My Dog & the Class of 70 – Two Peas in a Pod

My Dog & the Class of 70 – Two Peas in a Pod

Not long ago, we became the proud parents of a three-month-old beagle puppy. A ten-lb. bundle of energy with very sharp teeth, Boomer was our little replacement model designed to divert a bit of the pain from losing my fifteen-year-old beagle sidekick, Sarg.

As I watched Boomer put his paw prints on our house, motor coach, and hearts, I thought of the parallel between our graduating class and this little puppy. Both Boomer and the graduating Class of ’70 initially stood inquisitive, ready to begin a new chapter in our lives, full of energy, with a can-do-anything attitude. Bouncing with excitement, we both fear(ed) nothing, sometimes to our peril.  We both learned through trial and error, and only discipline and training prepared us for life as a “big dog.” Life could have taken either of us in many different directions. In our case, the direction taken was uniquely our own path; Boomer’s remains to be seen. Of course, fate also played a role; we grew up in America’s golden years, the Fifties and Sixties, in a loving family with a world of opportunity. Boomer did not get Michael Vick for a daddy.  We both lucked out.
I’ve often wondered why most everyone remembers his or her high school years in such depth. Some have wonderful memories, some not so. But good or bad, we remember. It is the subject of endless songs, stories, books, plays, and movies. It seems no one forgets high school.

I believe a main reason this particular four-year period occupies such a place of prominence in our memory is because it was the last time we all lined up at the starting line together. We all entered the starting gate of life, for the most part, equal. A bunch of undereducated, know-it-all kids thinking the world was pretty much our oyster. Children of the Sixties with the world by the tail in a downhill pull. If you listened closely on graduation day, you could almost hear “let the games begin” floating in the wind of our beachfront community.

Almost from Day One, time began to speed up. Each year in high school, it seemed to take seven years to reach summer. By 1980, it only took seven months for a “trip around the sun.” Today, that oh so familiar revolution seems more like seven weeks. What out, here comes 2012 right now.  Wasn’t it just Y2K a couple of years ago?

One thing that has not changed is how random acts of kindness can make a lasting impression on those around us.  Stop and think. Can you remember something nice someone—a friend, classmate, or teacher—did for you during your school years? Do you still remember it? How about something mean? I’ll bet it is easier to remember the good than the bad.

Since our class website launched last summer, three different classmates have related how they remembered and appreciated some small seemly insignificant gesture or phrase done or said to them in high school. I was first surprised, and then humbled. It was hard to believe in the few moments it took for those simple actions that they could have left ripples in the pond of their lives for going on a half-century. I hated to say it, but in two out of three cases, I could not remember saying those “kind words.” It makes me wish I had focused more on making people happy over the past four decades than just getting the wheel in my personal hamster cage spinning faster. Well, I can’t go back, so why look in life’s rear-view mirror when the future is dead ahead?

Our class website has given us all some unique opportunities to put a smile on the face of another classmate.  As in life, we might choose to seize these opportunities or let them pass.  Here are some of the simple and easy things I have personally begun to do since last summer. Maybe you would like to consider one or more of them yourself.

• I have committed not to just renew old friendships from our class, but to cultivate new ones. I cannot tell you how rewarding that has been. My wife Joan and I have had lunch, dinner, or just stopped by to say hello to a double-handful of old and new friends. Everyone in fact does “have a story” if we will but stop and listen.

• I have promised to call a couple of classmates every week—for life. At first, I thought, what will we talk about? But thirty seconds after hello, that worry vanished. I’ve learned so much from these calls. Maybe I’ve called you. I could almost hear some thinking, what does he want? Watch out, you might be my next call. If so, just humor me; the call won’t take long.

• Happy birthday to you! I have tried to remember to say happy birthday to as many classmates as possible in his or her birth month. The site has made that easy. On the home page, to the right, you will find a box entitled Upcoming Birthdays. I click on the name and view the yearbook photo and usually say, “oh yeah, I remember him or her,” which is usually followed by a quick read of his profile to find out what they has been up to. Then, I shoot them a quick e-mail on the class e-mail system found at the bottom of his profile page.  I am sorry to say sometimes I miss sending these birthday greetings, so maybe each of you could begin helping me out and begin sending a quick birthday greeting to our finely aged classmates on or near their birthday.

• I send a thank-you greeting to the class veterans on Veteran’s Day. It is easy—just click on the Classmate Profiles and then click on the American flag. A list of each classmate who served our country will magically appear. Click on their names and pop them an e-mail.

• I try to comment on those who have updated their profile or added photos. This too is easy. Go to the home page and on the right you’ll find the Profile Updates, don’t forget the dropdown arrow at the bottom.

• If I think of something I would like to share with the entire class, I just go to the left side of the home page and click on the Message Forum. This is easy to delete at anytime by clicking the Delete button. The class reads his, if you want to see just how much, take a look at all the prayers and messages of condolences sent to Joanne Carlton over the past week.  Try it.  Just post a happy new year wish to the class.

• Want to share a comment with a classmate that is OK for the entire class to view, go to the bottom of their profile, and click the Post Response button. (I know the button should be renamed Post Comment, but I am tackling world peace first and will get to that later.)

So, you see my puppy Boomer and the Class of ‘70 do have much in common, and yes, the fact that we are both “Boomers” was not lost in this comparison.  One more thing—when Boomer snuggles up he makes me feel like there is nowhere he would rather be at that point in time than with me, it brings a smile to my face.

When I get to spend a few minutes with a classmate it makes me feel the same way, and my smile is sure to follow—but, with my classmates, snuggling is optional.
Happy 2012 my friends


Keepin’ the Spirit Alive.
Richard Parker