Well Darlin, I write this note with a bit of a heavy heart. I will not be able to attend the 40th Reunion of our High School class tonight and tomorrow night. I have been looking forward to it for years and years but it looks like I lose on this one.
My dad said there were two types of people on the High School Reunion issue.
a) Those people who go, don't know hardly anyone, and still get sad over all the missing faces who are no longer on this planet.
b) Then there are those who don't show up, and feel like they missed everything, and everybody......................forever.
I have so many questions about so many people. I have a letter I wrote 15 years ago for Karen Block, after our 25th reunion.....always been afraid to give it to her..........let me see....... that would make me 42 years too late, and now I am missing another opportunity. Damn. I have Mike and his new bride's picture on the wall of one of my offices. Swear to God, I can make no connection with that picture, to the kid I knew in High School. I know we will all miss Billy Dry and his great smile. Names, names, names. I wonder how many others you will all talk about tonight and tomorrow. There were so many beautiful or interesting girls from the 2 years I was in Norman for my Junior and Senior years, it breaks my heart to think of them. Swear to God, I can still see their faces, but the names have run away. Please give them my regards and my apologies for not showing up this weekend. My bad.
On the other end of things, I raised 2 great kids who are now out in the world, my first and only wife still puts up with me after 34 years (go figure). I am dueling banjos with some of the most evil people on the planet, and with any luck, their ass is mine. None of the health things that are trying to kill me have the upper hand yet, and I am as fierce as anyone on the street, any day of the week. My tennis game has improved over the last 15 years to the point that I play the head pros at most tennis clubs straight up. Wish to hell I could have done that in High School, but such is life, I guess.
Many thanks to everyone for being an important part of who I turned out to be. I am in your debt.
It seems as though I should close this old farts letter to his friends----------- by reminding them where we are in this movie.
If you don't kiss someone you are supposed to, AND someone you are not supposed to.........you didn't work this event to it's logical conclusion. After all, how many chances do you think you have left?........PLUS, lord knows we are not going to look any better next year.................PLEASE, use this letter as your excuse.
Example: "Well hell, honey,...............I was just doing it for Ty."
Sincerely missing you all,
~Ty Eckley~
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