The last couple of weeks have been (Minneapolis) Washburn Highschool repeated reunions…Last week the Spriggs sisters—Mary (with Bill Butler) , Martha, Margaret and their families and their neighborhood families took over the place — This week, Katey and Ann and Scott brought their families and their fathers. Even Chris Pensinger showed up (he was a little surprised to see so many people from our Class of ’82!)
Every morning at 6am I walk down memory lane with these wise women–and we untangle the snags in our lives, just like we did when we were 16 and walking around Lake Harriet. Who imagined that the 30 years would pass so quickly? 
The Bailey/Leck families get along splendidly—you might recognize Ann, Managing Editor of the Washburn Grist. Now she runs the Energy Star program for the EPA. I’m sort of proud of her for that one. 
Scott (behind his daughter Zoe) married to Katey (voted Daisy Mae at the Sadie Hawkins dance) was a star on the debate team, if I remember correctly. Also on the staff of the Grist… now he is a lawyer of course, and crafts fishing rods from a pop cans.
This year Stu Leck (Katey’s dad) turned 75, and he’s legally blind. I am very sorry about this, but I am grateful to have him to grill , because I’ve never been able to ask those questions—and he’s still so darned spunky (he does the blind buddy-downhill skiing thing). Questions like– How come you rarely ever touch the cane to the ground? and Why did you just pop your head inside the motor shop like you were checking it out…are you faking it–or smelling that dark shed? And how much does it cost if you decide you want a seeing eye dog? 
I wonder if he realizes that he’s my model of how to handle a disability with optomism and style?Sometimes I think we’re the same as when we were 16. When Mary (Homecoming Queen, 1982) brought in the polyester pants for all of us, she was joking of course, but I still wore my flesh colored pair, and I had to laugh continuiously because these people are ridiculously funny—and my daughter puzzled at the hilarity—and I realize that we’re NOT 16. We’ve done the unthinkable; we’ve turned into our mothers.
Here at Tuscarora there is a chill in the air in the evenings and the mornings—although the days still get hot, we’ve slipped toward fall. The pages of my summer have fluttered past like the pages of my life. The blueberries are ending, some leaves are changing and I want to hold on to it all. It’s been a great summer…..
All around, I’ve been lucky in life, I want to reread the chapters with these people (with the exception of 8th grade…I didn’t really like 8th grade much)…yet—I’m still anticipating the fall, the pages and the people ahead. Who could ask for more than that?
