Can’t turn back the hands of time here, thoughts from attending a class reunion, translated…
Can’t turn back the hands of the time, but, there is, one way, to return to those younger years: attending the class reunions. After midlife, I’d met back up, with my classmates from over forty years ago, we’d had two banquet tables, and at first, we were all, a bit, estranged, but, after a few words of greetings, that’s, all gone, and, it’s, as if, we’re, back at fifteen, when we’d shared our schooling years together again.
We’d joked with each other, “You hadn’t changed one bit”, that’s the truth, and lie too, most of the guys had their beer bellies, receding hairlines, and the ladies, gained, a lot of weight. But as we’d started talking, that facial expression, that tone, was EXACTLY the one we’d used when we were, younger, how can we NOT keep our youthfulness? It’s been, hidden, between our brows, and, asleep, by the corners of our lips.
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We’d casted aside the warnings of the experts, “Exaggerated facial expressions will only make those wrinkles deeper” started laughing hard, horseplaying, as if, to pour out EVERYTHING that’s happened to each and every one of us separately, in this, one single night.
There was a male coworker who’s a sturdy guy of over six feet, we’d once worked together, and, in the office, he’d never even, smiled, was very serious, but on the evening, he’d, totally, destroyed by image of him, started laughing so openly, making his way amongst the classmates, constantly, capturing the moments with his cell phone. He’d explained his craziness, “Because that evening, I’d, returned to back when I was just fifteen, that, was why, I’d, behaved like a butterfly, fluttered my wings around, going to and fro.”
at forty, not my photo…
There was a male classmate, who had, just come back from a business trip from Dubai at three in the morn, his huge suitcase was left at his workplace, and, he’d, dragged his carry on, and rushed to the reunion. I’d recalled, just how shy he’d been, with the pale complexion, that when he’d talked to the girls, he’d, blushed and not looked straight at them, now, he’s, a world class entrepreneur, gone all over the world, very articulate, and humorous, managed to make all of us, laughed so hysterically.
The ladies were more behaved, our whitened hair, dyed, dressed very colorfully, and, although many of us had, “advanced” to grandmothers, we’d still, looked pretty, all dressed up. After we’d gotten so full from the restaurants, we’d gone to the karaoke bars to continue the afterparty, a classmate, was a well-known singer in the sixties, later on, he’d, stopped working in entertainment, and started his own business, that evening, he’d, sung so loudly again, one song after the next, making us intoxicated by his voice.
There was another male classmate, “Shih-Shin”, who’d died a few months ago, and, as everybody heard of the news of his death, we’d all, shivered and quivered, I’d once bumped into him in the old streets of Jingshan, he was in all smiles, like a smiling Buddha, reminded me, to call him up for a reunion, and now, he will, forever, be absent.
The time passed by, in a blink of an eye, we’d, past our midlife, rather than being sad over the loss of an old friend, we should all, cherish the time we have to share; we can’t stay young and strong forever, we’re all, elderly now, and, we’d decided, to NOT let any more chances of gathering slip on by, and made a date, every six months, “The Five-Fivers, GATHER ‘round!”, we’d screamed out, at the top of our lungs, and, are the rest of you, former classmates of ours, who are still out, hearing us now? Although this world is becoming more and more aloof by the day, but, we’d, still felt that deep-rooted desire for connection with friends, we were connected back from when we were teens, and now, as we aged, we’d still, carried that innocence we once had.
Here’s, at fifty…
So, this, is why these reunions became more and more important as one ages, because back when you were younger, you were all, busy with work, with family, and now, as you’d slowly gotten to retirement age, you’d come to the realizations, that reconnecting with your former friends whom you’d lost touch over the years with is something important, and so, you’d, kept the date, because, each and every year, the members who come to the reunion will get reduced, but, so long as you all keep on having your reunions, the memories you’d shared, will, NEVER get lost!