Class of 1987

This year my high school class is having it's 20 year reunion. Am I really that old? Has it really been twenty years since I walked the hallowed halls of Amarillo High School? Amazing. I won't be going to the reunion since I live in Turkey, but I have thought a lot about who I would like to see if I was going.

Tonya...we were both new to the school at the begining of our junior year. I think that because everyone else already had their friends we just automatically had each other. She was fun...and funny! She drove a green Honda with fuzzy seat covers and a standard transmission. We were allowed to leave campus for lunch so she and I would go to Taco Bell or McDonalds...usually. Imagine trying to eat a taco and shift at the same time. Good times! I don't remember ever eating lunch with anyone else my junior year! And just like my family her family moved away from Amarillo after graduation. Where is Tonya now? We don't ever talk, but I do know she went to Dordt College, married a guy named Kevin who is a pig farmer (I think), adopted two children from Korea, and lives in Iowa. I got a Christmas card from her a few years ago with a picture of her family. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know there's going to be a class reunion so she won't be there.

Garret...we dated our junior year in high school. We shared the same homeroom and were in Chemistry together. He was on the wrestling team so I got to attend wrestling events much to my horror! He must not have had the same lunch as me since I don't ever remember eating with him. He was a cowboy who listened to heavy metal music...again...much to my horror! On one of our first dates we went to a halloween party at his church. He was a Nazarene. I dressed up as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, and he was Billy Jack who I had never heard of. Evidently there was a movie called Billy Jack which he loved. The plot...Billy Jack is a half-Indian/half-white ex-Green Beret who is being drawn more and more toward his Indian side. He hates violence, but can't get away from it in the white man's world. Pitting the good guys, the students of the peace-loving free-arts school in the desert vs. the conservative bad guys in the near-by town, the movie plays definitive late-60s themes/messages: anti-establishment, make love not war, the senseless slaughter of God's creatures, the rape of society (figuratively and literally), two-sided justice, racial segregation and prejudices, and basic socialist ideals. Okay I copied and pasted that last part. We broke up in the summer between our junior and senior years but stayed friends for the rest of our high school careers. Where is Garret now? The last I heard he is a chiropractor in Oklahoma, married to Shelly (I think), has two kids, and raises horses. I haven't actually talked to him in over 10 years, and I don't know if he is going to the reunion or not.

Jon...We dated the last half of our senior year and for a year in college. He was also in my homeroom class. He went to my church and was a lot of fun. For one date we went flying with my friend, Mentanna, and her boyfriend. Her dad owned a small plane so he took us for a ride over Amarillo. It was scary and fun at the same time. Another time I had to stay after school for detention, and he did something stupid so that he would get detention too! He went into the marines after high school and served during the first gulf war. Where is Jon now? I haven't talked to him in a few years so my news may be old. He is currently living in Belgium, married to Alicia...a Spaniard, and has two daughters.

Mike...another homeroom friend. He was crazy and fun! I don't think we ever did anything outside of school...except my graduation party. I do know that he had a graduation party that I wasn't invited to. The only reason I know that is because he sent me an invitation my freshman year in college! Um, a little too late! Where is Mike now? He is married to Laurie, has three boys, and is expecting a girl. He emailed the other day to ask if I was going to the reunion. Awww. It would be fun to go, but there is really no way possible at this point!

So there you have it. I would also like to know what several other people who weren't close friends are up to. Just people that were in a class or two and were always friendly. Some of them would probably not even remember me! I only lived in Amarillo for two years so there wasn't time to make and keep too many friends!

Oh...and the other day on my favorite TV channel here (Crime and Investigation Network) they had a show called City Confidential. It showcased a murder that took place in Amarillo. The guy was name Brian something or other, and he was into the punk scene which evidently wasn't popular with some of the jocks in town. One of them ran over him after a fight outside of an IHOP. This all happened in 1997 so I was long gone by then! They showed pictures of my high school which is evidently where he went to school and my church which must be where his funeral was held. The story was sad, but I did enjoy seeing pictures of the town.