Thank you to everyone who attended the Reunion.
It was a great success.
For those who were not able to attend,
we know you were with us in Owl Spirit.
WE WILL SEE YOU ALL AT THE NEXT REUNION!
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40 Year Class Reunion • August 5th – 8th, 2021
By Bob Hollen (class of ’81)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only
– Excerpt from Charles Dickens “ Tale of Two Cities.”
Tonight you may be wondering if you dropped your drink tickets, if your phone has enough charge, do they have UBER or LYFT, and where in the world did this alleged 40 years go? Well, it went into building a life, a family, a career and a belief system you rely on. Starting and stopping and continuing forward always. We are blessed to be here and at this time I would like to start by taking a minute of silence to appreciate our blessings and remember those Owls that have left our Flock. Thank you.
You are surrounded by a Parliament of familiar Wise Owls tonight: We have Binocular Vision, can rotate our Head 270 Degrees, and most importantly, Sharp Powerful Claws. We are the Owls, we are the Owls, we are the mighty Owls, say “Hooo- Hooo” to this day. Our colors are still Royal Blue and White. We flap our wings often and disagree sometimes, but always at our core, we are who we have always been. We are just gentle souls who grew up together on the same tree with many branches. We flew off in many directions after graduation or some even before then (The Military Life), and some of us have returned to reunite and remember what matters. People and life experience matters. And always taking time to reflect matters.
Over the years we learned to use our Vision and our Owl Wisdom and sometimes our Sharp Claws to gain a foothold on this thing called life. I encourage all of you to remember whooo you were then and whoo you are now. Relax on a branch. Slow down. We are not a Kansas Song. We are the Rolling Stones.
We grew up in a time of the rotary dial, the cafeteria ala-carte rectangular pizza slices, ice cream sandwiches, 3 Channels of TV, no recycling, an oil crisis, and a cold war. We read the Oscoda Press and the Detroit Free Press, drank from a garden hose, played Nerf football “outside” until we were called in for dinner. We played at the beach and on the Au Sable River. We rode the bus together, froze together, had lunch together and some copied off other peoples papers. We saw the first Shuttle launch in 1981. Our music was Rock and Roll, and it is still being played and enjoyed by new younger generations. Our youth was, in retrospect, pretty exceptional.
We will all remember events of our youth in different ways, and some are good and some are not. We are Wise Owls now where we once were simply Owls. Conversations with another Owl are like we never left. Use this time to remember your times here and catch up. You are with the Flock. The Tree is not going anywhere; it simply waits for the Flock to return. Rest on a Branch and enjoy your stay.
Tonight we are going to party like its 1999!