In the wake of our 40th grade school reunion, I have struggled to put into words just what it was that made our class so special. And then the thought occurred to me as I attempted to articulate the magic of that recent weekend we shared: we had grown up during one of the most amazing decades. It was the Wonder Years in all its glory. From The Beatles’ debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, to Bob Dylan singing Lay, Lady, Lay, we danced and sang and watched as the graphic images on the T.V. “colored our world” and not without tragedy. But it was not the death of an era I was lamenting, but rather the fact that I had the meanest teacher in the third grade. We saw a man walk on the moon, and a war shatter our innocence. And as we gathered, all these years later, the conversations did not touch on the state of a nation, but on shared memories that made us smile. In the way I cherish the lyrics of an old favorite song, the reunion of friends felt like coming home again.
And as I look at the wonderful pictures from the reunion website (thanks Steven R.) I am thankful for the decade that shaped a nation and the Class of ’69.
Susi ‘Levings’ Laske
