JJ Irvine - Kadena Class of '89

Well, my fellow friends and past classmates, it has taken me until now to fully recover from the phenomenon of Kadena/Kubasaki Reunion '99, that took place last weekend in Seattle, WA. For those of you who were there, I think you'll agree that it was a remarkable experience! For those of you who weren't, the following is a brief description of the reunion from one attendees eyes (although they were "blurred" at some points throughout the reunion)

My wife and I arrived at the hotel on Friday around noon, at first only to find a dozen or so Kubasaki faithful hanging around the lobby (they were expecting twice the number of us Panthers, and believe me they had them). However, my fate quickly changed after only being there 20 minutes to stumble upon Larry Kalahiki, Jason Dacaret, Robert C., and Andy & Helen Schmidt. Nothing can express the feeling you have when first being reunited with classmates you haven't seen in 10 years. We quickly made up some game plans and headed on our different site seeing ideas for Seattle, and later on most of the attendees from the Kadena class of 1989 all had dinner together. This spurred many past stories of our time at Kadena together, and these stories put a smile on anyone and everyone's faces. After dinner we all proceeded to register for the reunion in the ballroom, and needless to say, if you hadn't started drinking at this point, you were definitely starting now! The Kadena faithful of all classes were not shy about introducing themselves to each other (or reintroduing themselves), which made it a fun time for all that evening. The cameras were flashing, the smiles were smiling, and the drinks kept a flowing. Those of us who are no longer used to partying into the "wee" hours of the morning cut out close to midnight, although Jason D. and Robert C. had it going on until about 3am (probably the reason they didn't come play ball in the morning).

Morning came quicker than a lot of us thought, and before you know it, it was time to reignite the fire of competition and rivalry between the Panthers and Dragons. Although in this ball player's opinion the game was not as close to the ending score as the game was itself (final score 11-9, Kadena won), there was a little mix up going into the bottom half of the final inning where Kubasaki people lost track of Kadena's score and claimed we were two runs short of what we had. Well, the finger pointing and name calling was at its highest peak at this point and time, but nobody got hurt. Now, some of you may hear various stories on how all this came about, but from myself, who as I saw Kubasaki warming up for almost an hour before the game began and I thought the Dragons were going to bury us, we called out the score after every half inning and compared it with there scorer/coach. Kadena had a big rally in the 5th & 6th innings which at that point stretched our lead to 11-4. Kadena did nothing in the last at bat, and over the last two innings Kubasaki fell short. Other than John Sullivan and John Murray, I do not know if anyoe else from Kubasaki was paying attention once us Panthers got to beating up on them. The funniest thing of the whole softball game, though, was at dinner later on when all we could hear was Kubasaki complaining the whole night that Kadena "cheated". Yes, the rivalry was back in full force at the reunion, but no matter what was said, Kadena prevails again. Sorry my Dragon friends, but better luck next time.

After the game, many Kadena faithful joined myself and my wife on a downtown sight seeing excursion, led by Michelle Barron and he fiance, Marv. They had both been in town since Thursday, so they were already getting to know their way around. Many pictures were taken and a lot of companionship amongst friends were the call of the time. This was a quick tour however, since we all wanted to get back and get into the party as early as we could.

The Saturday night festivities were totally awesome! The food was delicious (and yes more alcohol was comsumed to say the least) and our gracious hosts, Liz John Sullivan had various activites planned before the entertainment began. One of the highlights of the night was that of a game show-styled team scavenger hunt/musical chairs type deal. A representative of each graduating class ('81, '82, '83, etc.) were chosen to come out and sit in a chair. Then, our emcee, John Murray of Kubasaki, would read from a list of items that you must go back to your classmates and retrieve, and bring them back up to your seat. The catch.....after everyone broke to their classmates tables, one chair was removed from the dance floor. The game was intense and exciting, there were tie-breaker opportunities (two classmates had to blow up a balloon and pop it between them if you were to move on). This game, exciting as it was, also ended in slight controversy. It was down to the classes of 1984 and 1989. As the emcee read the last item, it appeared that 1984 was not to be denied, as I could not tell, either Tom Scambilis or Victor Sim, or both, tried to hold onto yours truly (me), while waiting for my fellow classmate to giveme the needed item. To the class of '89 dismay, when I returned, we had met defeat as the class of 84 returned with the item necessary. What was the item you ask? The last item was to go back to your class and retrieve a bra. Well, Michelle Barron yanked hers off pretty damn quick to hand to me, but with me being held at our table, and the fact that the class of 84's representative was a woman (I can't remember her name), she just ran back to the chair right before me and pulled up he blouse for all to see! An incredible move by her, although I thought it was a bending of the rules slightly. Anyways, congratulations class of 1984, great team work!

