Surprise!
So my *coughtwentiethcough* reunion is coming up, right? And I did not enjoy high school, as I think I've stated. But one of the people I did like is in a band, and they were playing in Houston and Austin this week. The Austin-area reunion folks were turning this into an occasion, so I tried to get the Houston people similarly excited about reuniting early. One girl I didn't know well at all in school came, and we traded stories and had a blast. Unfortunately we both had to leave before getting to see our drummer friend, so I was supremely bummed about that.
After the show, JJ and I were talking, and I told him about the Austin show the following day. "If there were any way possible to go to that Austin show I'd be there in a heartbeat. I'm so disappointed in these Houston slackers!"
"Well," he says, "I took tomorrow off, so why don't you just go?"
Can you believe this man? I could not be luckier!
So yesterday afternoon I took off for 6th street in Austin, taking in hill country sights I hadn't seen in ages along the way. Most everything about that stretch between Houston and Austin is scenic; small towns, stretched-out pastures, rolling hills, distant valleys. It makes the 2.5 hour drive worth it. I hit Bastrop in a downpour that slowed everything to less than 40 mph, so that part I didn't get to see. It did make me worry about making it into Austin, and worry about whether there would be anyone to reunite with when I arrived.
After locating the club, which took some doing, and finding parking, which took more doing, I walked in to a nearly vacant room to be greeted immediately by drummer C who apologized for the Houston show and not getting to visit. He saw shapes waving to him from the stage in Houston, but didn't see who it was until we stood to leave. Then I got to hug on R, on whom I had a pretty nice crush in school until I realized his family was Jewish and I was out of the question as a date for him.
Double R, my best bud in 6th grade and the one who was there when I first started writing, brought her husband, and when she saw me I got the biggest squeal: "What are you DOING here! Did you drive all this way?" Oh, yeah, that was worth half the drive right there. Then J showed up, J whose mom used to substitute for us in grade school and whom everyone loved.
The band did their shortened set and then we retired to the deck outside to chat and catch up. It turns out I had a party in 8th grade that I totally forgot about that C and R had been to and loved. And it turns out that I was a bit more memorable than I ever credited myself with being, as several also-forgotten stories were dredged up and repeated for me. Thank goodness I was fairly nice, and also fairly well-behaved in school. That could have gotten ugly.
What surprised me most was some of the nice things that they said they remembered about me. C remembered me writing poetry and being a little bold and introducing him to a lot of people. R remembered my party as one of the first he'd ever been invited to, and remembered how that made him feel. J remembered, rather tactfully and nicely, that I looked then exactly as I do now (his wife ought to love him if he talks like that all the time) and Double R brought up the best of times when we were thick as thieves, and how sad she was when the busing business hit town and we got separated in the school shuffle. And Ed, a graduate of another local school showed up. I never knew Ed until last night, but it turns out we know a hundred people in common from my days at private school. I wish I had known him before; he was precious and funny and such a comfortable person to talk to.
After the show, JJ and I were talking, and I told him about the Austin show the following day. "If there were any way possible to go to that Austin show I'd be there in a heartbeat. I'm so disappointed in these Houston slackers!"
"Well," he says, "I took tomorrow off, so why don't you just go?"
Can you believe this man? I could not be luckier!
So yesterday afternoon I took off for 6th street in Austin, taking in hill country sights I hadn't seen in ages along the way. Most everything about that stretch between Houston and Austin is scenic; small towns, stretched-out pastures, rolling hills, distant valleys. It makes the 2.5 hour drive worth it. I hit Bastrop in a downpour that slowed everything to less than 40 mph, so that part I didn't get to see. It did make me worry about making it into Austin, and worry about whether there would be anyone to reunite with when I arrived.
After locating the club, which took some doing, and finding parking, which took more doing, I walked in to a nearly vacant room to be greeted immediately by drummer C who apologized for the Houston show and not getting to visit. He saw shapes waving to him from the stage in Houston, but didn't see who it was until we stood to leave. Then I got to hug on R, on whom I had a pretty nice crush in school until I realized his family was Jewish and I was out of the question as a date for him.
Double R, my best bud in 6th grade and the one who was there when I first started writing, brought her husband, and when she saw me I got the biggest squeal: "What are you DOING here! Did you drive all this way?" Oh, yeah, that was worth half the drive right there. Then J showed up, J whose mom used to substitute for us in grade school and whom everyone loved.
The band did their shortened set and then we retired to the deck outside to chat and catch up. It turns out I had a party in 8th grade that I totally forgot about that C and R had been to and loved. And it turns out that I was a bit more memorable than I ever credited myself with being, as several also-forgotten stories were dredged up and repeated for me. Thank goodness I was fairly nice, and also fairly well-behaved in school. That could have gotten ugly.
What surprised me most was some of the nice things that they said they remembered about me. C remembered me writing poetry and being a little bold and introducing him to a lot of people. R remembered my party as one of the first he'd ever been invited to, and remembered how that made him feel. J remembered, rather tactfully and nicely, that I looked then exactly as I do now (his wife ought to love him if he talks like that all the time) and Double R brought up the best of times when we were thick as thieves, and how sad she was when the busing business hit town and we got separated in the school shuffle. And Ed, a graduate of another local school showed up. I never knew Ed until last night, but it turns out we know a hundred people in common from my days at private school. I wish I had known him before; he was precious and funny and such a comfortable person to talk to.
I stayed until almost 1, having so much fun that it was unthinkable to leave before that. When I did leave, I spent the entire drive back thinking about how I thought I had people pegged in high school, and how wrong I must have been on so many of them. At least with this bunch, certain long-held beliefs had to evaporate, and though I liked them before we got together, I like them so much more now. I don't know if that says something about me, or them, or both, but it makes the reunion coming up so much more exciting. Who else will I see with new eyes?
posted by Fishie @ 10:46 AM
2 Comments:
Maybe it isn't so much of how you had people pegged wring way back when, fishalicious. Teenage logic is an oxymoron. Looking back now on my behavior as a teenager I can't believe I ever had friends at all. It usually takes a swift kick of Real Life to make that transition into adulthood, which includes the stunning realization that, yes, there are indeed lots of jerks out there, but for the most part people are quite nice and you can be nice too.
A pity you didn't get a chance to say hey to GM and SD while in Austin, I miss all you guys so much!
Sigh...Austin...Steve memories...
Sigh again...
Also, high school. Yes, here twenty years later we see that we were all basically the same after all. Weird how our peggings are largely wrong. Or maybe they WERE right, but everyone grew up to be basically a decent person and not the shits they used to be. heh
Wish I'd known you in high school. You'd have totally been my type of friend.
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