Every ten years everyone who graduated from high school owes it to themselves to go to their class reunion.
We just returned from my spouses, and we had a great time. Now being the spouse of the person who is attending the reunion can be a drag, but in our case we went to the same high school, I was a sophomore when these guys were seniors, so I had no trouble at all having conversations with dozens of people I had known as a kid.
Since my husband and I are from the same town, we grew up doing the same things, from different elementary and junior high schools, and we didn't know each other until he was in college, really, but we do share that same home town experience. So did 100 other people in the room with us at his class reunion.
I have to tell you, there is something SO COMFORTABLE about conversing with people who are the same age and are from the same town and who experienced the same high school experiences as you did. It's always interesting to hear the different perspectives that they have from that time, and to hear about where they are now.
Reunion events have changed through our experiences going back. The earlist reunion - 10 years - was well-organized, well attended, included a tour of the high school, a golf tournament, a casual mixer, and a formal banquet with lots of dancing. We stayed up all night with friends, had breakfast at Perkins together and caught a 7 a.m. flight back to Denver. That was fun.
We weren't even sure we had been to Mark's 20th reunion, but he was in the picture they had displayed this year, so I guess we were there. That reunion was probably the most elegant, fairly expensive, and not as well attended. There was a formal banquet, slide show from the past, and dancing to music from the 70s. Everyone had kids and people were slightly more pretentious than they'd been in their 20s. We don't remember it very well, and I don't remember it as being really fun.
So when the time came to go to the 30th reunion, Mark decided he didn't want to go. He decided early. And he didn't undecide and decide to go until the weekend before the party. But we went. And I'm so glad we did.
This was the most casual of the reunions. We're all old. Some look just like they did in high school (my husband included) and they look good. You know those girls had been dieting for six months and it showed. They looked great. I don't think guys do that. But I think some get new clothes and did take an interest in putting their best foot forward. No pretentiousness. It was literally come as you are. Maybe 25% of the class was there. The ones there had fun. Lots of beer flowed, apple wine made at a classmate's winery flowed, food from a classmates Italian restaurant, including pies (what they apparently call pizza in Iowa now) enmasse. Very casual, very nice, very fun.
But where was everyone else? If 75% of the class doesn't show up...
Sadly, 5% are no longer living. That's a staggering number to me. 21 people. All under 50. The pictures were all there on the wall at both parties. Participants in the festivities who were missed and honored. Cancer, accidents, drugs, booze. Gone. There are more every decade. Several of those pictured surprised us. It is very sad.
But still, 70% didn't come. Why not?
It could be that the high cost of travel kept the 116 out of staters from attending. Whenever we asked "Where's So-So" the answer was "Florida," or "Buffalo," or "Austin." There had been three foreign exchange students in the class, and they weren't there, but there was a really nice photo from the yearbook and a poster with an e-mail from a girl from Japan. She wrote that she hoped people from the class would e-mail her. I hope they took pictures of her picture with them and sent them to her. She was a part of the festivities. Not a lot of people knew her, but she was missed.
Organizers told us there are 190 classmates still in the town, another 110 somewhere in the state (and Iowa is a small state). That accounts for most of the people there, but even if that's 60 people, where were the other 240 that live within easy driving distance in the town or state? Why didn't they come? I'm sure a certain percent, let's say 10% are "missing" with bad addresses or some reason why they can't be found. There are still lots more people who aren't there.
Could it be the ones who got picked on in high school didn't come? Could it be the ones that really wanted to come but had weddings or family event or vacations planned at the same time? Were there people who couldn't afford to come? The whole weekend cost something like $35. When coupled with a tank of gas is that asking too much? Maybe.
I don't know why the people didn't come. Maybe the ones who don't party and don't condone drinking don't come because they expect people to be loud and obnoxious. It was loud, but I didn't see anyone being obnoxious. And there's no smoking in Iowa, so that wasn't an issue. I don't think that anyone who didn't drink should have been offended by the environment. It was very pleasant and congenial. So why didn't they come?
Well, whatever the reason, they missed a good party, and had they come, they would have been welcomed and would have talked to people they possibly didn't even know 30 years ago. I know I did. And my husband did. Everyone was nice. Everyone was proud of their kids and had great stories to share. Some were divorced. None spoke of that with glee. But everyone laughed., or at least smiled. A lot. We ate well. We learned a lot about each other. A table full of us spouses even solved the world's energy crisis with our discussions while the classmates were out having their photos taken. It was interesting. A reunion of like souls, a concentrated demographic all in one place. It was a fascinating focus group.
