I Was Cheated At My 50 Year HS Reunion by Nancy Reeb

My story starts in 1964 when I met my future husband (who would later ruin  my senior year) at the beach. I skipped school and went to senior day with Lynn Matsumonji of the Class of ’64. Jeff, who was a college friend of Lynn's boyfriend, was attending Pan Am for one semester when I fell head over heels in love with him only to have him leave a few months later, promising to write and leaving a broken  hearted me behind. Of course I didn’t hear from him for months and months and by then all I wanted to do was finish high school, move to San Antonio, get an apartment and a job where I could wear high heels to work everyday. My heart was broken and I knew for sure that I’d never be happy again when out of the blue a letter finally came and soon after that a long distance phone call when he asked me to marry him. Without a shred of dignity or hesitation I said absolutely, yes, of course. So back he came and we made plans to be married in June of 1965. Needless to say, my parents didn’t trust my 17 year old decisions…go figure…but then what did they know. So – a month later when Jeff, who was back in Ohio by then, called and asked if I wanted to get married before or after he went to VietNam,  (he was summoned to report for the draft on the day we'd planned to be married) I chose door number two… before. We’d marry on a weekend three weeks before graduation which brings me to point #1 of my story - as I was standing to accept my Longest Married Award at our 50^th reunion (you see I had always won this at prior class reunions) someone else got it who was married in May of 1965 which was at least one day after me! April 30^th 1965. Not only was I cheated out of the award…I was going to announce and end speculation once and for all that I was NOT PREGNANT when I got married in a big hurry in high school! Haha! Like that would raise an eyebrow today but I’ve waited almost 50 years to put that on the record.

Remember in 1965 when we still had baccalaureate? I went to baccalaureate, finished my exams,  and was on a plane out of McAllen the next day skipping graduation and in the process breaking my mother’s heart by not staying those extra four days until graduation! Did you miss me? I’m haunted by that to this day. I still have dreams that I’m ½ credit short and not graduating or I forget to go to finals and don’t graduate. Four days! Point #2 -  Lesson learned. Go through graduation exercises or you will be haunted by it the rest of your life.

Point #3…occasionally it does pay to follow your heart in what seems at the time like a hair-brained decision.  We went on to have two sons and later two grandsons and the town I was so anxious to leave is where we raised our kids.

Lessons I’ve learned along the way….We’ve lived in Ohio and Florida but I’m a true Texan at heart and think there’s no better place to live. Wearing high heels to work in everyday is not all it’s cracked up to be but grandchildren are definitely all they’re cracked up to be. I’m blessed to have been born and raised in McAllen and count among my dearest friends people I met at Lincoln, Travis and McHi.  I have nothing but great memories of the halcyon days of the ‘50s and ‘60s growing up in McAllen.

P.S. If the longest married classmate said May of' '64 then...nevermind!