Fifty years – it’s nearly a life time. Having stood together at this ground 50 years ago – does not mean our lives have been equal in challenges, miseries, victories, accomplishments, losses or gratifications and disappointments. But it does mean that we share experience and perspective rooted in time and place. We all knew not only the green walls of Wilson – but we have shared specific teachers – perhaps Mrs. Minami for English or Dr. Harter in Geometry, who taught about shapes as he played tennis – by the angles. We all knew the beauty of the beach and listened to the sound of the waves. We all traveled Route I and saw surfers and sunsets along Pacific Coast Highway.
Our subsequent lives may have taken us to other shores or placed us somewhere in middle of this country or on other beaches and sands of others nations. Yet, we are joined not only by a moment of geography, but by a phase of common history. We are all old enough to have known spouses, perhaps in plural, and children and perhaps grand- or even great- grand children. For in our life time we have seen 2 wars –both fought under protest -- we have witnessed both the apex of American power and influence and its wane to become the first among many great powers. We graduated as Kennedy was elected. We have seen Presidents come and go. Some of us wished that some of them had gone more quickly. We may have walked in protest of wars – fought in Vietnam or Iraq. . We have witnessed the assignation of 2 Kennedys and one King; the triumph of the civil rights revolution embodied by one Obama and a Michelle who is a voice for hopes of women and men throughout the world. We are joined though periods of general American property, and recent financial recession.
There is something to be said for being in the class of 1960. We have seen our own careers come, and perhaps go – or may still be striving to create a final form for this segment of our life’s narrative. We have seen children and grandchildren triumph and excel – or witnessed them struggle with addictions, with illness, through phases of depression, anxiety or uncertainty. We have tried to help those we loved the most – but we have also strived to serve others we barely knew or whose lives we intersected through a crucial task, an essential goal or a necessary alliance. We still care about others in need.
We are in some ways the generation of anxiety -- we got high a little, but we got our work done. We built a great economy through our energy and creativity. We became doctors, teachers, attorneys, businessmen or women, laborers and builders. We worked at Lockheed-Martin, we played at Santa Catalina; we took our kids to Knott’s Berry Farm where they we surprised by how much the prisoner in jail knew about them and how many rides and stories there were at Disneyland. But we also witnessed our friends and kids struggle with pain killer opiates that are hard to stop once you start; we fought the daily battle with weight, and often lost. We built our retirement – and saw a third of it innocently disappear. We have seen the birth of the birth control pill, and the birth of AIDS. We traded our black and white TVs for flat, gorgeous color screens. Our phones are no longer attached to the wall, they are in our pocket. We are more connected – by E-mail, Facebook, and can Goggle each other and every other topic. We get news by the minute and instantaneous chatter and analysis every hour. But in some ways we feel that we don’t know each other quite as well. Our image is shaped by Botox, our hair is shamelessly darkened or brightened – our sex may be enhanced by Viagra, but our intimacy, our contact and connection is challenged. Our children and grandchildren have progressively more options in careers, life styles and geography -- but this diversity feels at times like a centrifugal force – pulling our personal universe wider apart with the risk of loneliness and isolation.
In the 50 years that sped past -- we have known and lost love, we have experienced passion – birth, death, divorce -- yet in our dreams and memories we recall our first kiss and our first love – which might have been with a classmate here today, Our lives were shaped by the company we kept and the friends that kept us. We may have been in Key Club or been a Scarab, we may have been a jock or a scholar, a loner or a flirt – but these traits shaped many of the important friendships, tutoring and coaching that carried us beyond these walls and sustained and inspired us.
I am thankful for Wilson High School in my life. You, my teenage friends, embraced me – a shy kid just relocated here from Minneapolis since my mother moved to take a job at the Board of Education. I bravely ran for Freshman Class President as a way of introducing myself on campus. As the new guy on the block, I lost predictably – but I was taken in by Key Club and treated kindly by fellow students and teachers. I owe my interest in literature, art and the humanities to teachers at Wilson who brought those topics alive for me. My interest in Life- and Biological Sciences reflect the efforts of dedicated teachers on this campus. I have often reflected that my life was blessed by opportunities given me through the wisdom of the educational system of the State of California and the City of Long Beach that made learning accessible, affordable and desirable.
Not all who graduated with us have survived this journey this long. But for those of us reunited here today we say in unison:
“I’m just glad to be here.”
Bob Hunt
A note from Birgitta Granstrom
Thanks for your effort to find me and for the invitation to the reunion in May. Living in Sweden makes it impossible to attend. I´ve been back to the US, and to Long Beach, quite a few times since leaving school.
I am very happy for my years in the US, and it feels a second home whenever I go back. I´ve lived and worked in Copenhagen, Denmark for eight years as well (media, communication). If people travelled more, meeting with other people and cultures, the world would be a safer place to live in.
I see you´ve (Martha Lance) been on one of our old steamboats. they are very nice and popular, especially among the tourists. Many years ago we invited American journalists to Stockholm and invited them on one of those tours. We had lots of fun and it was the first time they had raw herring and snaps.
I had great times in school with lots of memories. It makes me sad to learn that my very best friend and sailing partner Alex von Wetter is dead as well as my surfing pals, Larry Connor and Larry Higgins.
I´ve noticed that Marci Watkins is on the committee - I can see her face without looking at the year book. Hi Marci.
I am certain you will have a great and fun reunion!
My very to best to my "old" classmates.
Birgitta "Burgie" Granstrom bgranstrom@swipnet.se