Funny thing, it wasn't even my class. It was just a lot of nice people who went with a great attitude to see who would show up. If you didn't show up, you were missed. I wish people thought about that before they chose to not attend.
So go to your class reunion. If you don't show up, you will be missed. It's not that scary. Sure, we were nervous, but there wasn't any real reason to be. Go to your class reunion. You don't have to stay long if it's a bust, but I can practically guarantee it will be good for at least a few laughs. It's a fellowship that only comes around half a dozen times in your life. Take advantage of it. That's my advice for the day.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
One Good Summer
I passed by a mirror the other day and noticed I was smiling. It was a bit of a shock, because I suddenly realized I was having a good time.
When you're an adult with a family and a mortgage and a small business, it's sometimes not that easy to remember to have fun. This summer I think we've been doing a pretty good job of it around our house, and in my business too. It's making a difference with me.
Although we normally vacation in the summer and take a couple road trips (me and the boys), we've been home all summer thus far. I usually don't like to work as much in the summer, but now that the kids are older and want nothing to do with me, not to mention with costs going up like they are, I need to work more. I guess everyone does.
I don't mind. There seems to be plenty of work to choose from, and this summer I've resolved to take on only the work I really want. I have some partners I'm working with and that's been fun. Yes, so far my summer has been one of the best I can remember.
In addition to working with some really great people this summer and getting involved in some fun projects around things like the Olympics and film festivals and corporate giving, I've also been writing a lot. And I have a lot of ideas right now. Some are pretty good. Some make me tired. But overall, I'm a bit restless. It's the state I like to be in. The state where you get up early, and stay up late. Summer time.
If you're not having fun yet this summer you need a change of attitude. Remind yourself that it is summer. Sure we have to work hard. But play hard too. I've been to baseball games and water parks. I had a "girls day on the lake" and a few afternoons by the pool. I've played tennis, and I've been boating...it's been a good summer. I even heard my youngest say to my oldest as I headed out for a lunch with friends the other day, "Man, Mom has a lot of friends." Life in the summer can be good. Everybody wants to have fun.
Yes, indeed. Summer is definitely here. Enjoy it. When you catch yourself smiling, it feels good.
When you're an adult with a family and a mortgage and a small business, it's sometimes not that easy to remember to have fun. This summer I think we've been doing a pretty good job of it around our house, and in my business too. It's making a difference with me.
Although we normally vacation in the summer and take a couple road trips (me and the boys), we've been home all summer thus far. I usually don't like to work as much in the summer, but now that the kids are older and want nothing to do with me, not to mention with costs going up like they are, I need to work more. I guess everyone does.
I don't mind. There seems to be plenty of work to choose from, and this summer I've resolved to take on only the work I really want. I have some partners I'm working with and that's been fun. Yes, so far my summer has been one of the best I can remember.
In addition to working with some really great people this summer and getting involved in some fun projects around things like the Olympics and film festivals and corporate giving, I've also been writing a lot. And I have a lot of ideas right now. Some are pretty good. Some make me tired. But overall, I'm a bit restless. It's the state I like to be in. The state where you get up early, and stay up late. Summer time.
If you're not having fun yet this summer you need a change of attitude. Remind yourself that it is summer. Sure we have to work hard. But play hard too. I've been to baseball games and water parks. I had a "girls day on the lake" and a few afternoons by the pool. I've played tennis, and I've been boating...it's been a good summer. I even heard my youngest say to my oldest as I headed out for a lunch with friends the other day, "Man, Mom has a lot of friends." Life in the summer can be good. Everybody wants to have fun.
Yes, indeed. Summer is definitely here. Enjoy it. When you catch yourself smiling, it feels good.
Friday, July 11, 2008
A Seismic Shift in Need of a Name
Things are happening in the world today that indicate to me that we're at a point in history that will be remembered forever. At some point soon someone not unlike me is going to be involved in "naming" the current time period. I'm thinking of applying for the job. I'm just not sure who I need to contact about the work. Who owns this problem? Who is working to fix this?
Could it be our elected officials in Washington? Are they responsible? If you ask them, they are not. That's probably not the right place to send my application, even though I know a few people there. And with that "Kevin Bacon Six Degrees" thing I'm to a cell phone of a Texas Senator who probably would talk to me in two calls. None the less, Texas senators are not worried about the recession. The economy is pretty good here.
