O.K. I promise this is the last reunion story...well not promise.... but probably, er... maybe.
I have had a request or two for a synopses of Fairview's Class of 1966's Reunion.
I know I would bore most of you with a story about seeing friends that I haven't seen in 40 years, or how some perfectly sane people would get tattoos at this stage in their life or how grown adults would laugh about getting thrown out of high school for "mooning". So, I'll just talk about what it is like to get to sleep with P.J.....well, not really sleep with P.J.....but room with P.J.
I must mention that it is only a rumor that we were voted "Best Couple" at the Reunion.
Surprisingly, we have only seen each other, I think, 4 times in the last 40 years. The first time was a short visit in Lake Tahoe, back in the late 80's. I guess it had been almost 20 years since our paths had crossed. Pattye and I had gotten diverted to Sacramento on our way to Lake Tahoe and P.J. and his wife Patty (notice any similarity there, one note also...he and my wife, my two best friends share the same birthday) picked us up at the airport and drove 3 hours to take us to our destination. The next time or two were simply a short visit when he was changing planes in Dallas. And then we finally got to spend some time at the 35th Reunion, although we didn't room together.
The last time P.J. and I stayed in a hotel together was in 1966 when we, along with about 50 some of our classmates went to New York City for a week. Probably one of the greatest times in high school. Funny though, how no NYC stories came up at the Reunion.
I wasn't planning to make it to the 40th but as I had posted in an earlier blog, I had been encouraged by friends and family to make the journey.
P.J. was one of them.
Here is a guy that might call you anytime during a 24 hour day. Say about 4 sentences and hang up and leave me laughing for hours. My wife thinks it's pretty silly, but she allows me a lot of silly things.
So, I decide to go and P.J. and I decide to room together.
From the time he arrived, about 5 hours late, P.J. was non-stop talking. And I loved it. I have no idea what we talked about. No idea what he or I said. I know we packed 40 years into 72 hours and by the time we left my chest actually hurt from laughing.
Both nights, we didn't get to bed until 3 or 4 in the morning. One night was after a meal of ham and cheese omelets seated amongst every convicted felon on parole in Dayton at the only Waffle House open at that time. And served by a waitress who was going to California the following week to appear on the Judge Brown TV show to discuss her suit with a former girlfriend. Now, that makes me laugh. Typical stuff he and I seemed to always run into.
He is high maintenance though.
Even with only a few hours sleep , I was getting up at around 7:00 A.M.
Now I am just kind of a coffee guy and maybe a pastry if there is one around.
But not P.J.
No, I had to go and find a bottle of chocolate milk and a bottle of Gatoraide, not just Gatoraide, but Rain Gatoraide.
Now I know this really all sounds pretty stupid and actually I wish I hadn't even written about it.
And I am sure there is much more to this story, like how we were talking and I had asked him a question and next thing I heard was snoring.......pretty funny, huh.
Well, maybe not, but it was funny to me and it makes me laugh. Just like when he calls me and says a few words, hangs up and leaves me with tears in my eyes from laughing.
Pattye thinks it's silly. I think it's silly. But, that's P.J.
That's my boy!!
