Has It Really Been Twenty Years ?

About a month ago I found myself and the rest of the Case Clan back in Greeley, Colorado for my 20-year High School Reunion.  What a trip!

There's plenty I could write about the experience, but I've decided to just post a slew of pictures I took and make a few comments on them.

I still have my graduation tassel
(it rode with us for the 2 hour drive)

The NEW front entrance
(which did NOT exist in 1994)

The old auditorium is now the library!
(Those beautiful windows had been covered with bricks
when the auditorium was finished.  They were uncovered
during construction and provide amazing views and light!)

Just another good 'school spirit' sticker 

Courtyard between the NEW
and OLD halves of the

Most of my kids were willing to take a 'Locker Photo'
These are newer lockers - mine was bright ORANGE!

Looking down (from the roof) at the open
space in what used to be the main entrance.
(These trees were planted just a few years
before I began attending school here.) 

The OLD front of the school (from the roof)
Sadly I totally neglected to take a
picture from the street so you could
see why we called this 'The Castle"

Some more 'school pride' artwork and a decal.

I had about a dozen of these stickers on a variety of folders

... and maybe my car window?

The cafeteria looked (and felt) so tiny!
(Of course Cat was happy to claim this as hers!)

The concession stand outside the gymnasium.
(The artwork when I went to school was WAY cheesier!)

Our gymnasium floor, complete with new logo
(In the top of the picture you can see the windows
to the new weight room, which used to be open
space for extra seating - it also was where
we stretched for track and cross country.)

MUCH better than the logo we had
during my years at Central!
(and Cat is now a WILD-Cat too!)

First, the orange banner is the words to our school song.
Second, the 'everyone a wildcat' sign is even creepier
when it lights up.  I'm a little sad it's still there!

Layout / map of the school and the grounds
(we didn't need one of these when I attended school here)

Some more artwork in the newly constructed weight room.
(I'm thinking this cat 'juiced'!)

Song Of The Day:
The year was 1994 and I was not yet 18.  Top 40 music was an eclectic mix of 80's style fun stuff, mixed with some angry grunge scene sounds, and topped off with a strong infusion of R & B and emerging rap artists.
The Cranberries had a few popular songs during my hgh school years, and I have chosen  "Linger" for this post.  The experiences we have in high school often do linger with us for the rest of our lives.  I, for one, have changed a great deal from those decades ago, and yet, at my core, the same beliefs and values ring true.  I am grateful for both the stability of my life and also the growth I have experienced through challenges and living day-to-day.  I hope everyone can say the same after the next 20 years.

...

Why are you smiling like that?

Today I was able to spend a little time catching up with an "old friend." He's almost 134 but in good condition for his age. (Just kidding Craig! But I am only off by about a century!)

I've known Craig Shaw for about 18 years now I guess. We attended high school and early morning seminary together (I use the word "attended" very loosely as we "missed" as much time as we made it there ... I was a bad influence, but I still blame him!)

He has two boys of his own, Ethan and Timmy, and they are just like all children: mirror images of their parents. It is fun to see the idiosyncrasies of yourself in your own children, but even more enjoyable to see it in other people's kids. They were a delight to have over (wish Mary could have been here too) and Ben really enjoyed playing with them.

One of my favorite memories with Craig from our glory days at the Institute of Religion in Greeley CO, is ping pong. There was not much else to do in the building (other than all the religious stuff, which we clearly were too young to appreciate). So we played ping pong. Craig had grown up playing the game and was clearly much better than I. So much so in fact that he began playing left-handed to "even things out." Unfortunately, I was pretty good by that time with my right hand so we eventually agreed to both play left-handed, which really leveled the playing field.

Now there was rarely a line to play ping pong at the institute so we found ourselves playing quite often. Not daily, but at least 3-5 times per week and for several hours at a time. No matter who you are or what your talent level is, if you practice something that much you will definitely get better at it. I know we sure did. We began playing against others left-handed and could easily defeat anyone who dared challenge either one of us. Of course Craig could still, and probably always will be able to, beat me righty against righty, but we both got very good left-handed.

Another seemingly unrelated pasttime we had in those days was watching movies with large groups of people. I became familiar with a much broader genre of films through this activity and this leads us to our inevitable conclusion where the brilliant Josh ties everything together at the end. (He really is boastful isn't he?!) One of the favorite movies to watch time and again was ... wait for it ... The Princess Bride.

There is a scene in that movie (if you are one of those weirdos who has NOT seen it), where the Dread Pirate Roberts (the presumed "evil" character) is having a sword fight with Inigo Montoya (one of the "good guys" who later helps save the princess). The two swordsmen are equally matched but Inigo is smiling all through the battle. His foe queries him "Why are you smiling like that?" To which Inigo replies "Because I know something you don't know. I am not left-handed!" after which he switches his blade to his right hand and begins dominating the fight. Then the Dread Pirate Roberts begins smiling and the previous dialogue is repeated in reverse with the pirate announcing his dominance with his right hand in similar fashion. (Seriously if you have not seen the movie then you just have to watch it! Go ahead ... I'll wait ... yes it is THAT important! Go on. This blog isn't going anywhere.)

Okay, now that you've seen that scene (and the rest of the movie I hope, except the "kissing parts" ... ha ha) bring your mind back to the ping pong table with Craig and I both battling away. Not always, but more often than not, a small crowd would begin to watch us play. Partly because we were pretty good (not trying to boast but some volleys would go on for 10 minutes or more) but mostly because, as I mentioned before, there wasn't much to do at the institute. Invariably one of these long volleys would get boring for Craig or I and we would look mischieviously at the other and something like this would occur:

Craig: Why are you smiling like that?

Josh: Because I know something you do not know.

Craig: What is that?

Josh: I am not left-handed! (tosses the paddle to his

other hand and smashes the ball across the table)

Craig: (deftly returns the speeding ball while a sly grin crawls across his face)

Josh: Why are you smiling like that?

Craig: Because I know something you do not know.

Josh: What is that? (all the while he is thinking "Oh crap!")

Craig: I am NOT left-handed either! (spins the paddle to his right hand and returns the volley across the table with such force that you will forever see the ball mark it left).

Grandma's got game! :)