So, if the government doesn't want to own the project, perhaps the major television networks will name the recession. They have internal people and are themselves creative companies, so if the networks are going to do it, they'll do it themselves, and there won't be any work from them. In fact some 25 year old graphic designer will make a graphic to go with the name that will be used in 17 newscasts daily, as well as on the web site and during sure to happen "special reports."
Everyone is pointing fingers at the oil executives and oil industry, but let me tell you they are not concerned with the recession because they don't have a clue it is going on. I live in Texas, and I saw the fireworks displays, and I see the cars their kids get at 16, and I've heard about the homes. They are not sitting around thinking about the recession. Since they don't know it's going on, they don't own the problem and certainly are not about to take it on. They have their own PR nightmares ahead over the next 20 years as demand for supply increases, the bottom falls out for U.S. based oil companies, expenses increase, and the resource is somehow militarized. (China will have more cars on the road in 20 years than the U.S.)
Mortgage companies and banks and financial institutions are thinking about the recession. They helped cause a piece of it with lax lending practices and contributions to the "Sure you can afford it!" push for borrowing. But in my history, bankers don't like to spend money on "creative things." A name, attached to a campaign, is pretty creative.
The credit card companies might be a place to start. Hmmmm. Now if anyone knows about marketing ("What's in your wallet?" "Priceless" "The card that pays you back."....) it's the big credit card companies. At the helm are the big, big, big banks that don't like to spend money, but they have so much and are basically printing it, so they do fund big marketing campaigns. The Dr. Evil of them all is Bank of America. They own Citi or Chase or one of the other biggies. The credit card companies are masters supreme at creating businesses that own businesses that own businesses, and everyone pays the other one -- with interest. And somewhere in the bowels of the corporate megatheopolis is an accountant or an economics expert who has all of a sudden realized that as an industry, they just might be responsible for the recession.
Now the people who started it all are long retired and possibly even are burning in hell at this very moment. That's a scary thought. There were people a few decades back who took the innocence of an era and shifted it by making sure everyone had a Master Charge (remember that?) or Bank Americard (I think there were only two), which evolved into MasterCard and VISA, and there was Diners Club, and always American Express, and the gas companies got in on it with their charge cards. Competition in the card industry began, advertising got involved. Ads made people think they needed and DESERVED things they couldn't afford, and so began the half generation of spending that made America not only the greatest place to live, but also the nation with the most debt. And that consumer debt followed into the government sector, and our nation went into debt.
A lot of the debt has gone to fund tremendously expensive, dangerous and destructive military executions and wars in other parts of the world. I guess because as we became the most indebted nation, we became the most aggressive. So now that we're talking military, THERE is an industry that is well aware of the need for slogans and marketing. Today they are working it hard. High school parking lots are hang-outs for recruiters. There are thinly disguised "military" channels on DISH network that are 24 hour a day commercials for the Army, Navy, and Marines. The military is marketing to a generation of pacifist parents about the great opportunities in the military, the college educations that come from it, and how to accept that their kid wants to join. It scares me where this is all going. Especially as my oldest son looks at two years before he's 18. 18-year old boys do have to register with the Selective Service. If we're marketing to parents now, where is this headed?
So as I apologize for digressing all over the place, let me get back to the topic: the name for the current time period. Based on the above I believe that no one entity is going to take responsibility for the current recession or name it or take ownership of it. So basically I don't think there is anyone to send my proposal to offering my services in naming it. Except perhaps...it is a political year...perhaps this is what John McCain and Mr. Obama will do. Name the problem, and figure out the solution.
Just like when Mrs. Clinton figured out the health care crisis, took ownership of it, and promised to fix it -- during her husband's first term. Someone is going to take ownership of this problem. The sad thing is, tying yourself to the recession is risky. Even if you try to do it by naming the problem and focusing on the solutions, advisors will tell our candidates that's a "touchy" subject. The safe topics like "religion" and "abortion" and "race" will be the issues of this campaign.
I'm sure there are other clients who might be potential targets for my proposal to name the current time period: think tanks (is Avery Lovins still doing his?), perhaps colleges or universities, Consumer Reports? If I could put my confidence in one person to know what I was talking about, take it on, name it, own it, promote it, popularize it, and change society because of it, it would be Al Gore. He did it with the internet, he did it with global warming. He is the only one who can do it with the recession.
Al Gore, where are you? Does anyone have his cell number?
Could it be our elected officials in Washington? Are they responsible? If you ask them, they are not. That's probably not the right place to send my application, even though I know a few people there. And with that "Kevin Bacon Six Degrees" thing I'm to a cell phone of a Texas Senator who probably would talk to me in two calls. None the less, Texas senators are not worried about the recession. The economy is pretty good here.
