The "Reunion Notes: A Guy Named 'Bones'" Story

It was an ordinary day. Having a drink and eating a few hors d'oeuvres while talking with some of my classmates from my high school class of 1962. Yep, that's a long time ago. 50 years to be exact. And, some of my classmates don't look the same. Some have lost some altitude while others have gained some girth. Me, I'm still the same height as when I graduated, but have gained a few inches around the middle. Oh yeah, I forgot I lost an inch in height, but that's because I'm bald. Come to think of it I was the only one there that had a shaved head. Time to mingle. Just when I was talking with a pretty girl, eeerrrrr woman, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned and there he was; Bones. I assume you know why we called him that. Funny how he has greater girth now than I do. Bones was a pretty good athlete in elementary school and when we played bombardment in the school gym, everyone wanted him on their team, since he could really fire the kick ball and was almost impossible to hit when he turned sideways. Bones had a book to show me which he held in his hand. It was our 7th grade Arithmetic for Young America book. Actually called it that back then instead of math; ever hear of reading, writing and 'rithmetic. He opened the book to the inside back cover and showed me all the names of the kids who had signed it who were in his arithmetic class. I enjoyed looking at all of them, but then it struck me, my name wasn't on either page. He smiled and switched to the inside front cover and lo and behold, there was his name covering one whole page and my name in lettering so small I could hardly read it. "I had you sign it in the front with me, since we were the two best kids in the class," he said. "Yeah, right!" I replied. "No, I don't know why everyone signed in the rear but you and me," he said. I had him pull up a chair and we got to talk some more. Had been 5 years since I saw him last. I read his articles and reporting in the Lancaster newspaper for most of those years, but never managed to see him. John, his real name, got a job working for the newspaper after graduating from college and in his later years covered the crime scene stories. Bottom of the barrel he told me. Well, we shared a few more tales from our time together in elementary, Junior High and Senior High and then I wished him a fun reunion and headed back to find the woman I was talking to who by then had found one of the old, and I mean really old, heart throbs. It was an ordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Bones on the left and LDub on the right. Sorry for the poor quality of the pages from the book. Bones couldn't hold the book still when I was taking the photo.