Reunited

    It has been a summer of reunions.
    And how many times do we approach reunions — class  reunions, family reunions, camp reunions — with trepidation?
    Are we thin enough? Do we look young enough? Have we accomplished enough? Do we really want to see that person? Etc. etc.
    I've always looked forward to my high school class reunions, and I've been to all of them over the years.
    It's fun to see people again, even if it's just for that weekend. We may never speak another word for five years, but the conversation is nice. Of course, now with Facebook, it's easier than ever to reconnect and to stay connected.
    And there are those who I really look forward to spending time with that weekend, even if we do see each other more often. I always gather a few people on my front porch for a cocktail hour before the real reunion. Usually, several of "us girls" just go together, but this year, a couple of good friends couldn't make the trip home, so it ended up being a couples thing instead.
    I also visited an Oglebay Institute Nature Camp reunion earlier this spring during the insitute's 80th birthday celebration. That, too, was great, seeing people I hadn't seen in years.
    Every year, Heritage Music BluesFest is like a reunion. There are so many people who come year after year after year. I see them for BluesFest weekend, for hours and hours of music and fun (well, fun for them, work for me!), hug them goodbye, and look forward to seeing them again next year.
    But my favorite reunion was one last week.
     It was a small gathering of former (as well as one current) employees of The Times Leader. Paula Ginther, Betsy Bethel-McFarland, Kelly Klubert, Michelle Rejonis, Emily Dominici and I all met at Ye Olde Alpha for dinner. And laughs. And stories. And more laughs. And lots more stories.
    We had a million of them. And a million laughs. We were very loud!
    This whole reunion was prompted by a very sad event in our lives — the passing of friend and colleague Tricia Graham in July. It was at the funeral that Michelle and Kelly (I believe) decided too much time passes before our paths cross.
    The tears from that horrible day — that horrible week — were replaced by the laughter of our shared years at the paper. Of course many of our stories involved our memories of Tricia. And we laughed some more. She was always making us laugh. She probably would be mad about all the tears we've shed in the past month. (Sorry, Tricia. We can't help it.)
    We sure all had some great times together over the years at the T-L.
    We've already got gathering No. 2 on the calendar. More stories, more laughs. Probably more tears.
    And I bet right now Tricia is organizing a reunion, too.
    Editor (and my first boss) Bill McNell. Sports Editor Cal Pokas. Accounting Manager Donna Landers. Photographer Boyd Nelson. Lifestyles Assistant Harriett Miklas.
    I hope they're having as much fun as we did at the Alpha last week.
    I'm sure they are. I can hear them now ... Do you remember ... ? And then, they laugh.