Reunion offers time of reflection

From a Distance by Ben A. Ewell Jr.

In the same week I received my Wellington Enterprise high school graduation edition, full of pictures and stories of the Class of 2008, a former classmate of mine of the Wellington High Class of 1959 wrote me a note. Would I attend and be willing to speak at our 50th reunion next year, in June, 2009?

Receiving both in the same week brought back a lot of thoughts and memories, mostly pleasant ones. It also brought to mind the excitement, sometime sadness, and the usual apprehension that graduates in 2008 face just as we did many years ago.

The words of commencement speeches are always a little too corny to be appreciated at the time. Teenagers are eager to graduate and be done with the whole process. It may be years before a graduate realizes there is a lot of truth in what is said on those days.

Those of us heading toward a 50th reunion already know there is a lot of opportunity in the world and an equal amount of challenge. Things happen to you, and to your family, and to your friends no one could comprehend or plan for. There will be success and failures, friendships made and broken. There will be folks that seem to be very lucky and some who seem to be very unlucky.

Being able to make plans to attend a 50th high school reunion gathering is to be cherished and remembered, and it's also hard for me to believe it's been that long.

I am so looking forward to June of 2009 when I can return to the Wellington/Brighton area to soak up and savor all that area has to offer. To paraphrase a recent article I read, "If you have grown up in Ohio you will really never get over it." It's true and that's a good thing; especially when it comes to summertime in Ohio.

The picnics, the baseball games, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July parade and fireworks, high school graduations, and reunions, Lake Erie, the county fair, sweet corn, ice cold lemonade, watermelon, fishing in a farm pond; I can almost see the sights and hear the sounds of all that now.

As our 50th high school reunion plans proceed I hope to write more about them and the Class of 1959. Until then, I need to find my yearbook and recall the class motto.