This note came from a friend who attended the reunion of the Upper West Side Progressive High School that No Longer Exists. Here are his thoughts about  that evening. 

I attended the Saturday night gathering. I loved it. It was a blast to see people I had not seen for over 30 years.

I was drawn to the reunion because I wanted to see my former teachers. I now treasure the gifts they gave me when I was a student and I wanted to thank them. What incredible gifts!

Here’s an example. My former science teacher showed me a homemade telescope one day, perhaps one of my last days in high school. I never knew it was possible to build your own telescope. My science teacher had learned the craft of telescope making on the streets of San Francisco, where a famous character, John Dobson, showed the world that one could make very powerful, very cheap telescopes. Today, I love looking at the stars. I have seen remote galaxies and beautiful, distant swirling clouds of gas. My life is has gone better, been a more charmed existence, because I have had the pleasure of peering beyond our own galaxy and been made aware of the basic features of our universe. I will remember those visions of faint, fuzzy objects all my life. I owe this gift to that day he show me what was possible, what one could do with one’s own hands and a few pieces of plywood and glass.

I attended the reunion to see my old teachers. I gave them hugs and thanked them. I had an english teacher who became a dear friend of my mother. It was wonderful to see her. I wish I had more time to talk with her. My history teacher, who now must be at least in his 70s, maybe 80s, still has the world’s most charming smile. I doubt that I appreciated it fully when I was a student. The whole reunion was worth it just to see his smile.

I went to see my teachers, but I ended up staying late talking with former classmates. I loved connecting with them, seeing their faces after 30 years. In 7th grade, a classmate and I used to constantly pass notes to each other. She reminded me how much fun we had with those notes. They made us laugh and laugh.

I could go on and on. I’ll just say one more thing. Everyone, without exception, looked really beautiful and handsome to me. The people there were radiant. What a gorgeous group! I wasn’t expecting that or thinking about it before I attended. How did these folks get to be so good looking? They were scruffy and juvenile in appearance when I saw them last. On that night, they were standing around in suits and dresses, looking like glamorous adults at the opening night of a Broadway show.

It was a delightful event. Thanks to all who helped make it happen.