I'm not somebody that would normally 鈥渃rash鈥� a party.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But, I made an exception this past weekend.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Emily and I were at the 'Canada 150 Celebrations' in Windthorst last Saturday. As we were waiting for the parade to start, I struck up a conversation with a couple that I happened to meet. It turned out that this couple...Ed and Jeannette Schroeder...had come out from Regina to attend Ed's Class Reunion. Ed had graduated from Windthorst School in 1966. So, this was actually that group's 鈥�50+1 Class Reunion鈥�.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Now, I've never been to a Class Reunion. My class did have one several years ago. I think it would have been a 25th Reunion. But, I was not able to be here. While I have had the opportunity to reconnect with several of the people that I graduated with...I've not had the chance to get together with聽 all of them and see the ways that our particular 鈥淐lass Picture鈥� has changed.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As I watched Ed happily waving at the people he recognized during the parade...I began to get the feeling that I had missed out on something. That feeling was reinforced shortly after the parade...as Jeannette and I had a chance to talk...while Ed went for a walk around his old school and through the playground that he'd enjoyed playing in so much as a child.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Jeanette told me that she'd graduated from a very large school. There was no way for her to have known even the names all of the people who had graduated with her. She told me that she had listened to her husband talking with his old school-mates during supper the night before. She had found it very interesting to see how well this group of people had known each other. It was a type of 'group dynamic' that she had never had the chance to experience herself.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When Ed rejoined us, he 鈥渓et it slip鈥� that his class were all scheduled to meet at Norm's Place for lunch.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I made up my mind at that moment...to crash the party.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I did know a couple of the people that I saw sitting around the table when I walked in. Through my work, I've had the chance to meet so many different people, that it's rare for me to walk into a room and NOT see at least one familiar face.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But, most of the people that had gathered for this reunion were people I'd never met before.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 For the next hour, I had the privilege of getting to know some of these people. I found that, even though I did not share the same memories that they did...it didn't take long for me to discover 鈥渃ommon ground鈥� with any of them. Moreover, while I had no knowledge of who any of these people had been 50+1 years ago...I was nonetheless amazed by the wide variety of different paths that life had led each of the members this small group to follow.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I found myself wondering what their Class Photo might have looked like.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The next day, I made a journey into the Citizen Archives. I was looking for the article that I thought might have been written about the 1966 Windthorst Graduation. I was hoping that the article might be accompanied by a photo.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I did find the list of graduates included in the Windthorst Local News column. (August 18, 1966). Ed's name was listed along with others that I now recognized.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But...there was no photo.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 At first, I was disappointed. But later that evening, as I considered my own Class Photo...I found my disappointment fading.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 It's true that a photograph gives you the chance to see all of the physical changes that passing years have wrought. Photos let you chuckle at the clothes and hair-styles that were 鈥渁ll the rage鈥� back then.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But...even the best photograph is only a 2-dimensional rendition of one moment in time.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I realized that I had gained a better sense of who these people were...and what changes they had gone through over those 鈥�50+1鈥� years...by listening to their stories and the memories they'd shared at Norm's...than I could ever have surmised from any photograph.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I was glad of this. Moreover, I feel myself richer for having had the chance to partake of their excellent fellowship.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 They say that 鈥渁 photograph is worth a thousand words鈥�.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 You know what?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 They are wrong.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 (Many thanks to the Windthorst Class of 1966 and their families and friends. I'm grateful for having had the chance to take part in some of the fun. May God continue to richly bless each one of you.)聽
