The Daily News

1  Happy Mondeeeeeee!!!!!!!

2  Congrats to the YB Class of '05 on a fun reunion on Saturday.

3  The following was originally written on Sunday morning 8-23-15, just when I got back to the Embassy Suites after midnight.

 I kept the numbering consistent with the above intro to avoid confusion, but what follows were my exact thoughts, which I edited a bit this morning so as not to sound like the village idiot. Here go, my thoughts as I thunk them:

4  Just got back from the YB Class of '05 reunion downtown at the Farenheit whatevs.

5   It is coming to you LIVE from the Embassy Suites on Calaveras in beautiful Milpitas, California.

6   Despite having had nothing to drink, I still managed to misspell "embassy." Oops. Let me qualify that. I did have a half glass of champagne during Thuy-Ann's toast.

7  <Yeesh! I almost misspelled the word misspell. Don't get old!> 

8  I don't even know if I can put any of this night into words.

9  To begin, it required my return to Sannozay, a town I miss terribly.

10  Not gonna lie, even though I lie all the time. For now, not gonna lie.  A part of me said, "Don't do it...

11   "You look like hell, and it's your own fault!"

12   Daemons and stuff.

13   Okay.

14   Sidebar: I could relate to "Daemons and stuff."

15   When people start spelling it "Daemons" they got issues.

16   I gotta tellya. My Daemons all revolved around trying to get dressed for this. It takes me around three hours to look even somewhat respectable. Don't get old. Yeesh!

17    I was alone, but in a good way. Not lonely, just peaceful. There's a difference.

18    I was free as a bird.

19    That's not intended to be cliche, by the way. It was a vague reference to what was technically the Beatles' last song.

20   So.

21   Same night. 

22   The first thing I had to do was put myself in the reality.

23   I just sighed and smiled. It was a fantastic soiree.

24   Lovely night, absolutely, but not without life's Joker stepping in every now and again.

25   Exhibit A: The night began with me running late, and then almost crashing through my car windshield to ask some dumbass why he wanted to pass me on the right, in tight traffic. My entire sentence became one poetic word, which could have been my last. It went like this: "REALLY???"

26   And so you see where this is headed. Don't look down side streets when you are downtown. You might see a guy in an alley staring back at you. There's a reason they have that song in Little Shop of Horrors.

27  It is always a tad scary walking downtown in the dark, especially if you are alone. I got lonely, but only for a minute. 

28   AND walking into a club alone is just weird, especially when you are a person of <ahem> advanced age. But here's the deal: I was instantly warmed by the vibes going in. I ran into this great young fellow named Charlie who instantly shook my hand and smiled. I remembered him like it was yesterday, and we boldly went into the place. I felt I had walked into a time warp.

29  Wonderful moment. I guess I was fashionably late by at least an hour, but it takes me that long to go anywhere these days. I had raced against time the entire afternoon and I really wanted to be on time, since the event was only from seven to eleven.

30

31   <<basketball buzzer>> Look, it now takes me a week to put on my pants. I'm still recovering from an Achilles injury I incurred I'm pretty sure sometime during the Golden Age. 

32    Charlie and I turned the corner and were instantly greeted with familiar faces that lit up the night. A handshake-hug fest ensued and soon everywhere I turned I saw smiles and bright eyes. The decorations were simple but lovely, with pictures on string crisscrossing a short wall behind which a deejay worked the evening with green, red and yellow lights spinning and hitting every corner of the room. 

33   Love youse, '05. Don't ever go away.

34   I REALLY wish I could say more, but there are some things in life you really can't put into words, at least on the same night. And these are my very first thoughts, AND are quite sober, may I remind.

35   I recognized almost everybody instantly, and had a chance to catch up with a whole bunch of them. We shared memories and all the things we've been up to for the past ten years, not an easy task. Had to shout over the music, but that was expected. There was tremendous amounts of laughter and memories. 

36   It rocked, and it rocked the stars.

37   Such a sweet group of people, and such wonderful organization. Should I have expected less?

38    I don't think so. I just don't think so. 

39     It felt odd at times because nowadays any party is a paparazzi attack. I'm used to telling young people to put their phones away, but when I walked in I felt like J-Law on the Red Carpet. I half expected Joan Rivers and her daughter to interview me.  

40     That's partially why I was late: I had to dress as nicely as possible, because ain't no way to look good when a million cameras are going off. AND they had a photo booth which I sort of wanted to avoid, especially when someone tried to pull me into it and stand next to some old flirtatious dame wearing a Fred Flintstone dress. I looked at my own garb and it suddenly didn't seem so bad. 

41    I'm such a dandy, I swear to you.

42    

43     Hear me out.

44     Regarding dressing up for such nonsense I have always said this: At my age I don't want to look good; I just want to avoid looking bad.

45   So, for the record: When I got back to the Embassy Suites I looked in the mirror.

46   The guy I thought looked vividly horrid looked like a normal guy, at least to me. 

47   And most of the crowd guessed my age a bit younger.

48    Well, one guy did (most of the crowd--that was the toast talkin') and afterward I didn't go around asking people to guess my age. As an Old Brown Shoe I knew instinctively to let some things be. That was the moment. 

49   And that wonderful class stayed wonderful.

50    Truth. 

51    No it isn't strange after changes upon changes, we are more or less the same; after changes we are more or less the same.
                                                    --- Paul Simon The Boxer

52   Moving On, Same Night, Part Whatevs: And later in the eve, when everyone was fully sated, Thuy Ann and Company threw a wonderful video beginning with the Beatles' immortal In My Life.

53  

54    It caught me.  

55    And I will never forget that moment. One of my greatest ever as a teacher. 

56    In my life. 

57    Perfect. I'd LOVE to say picture perfect, but
 anyone who was there knows.

58   And those are my immediate thoughts.

59   More to come...perhaps.

60   Love you, '05. You try to hide your original nerdiness and spirit, but this Old Brown Shoe knows.

61   *

62   Remember the days when an asterisk was a tear? 

63   Dude. 

64   Classic moment.

65   These guys gave to all sorts of good causes and fund-raised for world calamities. They cared about their community, raising monies for the hungry and for the lost souls. Many still do those things, and many emerged with a sense of caring not only for themselves, but for larger causes. Any one of them would have shared a sandwich with the guy in the alley. So many crusaders for good causes, which was one thing that defined this group. Good deed doers, a vast majority of them. That's one reason I stood so proud all night. 

66   So I'm appreciative that I was still around to see this very special group once again, and I raise a glass to what I once referred to as the very Class of '05. 

67   It's been quite a run, and it is far from over.

68   Thanks also to the team that made it happen: Thuy Ann, Shaun and Trami, to name a few. If I'm leaving anyone out it's only because it's late, and I must needs have my beauty sleep.

69  Lovely time. Thank you all for welcoming me in. I had the time of my life.

70  Gottago. 

71  Peace.

~H~

fin.