Prior to the game show, there were some nice prizes and awards given to many individuals for their help in planning, etc. Jason Dacaret did win a prize for coming the most miles for any male present. For those of you who don't know, Jason currently resides in Tokyo, Japan. For those of you in the US who did not attend, there is not many excuses for you not to attend future reunions after Jason's attendance. After the game show, the partying began with one of the most entertaining bands I have ever seen! They called themselves "The Retros", and they were nothing short of AWESOME!!! This band rocked us all night long with their selection of 80's tunes, and they didn't disappoint a soul in attendance. They performed everything from Duran Duran to Banarama, Frankie Goes To Hollywood to Soft Cell. Every hit they performed sounded exactly as if the original band themselves were performing them. Totally awesome, and I don't know how Liz & John found them, but they could've played until 6am, and we all would have kept dancing until then.

At midnight, like all good things, they have to come to an end. The band had to stop, and the staff had to clean up our mess. However, the party didn't end there for a lot of us, for most people adjourned, at least for a little while, to Room 1618 (wait a minute, that was my room). Much alcohol was to be found there, and some of us who could still stand kept going for a couple more hours. Finally after much partying, much picture taking, and much reminiscing, everyone went to bed, at least I know I did.

Pretty much everyone was leaving on Sunday, with the few exceptions of some friends of mine (Michelle Barron, Frank Torres). Those of us who weren't leaving until later on Sunday took one more trip downtown to catch the sites (kudos to my tour guide Larry Kalahiki for driving us around), and some us even tried to catch the Mariners game. However, we didn't buy tickets beforehand, and when we arrived at Safeco Field about an hour before game time, they were sold out. So the group of us preceded to hit more stops like the Univ. of Washington Campus, downtown fish market, and the malls for souvenirs. A large group of us went to the RainForest Cafe to end our trip late Sunday afternoon. For those of you who have not been, if you get a chance, stop in there. Great place to eat or have a drink, one of those "one-of-a-kind" type places. I think there is only 12 or so in the whole US, so check it out (they do have an internet site too - www.rainforestcafe.com).

Well, got back to the hotel to say my last goodbyes to some Kadenans who were still there, and even a couple of Kubasaki people too, and then it was off to the airport.

I just want to say "Thank You" to my fellow classmates who attended, and really all those on my mailing list who attended. It almost did bring a tear to my eye as I walked away from the hotel to leave. It was a very memorable experience, and it rekindled many fond memories from the past. Again, a sincere "Thank You" to all! Although they have heard me say it to them before, special "Thank You" to Liz & John Sullivan, for planning this great weekend for all to enjoy.....without your efforts this could not have been. From my understanding of those who attended Vegas a few years ago, they thought nothing would top that, and from what I heard, Seattle did just that!

To all those wishing for copies of some of my pictures, I need your address. I know I promised a lot of you some, but I need to get a response from you, plus your snail mail address (and possibly a phone number just in case). No, I am not going to duplicate many times over the near 125 pictures I took, but if its a good shot of you in them, I will send you a copy of those. Also, the Panthers on the softball team, my pictures came out well it you'd like that one, plus the combo pic of both the Kadena & Kubasaki team came out good as well. If you'd like them, please e-mail and let me know. Sorry, I do not have a scanner, or a website to post my pics. Someone let me know who I can send those to for Kadena, and maybe they can get them posted (Brad.....is this you?).

Lastly, to those who did not attend.....all I can say is that you missed the best party I've been to in I don't know how long. There will be future opportunities for all to attend, and I hope to see you all there. I believe the big push for next year is another Las Vegas trip, there is possibly a cruise reunion in the making, I think some Kadena people are going to try and organize New Orleans again, and I myself have put Atlanta on the board for a joint Kadena / Kubasaki reunion to be held (dates not known yet, East Coasters speak up if you want to help plan, I got Andy from Kubasaki '81 who wants to help me.....if we get more help, this could be ssoner than later). Hope to hear from you all again soon. Until then take care and God Bless!

JJ Irvine - Kadena Class of '89