Do we look 51 years older? The top picture was my graduating class of '63. The bottom one was taken a few weeks ago when we got together in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a celebration. Many of us couldn't make it back to Wisconsin last September for the official 50th year get together. We began emailing each other in November and with a lot of work by a lot of people, it all came together. The Kemper West Reunion.
We hugged, we cried, we laughed, we hiked and shopped. We went to the opera, we visited museums, we talked about our families, and took pictures. And then we talked some more.
As one classmate put it so aptly, "I like the women that we have become." We were classmates, roommates, best friends 51 years ago. And then we were apart for half a century. We married, had children, divorced, remarried, lost our spouses, had grandchildren, suffered through sickness, celebrated milestones....and still we recognized each other.
What is it about us? What makes us able to just pick up where we left off so long ago. Maybe it is because we never forgot each other. And it is a forever bond.
The best illustration that I have for it is this. We were taking a hike in the mountains. One of our friends had gone on ahead and I could see her outlined in shadow ahead of me. Suddenly, I realized what I was looking at. I grabbed the arm of the friend beside me and cried out, "Look, look. There's Abbott! And she looks just like she use to!" The years fell away and I could see my distant friend as she had been...long ago. It brought tears to my eyes. How wonderful.
Looking into people's eyes you can see their soul. I know it. I feel it. And the bond between all of us is so strong that even the years can not take it away.
So cheers to the Kemper Hall Class of '63. Then and now...always the same, but better.
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