Thursday, March 26, 2009

What A Day This Would Be

NASCAR is my # 1 passion!

Anonymous, a high school classmate

One of the interesting things about working on a 50th High School reunion is getting to know old classmates again. Some who I loved are not so enticing anymore. Some who I thought were a bit nerdy are now v-e-e-ry interesting. Some seem to be content to just sit on the sidelines. Some have schedules which fill a day book and not just with doctors' appointments! I'm not even going to think where I fit.

When I got this statement in the bio of a former middle school librarian, I was amazed. Just a simple "NASCAR is my #! passion!" Positive and powerful. I wondered if other classmates could speak with such conviction about their passions. Few, I think.


As I looked for a photo to illustrate the quote, I rediscovered the one of VanGull on his perch which looks a little like the beginnings of a painting. There is just something about his expression -- I am who I am. Positive and powerful.

I thought about the combination of the librarian's Passion and the bird's Attitude. What if we all came for the Reunion with a little of each? What a Reunion. What if we all came to the studio with a little of each? What a day this would be.

My reunion blog post is here

Photo: VanGull on his perch.
BushStrokes (c) AAB

4 comments:

Karen Jacobs said...

I've reconnected with two very best friends from high school. Man! NOTHING in common, so hard to make conversation. One doesn't even have a computer, the other just sends one forwarded email after another... all immediate deletes.

I expected the combo you described... that both would have passions they were anxious to tell about. They once did... at least that's the way I remember. What happened? Do I also appear to be so unlike VanGull, who is so confident in his crap? Maybe just different. That's it... just different.

Annette Bush said...

Yeah. We are different. But so are they. Connecting is not always easy, but it's also not always necessary.

Dare I say that one man's crap is another's masterpiece? I hope that both of these ARE true of us -- that we approach our work with passion and attitude. We do what we do. No excuses. I've been trying to find a little more of each.

Karen Jacobs said...

Yes, you may dare to say... ;) truer words were never...

Joyce said...

Annette, last summer I attended my 50th high school reunion. I travelled more than 3,000 kms to do so. There were about 116 graduates in 1958 and 14 of those had died since. About 45 people in all attended.

We had a good time but I found not much in common with anyone. I think I was basically a loner in high school; I never even went to the graduation dance; I minded my own business and didn't have any bosom buddies. It was fun seeing some people but no one recognized me: a few mistook me for another "Joyce" as there were about 6 by that name in our class.

The best part was wandering around the town visiting old places like the cemetery, the flower gardens, the new subdivisions and the paths through the woods. I have no desire to attend another one, should there ever be one.