RHS Alumni All-Star Band 2012 Set List

They will be hard pressed to top this set list at the upcoming Music Fest 2013 next summer. But I bet they do!

RHS ALUMNI BAND SONG LIST
SET 1
American Girl, Tom Petty
Bitch, Stones
Show Me The Way, Peter Frampton
I Shot The Sheriff, Eric Clapton
This Ol Cowboy, Marshall Tucker Band
Can’t You See, Marshall Tucker Band
Franklins Tower, Grateful Dead
One Way Out, Allman Brothers Band
Melissa, Allman Brothers Band

SET 2
Napoleon House, Jeff Roberson
Forlorn and Forgotten, Jeff Roberson
We’re An American Band, Grand Funk
The Joker, Steve Miller Band
10th Ave Freeze Out, Bruce Springsteen
Just What I Needed, The Cars
Stir It Up, Bob Marley
Feelin Alright, Joe Cocker version
Superstition, Stevie Wonder
Rocky Mountain Way, Joe Walsh
Roadhouse Blues, Doors
Fight For Your Right, Beastie Boys

Shattering Norms

As the glow from our 35th Class Reunion slowly fades from my imagination I am beginning to understand why we have reunions and why, more importantly, that people, in some cases, travel a great distance to attend them.

Reunions shatter the normalcy of our lives by placing us back among people who we may not have seen for quite some time. These events also give us a chance to see friends we have stayed in touch with and notice how they react to the folks re-entering their lives for what is usually a New York minute.

 In my opinion, the people who organize and attend reunions have come to terms with their high school days. They realize that whatever once happened they are safe now to be among their friends and classmates. It dawns very quickly on people that the time spent at a reunion is short and the contacts made so brief that it's over before we know it. What's more, the memories of whatever some people might have inadvertently or foolishly done a long time ago don't matter.

 It's not that reunion attendees have forgotten their past or still don't feel the sting of some slight. No, they have only buried for the time being their memories of youthful indiscretions and unrequited passions. This allows them a fleeting moment to consider what might have been and also what has come to pass.

I truly missed the folks who didn't make the reunion or couldn't for a very good reason. My sense of loss is felt more keenly every time I think about how much we put into these reunions. Not only the organizers but the people who muster up the courage to be present, especially those who decide at the last minute that this event has to be attended. The last minute types were some of my favorites. (Even if they were consciously crashing the event and hadn't bought a ticket!) The last minute ticket buyers were all so apologetic about not making their minds up sooner, and after the party was over even going so far as to gently admonish themselves for even considering being a no-show. No apologies were necessary in my mind, and the self recriminations were completely unnecessary. I just noticed how happy they were to have faced down their fears (real or imagined) and had taken to time to show us all how they were getting along. That's really all reunions are about: taking time out to acknowledge what we once were and will never be again; spending time with fellow alumni who you might never see again; and hopefully coming to some understanding as to how important it is to change things up and break our old routines. Nothing quite like a reunion to get you out of a rut. It might even help set you on a course more favorable than the one you were on or couldn't have possible imagined without the assistance of a night of reminiscing with old pals.

Willard School Class of 1971

Standing:
Cindy Nieidig, Bill Nolan, Carol Nelson, Jens Larson, Paul McCubbin, Marty MacMillan, Mary Gross, Clare Probert, Kathy Keeler,
Sitting:
Brian Haworth, Linda Johnson, Kathy Weaver, Ann Clifford, Liz Potter.

Our 35th Class Reunion

It was a wonderful weekend. Too many memories come to mind to list or even try to recapture in words. Maybe that is why we are organizing a Music Fest next summer in Ridgewood. It will be different and decidedly not a traditional class reunion but it will allow for people to gather and swap stories, and tall tales if they are so inclined.

I may not be able to sum up our reunion in a blog post but I do have the speech I was given the opportunity to present to our class on Saturday night. One is offered so few chances later in life to speak to the people who knew you when you were young, that I choose to give it some thought and also read what others had done and posted on the Internet. So it is not entirely original though I gave it my own twist. Unfortunately, I have lost the footnotes that would have gone with it. Here it is as I posted it to FaceBook. I repost it because I realize that a blog is a bit more permanent than a social networking site might ever be, and that by using a blog a wider number of people might feel included, ever so slightly, in what turned out to be a reunion to remember.

I want to begin by saying the group of people who organized this Reunion Weekend stood on the shoulders of giants. These shoulders were those friends of ours who organized our previous reunions, like Cindy Neidig, Chris DuFlocq, Peter Branigan, and Bill Nolan. No doubt I have missed a few names, but you know whom you are and that we are all grateful for your efforts.

This year’s reunion was organized and planned by what I have dubbed the “Cloud Crew”. We assembled online via FaceBook and worked virtually. I wasn’t sure a Reunion could be organized in such a manner but since I had never worked on a Reunion before I didn’t dwell on this fact too often.

The Cloud Crew is Cesca, Becky Deetz, Lois Pinta, Laura Fleming, and Joanne Hunter.

I want to mention that this Reunion would never have happened without the financial and moral support of a great many individuals.

Our Individual Patrons:
Francesca Cavallaro Wall
John Dyon
Megan Carmen
Jim Velordi
Chet Douglas
Karl Olsen
Tony Bazzini and Bill D'Amico
Jane Ramsdell
Frank O'Connor
Cindy Neidig
Susan Raymond
Jeff Roberson
Dave Rorty
Debbie White
Lois Pinta
Laura Fleming
Joanne Hunter
Becky Deetz
Hank Bordowitz
Tressa Senger
Kathy Carley

Our Business Patrons:
Schweinfurth Florists
Keiser Associates
Tarvin Realtors
Ridgewood Movers
Advice 5 Cents Bed + Breakfast
What's Your Bag

I have racked my brain on what I wanted to say to you all. A few ideas came to mind like:

1. What do I now know that I wish I had known 35 years ago?
2. What do I now know that I wish I had known last week?
3. What do I now know that I wish I had known before last night’s debut of the RHS Alumni All-Star Band?

Though none of that seems so important now. Instead, I would like to offer an observation or two regarding our futures.

Something that struck me through this process, particularly as people shared reasons for NOT coming, was how difficult a night like this can be for people and if we are to be honest, that High School was not often an easy or pleasant experience for some. As we shared stories on FaceBook preparing for this event there were moments of honesty and regret. Perhaps tonight may offer opportunities for confession and acknowledgment that people Can and sometimes Do change. Perhaps it even offers us a shot at Redemption?!

If nothing quite so lofty, tonight at very least affords each of us a moment for some reflection. As life progresses the amount of people who have known you for a long time or have known you at Key Moments of your life is obviously less. This makes tonight valuable, perhaps in ways you haven’t realized. Please don’t take it for granted. There will be lots of laughs, but I encourage you to also value what it is we share and the possibilities this occasion holds for our futures.

Finally, Don’t worry too much about how you look. They say everyone is beautiful at 53!

I’ll leave you with the words of Mark Twain, someone we all read in school but might not have read lately:

“"Life is short, break the rules. Forgive quickly, kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that makes you smile."

I want to thank you all for coming to our 35th Reunion Weekend. We are really proud of it, and everyone worked very hard to make it a success.

Music Fest 2013

July 20th 2013 is the date for Music Fest 2013. It will mark the return of the RHS Alumni All-Star Band to Ridgewood. If you saw their debut performance at Blend Bar then you know how they blew the doors off the place. We expect nothing less from their new set list, and we expect a bigger crowd. Keep your eyes open for further details in this space, our Facebook page, and our Reunion Web site.