Memories...Like the Corners of My Mind

Summer is just about gone and we hope you all had a wonderful season. It's almost October--only one year until our 35th reunion! We're excited to see all our old pals and are hoping that you are too. I was rather disappointed by the response (or lack thereof) to our request for high school memories--I know there are some great stories out there just waiting to be told. I thought I might help encourage things along by sharing some of my own Ridgefield story....

Though I knew the town of Ridgefield almost my entire life--my family's best friends lived there and we visited often--I didn't actually move there until I was entering the tenth grade. Coming into a new high school in sophomore year can be a tough transition for any kid, but I was so happy to finally be a part of the town I loved that I didn't mind the adjustment pains. In general, I found everyone to be friendly and made a few close friends here and there, until I had amassed a nice posse by the end of junior year. 

Still, it was a bit of a culture shock for me coming from an uber-intense school district in upstate New York where everyone was involved in many clubs and multiple after-school activities. Aside from sports, activities at RHS were not as diverse, but I was able to find some interesting things to do with my time. I was a DJ on the school radio station, WRHS, thanks to the encouragement of my journalism teacher, Mr. Cox. That was me, Pennie (aka Alison Steele), spinning Steely Dan, Supertramp, and Fleetwood Mac over the loud speakers in the cafeteria for your listening pleasure. I never did score a leading role, but I loved being involved in the school plays, like Pajama Game--so much so, that I went on to study theatre in college.

And there were a lot of fun times. Afternoons hanging at the infamous "Smoking Lounge," while Tim McKee and Tom Gilroy, along with other members of the Midnight Riders Association stood on the hill singing and cavorting; bowling at the lanes in town after school for gym credit with Neil Flanagan ('77), Carolyn Grieco, and Steven Grasso; our infamous Senior trip to London with Miss Lydia Manpel's theatre class; performing as a Conehead with my fellow "Patty Hearst Radicals" in the Senior Play just before Christmas... We Are The Champions!

It was a sweet and special time in our lives and I look back on it fondly. I'm proud to say that I still keep in touch with many of my friends from Ridgefield (before and after Facebook) and can't wait to reconnect with more of you. Please, please share your stories and/or pictures with us--you can send them to me at rhs78blog@gmail.com. And please check out the reunion website at rhs78.com for all the event details and information on how to purchase your tickets.

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you next year!