Reunions and Retreats

Tomorrow I am off to Mt. Vernon, Illinois to visit with old friends and family members. I was born in Ina, a thriving city of 200 or so souls just about ten miles south of Mt. Vernon, the county seat of Jefferson County.

Ina was too small to have a high school so the wise men on the school board bussed the kids to Benton, ten miles south and in Franklin County, for many years. When my brother Maurice was a freshman at Benton they changed their minds and decided to send us to Mt. Vernon.

In 1952 I entered MVTHS with several of my buddies from Ina. Steve Clinton and his cousin Tom, Bozo Fowler and several girls. We were kidded and razzed mercilessly by the "city kids" who asked daily how the ride up Route 37 on a tractor suited us.

Most of us survived although a few had troubles with the authorities. I was suspended but it was 50 years ago so I forget why. This week we celebrate 50 years of survival since graduation, marriage, kids and grandkids, wars, poverty, riches and salvations.

I am somewhat ambivalent about the return. Will I remember the aged faces that were young and unwrinkled? What is there to say to the same questions about tractor rides up Route 37?

I am always fascinated by those who did well and those who did good. Some of our classmates made money and some made converts to Christ. Some flamed out despite the promise of a well to do family and a good education.

The stories will be interesting and the bragging loud. It will be fun.