The Reunion Question

A few weeks ago, I received a notice in the mail regarding a 10-year class reunion. I knew it was coming due to a phone call from a former classmate of mine, but after giving this notice some thought, I'm becoming more skeptical of the situation.

At first, I was kind of fired up. It would be exciting to see some old friends just to catch up and see what they've all been up to in the past 10 years. But after much discussion with Mike last weekend, along with input he's received from Robb, I'm a little iffy.

First off, it's $25/person. That's for social hour, a dinner, and entertainment. I'm also assuming that you're stuck buying your own drinks (which just so happens to be at the same place where Joe had his wedding dance), which were also a little steep. At night's end, I might end up spending over $80. This place is also starting to get the reputation of being pricy, so most of our money is going to the establishment itself. As for the band, sure -- they'll get some of the money, too -- but it kind of upsets me just a little from hearing the word that it's one of our classmate's own band. Seems like somebody is slightly benefitting off our own expense.

I could understand if they had other things, like a classmate booklet to show what everybody is doing, a presentation of some sorts, or some door prizes, but as far as I know, none of that is happening.

Next, the scheduling. They've decided on a weekend where it's the town's annual celebration. Why? It's basically an all-school celebration to begin with -- and the beer garden is a heck of a lot cheaper! The word was already out during Joe's wedding dance that there were going to be quite a few people "skipping" the reunion due to the scheduling -- and maybe just the fact that nobody is really interested in going.

I explained this all to my parents on Sunday. In their opinion, the prices seem typical for a reunion. My dad is fairly active in setting up his high school reunions, but he usually includes golf and humorous presentations of that sort to make the night a lot better. And oh, did I mention that he just celebrated his 30-year just last year? It's a little bit of a different situation.

Overall, my folks think I should chalk up the money and go. I say, I'd rather sit in my lawn chair, drink beer, watch the parade, and play a little bocche ball.