It's 2017 and the 50th reunion is upon us-I haven't gone to any others -why would I go to this one...
We had a special reunion of Drama, Music and arty people back in 2008 and I liked that-it was almost all people I enjoyed seeing despite the fact that most of them stayed as far away from me as they could-huddled as they were in their cliques.
Lela Daniels, the school beauty and her husband (she was Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and I played opposite her in the Man Who Came To Dinner where she was Lorraine Sheldon and I got to seal her in a mummy case) were especially nice to me and at the dinner I sat with people I knew well who did not ignore me.
That was enough.
I was not well liked in high school-I ran with the students who dressed all in black-art, music and theatre-I managed to get to the point where I was too powerful to be bullied (also too tall) and was a darling amongst all the teachers and faculty (except for PE-they hated me too).
I knew people, but I was not particularly friendly with them-it was not that I didn't like them, we moved in different circles and I had the onus of eccentricity - being different, so there was that as well.
Some people I never saw-I lived across the street from Dan Gayhart and his brothers-we would wave occasionally-I do not believe we spoke the entire 4 years of high school.
We had grown up literally playing and going to school together-he became a football star and I was the artistic one-we both had stature but in high school his trumped mine.
Down the street was Terry Nelson and around the corner Kay Anderson-both older than me-interestingly both were in the play Lella and I did-Terry was the lead and Kay was Harriet the crazy spinster-they were both at least cordial at the 2008 event.
Bill Cody lived at the end of the street catty corner from the Jurics (Jan-the school Drum Master and his sister Jackie) Bill was the AV guy...
From junior high I was friends with Melanie Bourland, Bob Wilson and his sister Donna I don't remember ever speaking to ANY of these people during High School except Bill-he and I worked on a film we did for the senior awards ceremony or Senior tea or whatever the hell it was-he was fine.
Joe Power and I were friends all 4 years of high school-we met in journalism-we saw each other on and off and most recently when I moved down here-like me he had little use for High School-even less than I did.
Sandy Isham, Linda Wells (now Melody Bnah), Linda Buress, Tim Peters, Delbery Hull, Stephen Burts, John Davis (from drama not the mayor's son although we were friends for a bit) mostly people who were older than myself a year or more ahead in school.
Lot's of drama people I knew from shows, but did I hang out with them-NO...
All the drama people and others went to the Veenhuyzen's after school-Arlene Craig and I often walked over there together-that lasted for a short while.
I think I said elsewhere that the cheer leaders used to court my favors so I would do charecatures of them on their megaphones-did I ever see them otherwise-not so much-only Barb Watson who is a genuinely good person and Richard Stubbs also a good fellow.
In Choraleers the schools elite madrigal/pop group we were together probably more than any other group since we sang all year (I was in for 2 years) but dod I KNOW any of these people?
I remember Linda Warren and of course Ginny Chitwood-the schoold diva...Madyline Shapiro-mezzo-she had two sisters apparently the middle one had the real talent Caroline).
Dave Pennington ended up married to the girl I went to the formal dance with, Margo Mummah-he became a minister-were we friends? No...
I sat next to the late Glenn Wanke whose name we mispronounced all through High School-I actually thought it was pronounced WANKY not Vahnkuh-no one ever looked as good in white jeans as Glenn-he was a gymnast and loved music-his son is mayor of Yorba Linda-Glenn died of the Big C a year or so ago.
Al Armenta sat on the other side of me next to Steve Astel-Steve actually had the best voice at the time IMHO-I don't know what he did later or of he continued singing...
There are all sorts of people in between that I just don't remember-I don't remember ever having a conversation with Franz Miller-he was a tenor-I know his face but that's it.
I genuinely liked Walt Matkins-he and I shared a love for pointed toe, Cuban heel shoes but I can't say I actually KNEW him other than in that setting.
Dennis McKinney is one of two guys I constantly mix up one sings the other was an artist-I had a class with both-I also saw BOTH at Universal when I was a tour guide-I think one or both of them are dead---strange...
I hated Gary Priebe-he was a horrible bully-handsome guy we went to Junior High together and that's the last I saw him-also now dead.
Vic Larsen and I were pretty friendly in Junior High but come high School we occasionally said hi in the hallway but that is that.
Stephen Small still lives, I believe, in the house he grew up in -his mom Juanita was our Avon Lady and his sister was a showgirl in a couple of productions I did outside school, Susan-I don't remember speaking to him at any point in high school.
Cody Combs was Junior miss-she was a song leader (?) she was in a play that I was in that's why I sort knew her-also she was very different from most of the SOCSHes-I liked Cody-still do.
Mike Romero and Donna Padilla were both at the 2008 reunion-we saw each other a little after high school and then drifted.
Dwight Walrath and his sister-same thing...
Christine Bright, Blanche Benetez and others went back to Elementary school-I happened to find out that one very popular girl was in my first grade class with me-Mrs. eddy's class-I don't remember her...
Kurt Musselmen-blown up in Vietnam along with too many others-Phil La Kose-don't know what happened to him-we were pretty good friends despite our age difference.
Colleen Mullen-loved her-she was so much fun...
If I left your name out, don't feel bad, so many names have been erased from my data bank-I blame it on the mescaline I took at a Pink Floyd concert in the 60s-that used to get a laugh-I never took mescaline nor have I ever seen Pink Floyd in concert it was a funny, ironic thing to say.
SOOOO, all that said-why would I wnt to go to this 50th reunion and look at people I don't know-who didn't WANT to know me?
Cody said to me they were in awe of my talent-I think it was the leprosy of my assumed sexuality.
Someone said I should go just to hold me head up high-I never did NOT do that-I have nothing to be ashamed of-if I ever treated anyone badly I apologize it was the hormones not meanness...
My sister followed me into the snake pit a few years after-she was much more popular-she had friends, she hung with people and did things I did not-she was miserable...
High School is not something that should be memorialized every 10 years-what they should do is put all the teachers and administrators that can still move in one room and let us visit them:
Mrs, Eddy-first grade, Opal Curtis 3rd, Dorthea Caylor-5th, Allen Cochran (late) 6th and high school art, Phyllis Newsom and Fred Slater from Junior High, more from high school...I am so glad I am still in contact with Squire Fridell-he isn't much older than me-long may he wave.
The rest of you-I wish you ONLY well-good health, happiness and if you feel so compelled-you can look me up in Seal Beach just up the road from Bolsa and Huntington---you will never know which of you I may have loved or hated or envied-it doesn't matter now-it didn't matter then...
People come and go in our lives-I sang at Dave LaFortune and Barbara Mckeechens wedding-I always liked BOTH of you-I hope wherever you are you are happy...
Linda Leon? Eddie Figueroa? John Brusch? Ken Rich? David Schenk? Gary Hunderford? Steve Parker (Mary Meller), Kathy Parker ?
I realized I had left out the KUHN clan-Linda and I (I think) were in elementary school together-he brother Ed worked with my MOM? and or SISTER?-I don't remember where-my Mother and their mother were friends-I facebook with one or the other of them occasionally.
John Monastero...you opened a world for me in books-you will never know how much I felt for you...
My life started when I left Pico Rivera and I didn't leave anything behind that I regret or wish to regain...I designed the cover of the 1967 yearbook...does anyone remember that? Gary Larsen did the interior illustrations...I believe Collen was the editor
Cheers 2017
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