Civic Pride

June 28, 1999

People are posting in the forum! Try it.

Big sigh of relief. I got through the weekend without saying anything too stupid, or feeling like an idiot. Those were my two big worries, you know. I also updated my cast, so if you get confused about all the people mentioned, feel free to refer to it. I'm not sure if I mentioned it earlier, but the occassion was the 100th graduating class from my high school.

Friday night, Jim and I got to my parents' house around 7:00 p.m. We hung out for a while and had dinner. Then we went up to Molly's parents' house to hang out with Molly and Brenda. I really had a great time talking and getting caught up on all the town gossip. It was a great way to start off the weekend. Jim was bored out of his skull, but he did play hockey on the Playstation with Molly's 13 year old brother after a bit. Finally I realized that Brenda lives about 6 houses down from my parents and could easily give me a ride home - so Jim went home to bed and I chatted with the girls until about 2 a.m.

Molly's parents run cal-mum.com, my hometown website, so they were busy with preparations. They really put a lot of effort into that site, and they don't really make any money from it. I realize that if you aren't from my town, this site won't hold any appeal for you, but I thought I would link to it anyway.

Saturday was the big day. The day kicked off with a torch passing, starting at the original school house (which is now a museum). The first person in line was from the class of 1922, I think. They passed the torch all the way down the main street in town, from class to class, until it reached the valedictorian from the class of 1999, who just graduated last night. My dad got the job of announcing the whole thing, so he was walking backwards along the parade route, while the organizer of the whole thing drove a golf cart with speakers in it. Unfortunately, she got a little distracted at times and ran over my dad's foot twice. I only wish I had a picture of that.

After the procession reached the school, there were a few speakers. We had made a class of 1990 sign nailed to a piece of wood, and some of our classmates gathered around us. There were about 12 of us in all, which isn't a huge turnout. We did have the best turnout for any class of the 1990's though. Then there was a class parade around the football field.

I know this sounds super corny, but I was kind of moved by all the people there. I saw old babysitters, kids I used to babysit, former neighbors, just about all of my dad's family, parents and siblings of my friends. I really come from a small town, where everyone does know everyone else. Hell, everyone's practically related to everyone else (please hold your Deliverance references - I hear enough of them from Jim). But while walking in the parade, I could see my dad, my aunts and my brother marching in front of me. As I was walking along, I came upon my grandma videotaping it. It just gave me a real sense of community that I haven't felt in a long time.

After the parade, we walked through the school to check out the new addition just opened this summer. They had historical exhibits and such set up too. It was probably 90 degrees out, and humid, so Jim and I decided to walk back over to my parents' house and take a little break, and get out of the heat for a few hours.

To be continued...

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