Friday, August 26, 2011

High School Reunion Blues!

Have you ever regretted doing something before you even did it?
Well, I have!
I volunteered to be on my 40th high school reunion planning committee and realized right away that most all the meetings were two hours away on nights I worked.
Argh!
Finally, for the last meeting, I got the night off and plugged the destination, 3 Cove St., into my trusty GPS.  As I started weaving my way through some country short cuts my GPS kept asking for a right turn.  I wasn't worried as the GPS never knows the short cuts that I do and I was sure when I got to the main road everything would straighten out.
Not so!
As I headed south on the highway, the GPS kept suggesting a right turn?
Maybe the GPS new a secret way that would miss all the traffic and swing me in behind my destination.
I bit and turned right!
When the GPS dropped me off on the other side of the state I knew I was in big trouble.  I unplugged the GPS, put the sun in my rear view window, and headed east.
The meeting had already started.
When I hit my home town I still didn't know where Cove St. was and evidently neither did any of the Hispanic  convenience store workers I tried to communicate with.
Then I realized that I had another GPS in my pocket - my Android.  I managed not to crash as I navigated towards Cove St. holding my phone in one hand and the wheel in the other.  I found my destination and guess where it was?
Wait for it!
On the cove!
I was almost an hour late but at least I got there after all the work was done and in time for drinks!
A few weeks later my wife and I went to my reunion.
My first impression as I walked through the door of my 40th high school reunion was, "Who in heck invited all these old people to my reunion?"
Evidently, I didn't take a close look in the mirror before I left that night!
You might say that I had been preparing for this reunion for a year and a half or you might just say I had made a bunch of healthier lifestyle choices.  Heck, I even wrote a book touting the power of attitude when losing weight!
 Once I caught my breath, I looked around at the mass of humanity surrounding me.  Instead of classmates, all I could see were potential heart attacks, strokes and knee replacements.
If you know me at all, you know that it is hard for me to keep quite.  I wanted to go up to my overweight classmates, grab them, shake them and tell them how they were ruining their lives; at least, I wanted to give them a business card pointing them to my web site.
Fortunately, my wife knows when I get "that look" that she better do something quickly or I will embarrass myself and possibly her.  She grabbed me and gave me one of her looks and I knew I had better behave myself.
So, all I did that night was enjoy myself and catch up with my friends!
Now, I am left only with writing this blog; hoping some of those people of my graduating class who really need to make some healthier choices see it!
Could my book have made the difference to my classmates?  You decide.

Professor Tom Laurie

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