A few months ago a friend and I decided (via facebook) that we should plan a reunion of sorts at the old drive in where we used to hang out when we were kids. We started a facebook group to see just how many people we could get to show up to just eat a burger and shoot the ....crap... Much to our surprise the response was a bit overwhelming. We had about 50 people say they would try to attend. Unfortunately that night the weather was aweful and our crowd was a bit smaller than we had hoped for. At any rate, the group of us that did show up had a great time. Looking through year books, introducing our spouses, kids and grandkids, and just catching up. We are so hoping that we will be able to do it again next year with a larger group of people and much better weather!
Looking back on the group of us that were there I would say we were all pretty much the same as we were all those years ago. Of course the "men" among us were a little more gray (or bald) from what I could tell. Some of them hid underneath a ball cap so I was left to speculate about what was or wasn't underneath it! The women, well we were all fabulous! The men laughed that off saying it was the hair color and I for one had NO IDEA what they were talking about! I caught up with Debby Denton Hall who was as sweet as I remember her being in high school. Annetta McCarty Alt was there with her kids in tow and I am fairly certain that at some point in time Annetta and must have been seperated at birth. We have so very much in common and I had a great time talking with her. Jen Davis, whom I literally grew up with, was there and she has not changed one single bit! Still the charming smile and personality that she always was. I was lucky enough to get to see Brian Mathis and meet his wife and small army of children. They were adoreable but I would expect nothing less from Brian as he was always adoreable himself! John Shafer was there and what can I say about John? He hadn't changed one bit, still has a heart of gold. He had 3 of his 5 children with him and I was blessed to be able to meet them. We placed a phone call to a couple people to include them in the gathering and I for one was super happy to talk to Lori Stroll Myers. I wish she had been with us but the trip from Pennsylvania was too much to make to eat a burger. Not everyone felt like the trip was too long to make as Wayne Baskett drove from Tennessee to be there for the night. Considering he was the friend who helped me make this a reality I was more than happy to see his face. I really didn't get to spend any quality time with him to thank him for the help but I am sure he knows that everything he did was appreciated. Dennis Wooton was there and in a strange twist we discovered that his nephew was graduating from the same school as my godson Jake and I was able to see him for just a moment on graduation night. There were others there that all deserve a mention but if I did that I would never get to the end of this blog.
Driving over to the drive in "Don's" I just kept thinking about how much I missed my hometown and how I never get over there anymore, except to stop at the cemetary. However, once I got there, I realized it wasn't my childhood hometown that I missed. It was my childhood...I drove home that night in rain and cried the whole way wishing that somehow I could freeze the night and never leave it. Life moves fast and it wasn't until that night that I fully came to understand just how fast it moves. The memories that I have of growing up in Newton county are priceless. I had perhaps the best childhood ever. I spent countless hours popping tar bubbles with the Agent girls, riding bikes with Mary and then running around in cars with Lisa and Gail. They say you can never go back and I would agree with that but I will hold dear to every single memory that I can wrap my mind and heart around. Thanks guys for a FABULOUS evening. I am already looking forward to the next one!
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