I Survive the Reunion
Posted by Lisa Maria on August 18, 2008
Ok, I am trying to jot off a quick blog before I settle down and transcribe an interview for an article due very soon (too soon).
It’s a cold, rainy day in Marin County and I’ve decided to work in the library in Corte Madera because if I go home I may disappear into Facebook or MASH DVDs and I’ve got too much work to do…so to comfort myself, I’ve snuck in some healthy food (tempeh, daikon, carrots and broccoli–the uninitiated palate may disagree that this counts as nourishment, but I’m healing my nose from getting a skin cancer patch removed so am diligently being healthy–even though I wanted so, so badly (heart-poundingly badly) to order a mocha latte from Peet’s–but I didn’t. I bravely ordered a large (go wild!) Genmaicha (green tea with toasted brown rice). Which I also snuck in along with a baggie full of supplements. (I still love pills.) So now I’m tucked into my little study carrel, breaking library law. But enjoying myself. Kind of.
But the reunion, you say, how was it?!!
Fantastic!!! In the photo are people I have known for 29 years. People that have known all sides of me and still love me. It’s wonderful to see people build lives and realize dreams…to see the wild bunch become parents. To see that everyone looks better with a little age on them.
Some things never change, though.
Dinner at Houston’s in Bethesda was a scene! 9 of us crammed in a booth. People asking to be moved away from us because we were so loud–a $700 bill–more than half was alcohol I’m sure. Love this about my diehard friends. Even though I gave up drinking and drugging long ago, they still go at it with the same Olympic enthusiasm that they’ve possessed for three decades. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard.
The event itself, held at The Barking Dog, was super fun. Reconnecting with people who remembered eating stuffed mushrooms at my prom party (Darren Cave!), playing pool with Mike D, my brother Chris and my surrogate brother, Brett. (I could go on, but there’s this interview I’m supposed to be transcribing…)
My brother and I drove all around Rockville on our way home, getting all nostalgic and weepy (I was anyway). Rockville High School, Wood Junior High, Manor Country Club, our old house. Scotty’s house, Babette’s house, Mike and Diana’s house, Betsy’s house, Brett’s house, Delpo’s house, Chris Steed’s house, St. Patrick’s church. Coming face to face with some of the best parts of my past and some of the worst (I did not always behave well under the influence of tequila). Returning to salvage friendships and reframe the past as a rich tapestry–a little threadbare in some places, a few snags, but all in all, a beautiful work of art.
