AndyMike Starrett

Dragons, Panthers and all others:

Wow! What a great weekend it was. My head is still spinning…not from the extremely drunken night on Friday, (A big thank you to Leslie Nease…….) but from the “Afterglow” as Brad put it. And the fact that I am now functioning on less sleep here at work than I had over the weekend probably has something to do with that feeling.

Jennifer and I arrived in Atlanta at 12:30 AM and home in Columbus by 2:30 AM. Frontier Air’s motto of “Spirit of the West” must mean “Don’t hassle it dude…..we’ll get there when we get there!” but I guess you get what you pay for.

This was truly an awesome reunion and the next one will have some big shoes to fill. Liz and John, I think it can be said out in the open (and probably has already) that you did nothing short of a Kick-ass job of putting this together. Add the distance of Seattle from your home and the birth of a child…..too awesome.

For me the opportunity to see folks after 18 years reinforced the idea that being a Kubasaki (or Kadena) graduate is something truly special. As I have said before, that was a great time in my life and this weekend just reinforced it.

So let’s begin with the after-action reports from everyone. What did you see and what did you learn at the reunion?

For me, I saw old friends in new light and made new friends. I had a friend come to me and tell me that he felt bad for not taking my assistance when it was offered at Senior Skip day in ’81…..no worries. I saw serious success among our alumni. Everyone seems to be doing great! In all the business cards at the scavenger hunt, I didn’t see one homemade card that said “Consultant” (usually a sign of being unemployed…..!)

Lessons learned:

1. John Murray is only prepping for his real calling as a game show host…..or a stripper.
2. Mary Babitz will be his stripping partner….or was that just a try out for the women’s World cup soccer team?
3. Jennifer and I would never make good alcoholics…..
4. The best cure for a hangover is to go to the “Relax the Back” store and sit in one of their massage chairs……for an hour. Top that off with a raspberry smoothie.
5. It was worth the whole reunion just to see the look on Jock’s face when coach Spain told him I was an Ass’t Principal.
6. Even after this long, some things just don’t change and other things do change for the better.
7. Finally, knowing that my dad meant as much to most of you as he did to me.

It was great to be with all of you once again. by the way, where is reunion 2000 going to be?

All the best,

AndyMikeWhatever and Jennifer.