Congratulations Class of 2015 Graduates, Class Reunion, Writing Tidbit for You

Congratulations Class of 2015 Graduates!

This past holiday weekend we traveled back home to Central Illinois for a big event, my High School Class Reunion. It seems like yesterday when I was sitting on our school stage in my white cap and gown nervously waiting for my name to be called and to make that long walk in front of friends and family to receive my high school diploma. 

I told my grand nephew at his graduation open house this past weekend, "before you know it, you'll be reaching your 50th graduation anniversary." Like him, I never believed that day would come. 

My high school has an Alumni Association Banquet on the Saturday before Memorial Day for all the graduates of AHS from 1921-1972. During this banquet several classes who reach a milestone are honored and of course, 50 years IS quite a milestone.
I had a blast returning to my beloved hometown, Atlanta, Illinois, a small town located on old Route 66 and surrounded by newly planted fields of corn and soy beans just breaking through the rich, black soil. I had forgotten how flat the land and how wide the horizon. Acres and acres of fields with the silhouettes of homesteads sprinkled throughout the countryside filled my view as we drove "home".

So many memories flowed through my head as we drove through town and out to the grade school for the banquet. I spotted homes where friends lived, places I rode my bike, my dad's funeral home now in the hands of a new owner, the location of the theater where I experienced my first kiss.

We drove by the park where I played in summer band concerts and of course past the now empty lot where the Dairy King was, THE spot to see and be seen when we were teens.

We arrived at the banquet and relished meeting fellow classmates. I must admit some I didn't even recognize after not seeing them for so many years. Who knew the handsome Captain of the basketball team would be an old man with gray hair, the boy who gave me my first kiss would sit across the table from me with his wife, and the girl who was my biggest competitor for grades would actually come and sit by me for a delightful chat? Only twelve of our original forty-two classmates came for the evening. Death has taken some. Illness and distance prevented others from returning.

For a few minutes we could be kids again re-living the joy of youth. For that short time we could catch up on classmates' work and family. I truly savored the reunion and the opportunity to appreciate and celebrate our long lives shaped by the teachers and students of AHS.

Photo: “Graduation Silhouette” by iosphere
Courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

# # # #

Writing Tidbit for You

Writer at Work

I am taking the Free Transformational Authors online class put together by Christine Kloser this month. She designed the class for authors who are passionate about getting their messages out in the world to readers and listeners who would benefit from it. The classes are podcasts and guests are highly respected in their fields. You can still join, if you are interested.

This, the second week of the programs, I listened to literary agent Wendy Keller on building your author's platform. She shared a FREE site for analyzing the performance of your author page on Facebook. The company "provides you with recommendations and feedback on your company's presence on Facebook. The recommendations are customized for your Facebook Page and the analysis is based on the metrics that we have found to be important - presence, dialogue, action and information."  I found it to be an interesting tool. If you would like to take a peek at it, click on LikeAlyzer.

# # # #

Thanks for stopping in today. Please share your visits to your home town, class reunion, memories. It's fun to remember to the good ole days. Who gave you YOUR first kiss???

Don't miss a blog post on the J.Q. Rose blog. Sign up today to Follow by Email. Thanks!