30th class reunion brings many old friends together

O n a warm summer night, I sat in my car in

Submitted photo Members of the Gulf Breeze High School Class of 1979 ignore the heat and party the night away at Paradise Bar & Grill on Pensacola Beach. the parking lot of Paradise Bar and Grill. I had decided to not get out. I was bribing Keith, my husband of 26 years, with taking him to a nice dinner in an air-conditioned restaurant as far away from the Gulf Breeze High School Class of 1979 reunion as possible. It was a little Irish place he loves just a couple of bridges away. He was buying the dinner concept - sort of.

I reminded him that he knew no one from Gulf Breeze High School but me. How boring this evening promised to be for him. We hadn't eaten dinner yet, and I was really hungry. I instructed him to watch the people standing under fans to ward off the heat of the day.

Our exit almost was a given until a former classmate, Matt Hitpas, drove his minivan in behind us looking for a parking space. He blocked the escape route without even knowing it. My fate was sealed.

I need to thank Matt for that.

Friday and Saturday, June 12-13, marked the 30th reunion of the Class of 1979. Susan Gless Davis and her committee had worked since November 2008 on contacting every one of the 255 graduates. They found all but 29 of our classmates. They also included 25 former classmates who had spent some of their high school years with us.

Submitted photo Cheryl Crooke Ridgway (left) almost didn't attend the reunion, but Matt Hitpas' minivan got in the way. The two shared many stories that otherwise would have gone untold. James Hubbell was one who had moved away during high school. He was pleased to be included in our celebration. I was thrilled to see James. I got to thank him, 35-plus years after the fact, for rescuing me one day on our school bus when I got sick. He didn't remember the event, but his kindness that day has stayed with me for almost four decades, and I think he appreciated that I remembered him.

Amazingly, 116 people attended the weekend events with many bringing guests. On Saturday night, we had 189 come to Hemingway's Bimini Bar for what turned out to be something close to magical for many of us. The only thing missing was the ones who didn't get to come to the reunion.

Submitted photo Kelli Pettigrew Routh, Carmen Manning and Lisa Cleveland Gauker might well have been mistaken for 'Charlie's Angels.' They enjoyed reliving old times from the mid-1970s. Even with so many people there, those absent truly were missed. Scott Wilcox stayed out west in Washington defending our borders and enjoying his beautiful wife and young son, Liam. Lynn Fox stayed home with her great dogs. Her heroic struggle becomes a national book in August. Hopefully, Scott and Lynn and everyone else will be able to attend the next one.

Also, nine of my classmates have passed away. We had their pictures in a memorial and their spirits in our laughter. Elizabeth Coe would have loved the party. She would have written a far better story than I. We would have had great pictures of everyone if David Fox had been there. I remember he loved sunsets. He sent a great sunset for us to enjoy.

Everyone who knows me knows I really wanted to go to my reunion, but I also dreaded going, too. Would anyone remember me? And if they did, would they do so fondly? Would they see me as old? Round? Boring? Would I be able to remember them?

Submitted photo Photos of late classmates somberly reminded reunion guests that not everyone was fortunate enough to be able to return to Gulf Breeze 30 years later. I walked in to the party and Lori Littleton hugged me right away. She went to get me a name tag, but I soon found out I didn't need one. People were so happy to see me. And not just see me, but to see everyone. Susan Brodie and Shelley Bryant still are best friends. Several of the guys, including Scott Saxton and Jeff Furth, still get together for an oyster bake every year.

Martin Eason had married his high school sweetheart, Robin Griffin, and they have three children. Martin did a wonderful job putting together a slide show of past and present photographs. The slide show played all through the night. So did the band Wildwood, with songs I actually knew the words to sing along.

Some of my classmates run companies, drive trucks, fly planes, raise their children and charter boats. Everybody has a story to tell. We have a sheriff and a judge. Nurses and doctors. David May lives in Spain. Lisa Crane was moving back to Gulf Breeze. Brad Peterson has a beautiful two-month-old baby daughter. Raymond Brown flew in from Iraq to attend the reunion.

Carolyn Schuster Smith has gotten more beautiful, if that is possible. Dot White Phelps looks like she walked off a cover of a magazine. Mary Catherine Grafton Alexander still has an infectious laugh. Sharon Tweel Bridges and I shared a lot more in common than I realized in high school. We will be wine tasting together soon. Stacy Stamps Sullivan and Laura Prochaska Thomas were great to talk to, and we could have talked all night. Both of them were going to a Girl Scout reunion the next day.

Many classmates have been married for 20 years or more. Some have made a few trips to the altar. I was surprised by how many classmates have grandchildren. Parents were so proud of their children. Some have been too busy to have a family … yet. We are still young at heart. My favorite response to the spouse question came from Sheryse Wilhelm. When asked about a husband, she said "Sure!" God love her.

I was overwhelmed when I saw Victor Bokas. I have missed him. I didn't know whether to cry, laugh, smile, hug, kiss, or just look at him. So I did all of the above. He is still the kind, gentle spirit he always has been. There is no pretense with Victor; no one would ever know how well his artwork has been received around the world.

After the main reunion was closing down, many of us went to another location on the beach and had more conversation than the famous frozen rum drinks they serve there. Rebecca Hunt Farmer rounded up as many friends as she could find. We closed down the place. I believe some even headed over to Carolyn McConnell Reeder's house for breakfast the next morning.

I have always believed myself to be too forward thinking for the nostalgic things like reunions. I spend so much time focused on the future and flying like a madwoman to get there. I have misjudged the life process.

I have kept a small plaque on my wall since the day Sarah was born. It reads: "There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children - one is roots, the other is wings." I should have read it to myself.

The wings part, as a person, I did just fine. The roots? Well, they need to be watered more often. Life is a lot like a tree. And a tree of life needs the roots to be nourished if you want it to withstand the seasonal storm, and more importantly so the branches can produce fruit and be productive over all our years on earth. I watered and fed my roots this past weekend.

Apparently, my tree thrives on salt water. My roots are planted in sugar white sand. And my branches needed to cleanse their soul on the gulf breeze.

Thanks Matt.

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Next week: The Class of 1977 celebrates a Birthday with a Purpose as members reach a golden milestone.