to Poco Piatti in Perrysburg (or Maumee). A nice pizza place with a Mediterranean flavor (and food!).
All in all, it was an enjoyable weekend. But there were a few that I didn't know well in high school and chose to keep it that way. They didn't or wouldn't say hello to me, even after I said hello first. (I don't need to name names. They know who they are. I should be thick-skinned and not let this bother me, but dammit, it still hurts!) But as the old song goes, "You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself." Thanks to the planning committee for organizing a great weekend!