So, if the government doesn't want to own the project, perhaps the major television networks will name the recession. They have internal people and are themselves creative companies, so if the networks are going to do it, they'll do it themselves, and there won't be any work from them. In fact some 25 year old graphic designer will make a graphic to go with the name that will be used in 17 newscasts daily, as well as on the web site and during sure to happen "special reports."
Everyone is pointing fingers at the oil executives and oil industry, but let me tell you they are not concerned with the recession because they don't have a clue it is going on. I live in Texas, and I saw the fireworks displays, and I see the cars their kids get at 16, and I've heard about the homes. They are not sitting around thinking about the recession. Since they don't know it's going on, they don't own the problem and certainly are not about to take it on. They have their own PR nightmares ahead over the next 20 years as demand for supply increases, the bottom falls out for U.S. based oil companies, expenses increase, and the resource is somehow militarized. (China will have more cars on the road in 20 years than the U.S.)
Mortgage companies and banks and financial institutions are thinking about the recession. They helped cause a piece of it with lax lending practices and contributions to the "Sure you can afford it!" push for borrowing. But in my history, bankers don't like to spend money on "creative things." A name, attached to a campaign, is pretty creative.
The credit card companies might be a place to start. Hmmmm. Now if anyone knows about marketing ("What's in your wallet?" "Priceless" "The card that pays you back."....) it's the big credit card companies. At the helm are the big, big, big banks that don't like to spend money, but they have so much and are basically printing it, so they do fund big marketing campaigns. The Dr. Evil of them all is Bank of America. They own Citi or Chase or one of the other biggies. The credit card companies are masters supreme at creating businesses that own businesses that own businesses, and everyone pays the other one -- with interest. And somewhere in the bowels of the corporate megatheopolis is an accountant or an economics expert who has all of a sudden realized that as an industry, they just might be responsible for the recession.
Now the people who started it all are long retired and possibly even are burning in hell at this very moment. That's a scary thought. There were people a few decades back who took the innocence of an era and shifted it by making sure everyone had a Master Charge (remember that?) or Bank Americard (I think there were only two), which evolved into MasterCard and VISA, and there was Diners Club, and always American Express, and the gas companies got in on it with their charge cards. Competition in the card industry began, advertising got involved. Ads made people think they needed and DESERVED things they couldn't afford, and so began the half generation of spending that made America not only the greatest place to live, but also the nation with the most debt. And that consumer debt followed into the government sector, and our nation went into debt.
A lot of the debt has gone to fund tremendously expensive, dangerous and destructive military executions and wars in other parts of the world. I guess because as we became the most indebted nation, we became the most aggressive. So now that we're talking military, THERE is an industry that is well aware of the need for slogans and marketing. Today they are working it hard. High school parking lots are hang-outs for recruiters. There are thinly disguised "military" channels on DISH network that are 24 hour a day commercials for the Army, Navy, and Marines. The military is marketing to a generation of pacifist parents about the great opportunities in the military, the college educations that come from it, and how to accept that their kid wants to join. It scares me where this is all going. Especially as my oldest son looks at two years before he's 18. 18-year old boys do have to register with the Selective Service. If we're marketing to parents now, where is this headed?
So as I apologize for digressing all over the place, let me get back to the topic: the name for the current time period. Based on the above I believe that no one entity is going to take responsibility for the current recession or name it or take ownership of it. So basically I don't think there is anyone to send my proposal to offering my services in naming it. Except perhaps...it is a political year...perhaps this is what John McCain and Mr. Obama will do. Name the problem, and figure out the solution.
Just like when Mrs. Clinton figured out the health care crisis, took ownership of it, and promised to fix it -- during her husband's first term. Someone is going to take ownership of this problem. The sad thing is, tying yourself to the recession is risky. Even if you try to do it by naming the problem and focusing on the solutions, advisors will tell our candidates that's a "touchy" subject. The safe topics like "religion" and "abortion" and "race" will be the issues of this campaign.
I'm sure there are other clients who might be potential targets for my proposal to name the current time period: think tanks (is Avery Lovins still doing his?), perhaps colleges or universities, Consumer Reports? If I could put my confidence in one person to know what I was talking about, take it on, name it, own it, promote it, popularize it, and change society because of it, it would be Al Gore. He did it with the internet, he did it with global warming. He is the only one who can do it with the recession.
Al Gore, where are you? Does anyone have his cell number?
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