|
Like the first Antilles High School grand reunion held in St. Augustine five years before, this one marking the 50th anniversary of the school is now a full set of memories. Even for those who came to that first one back in 1998, the dominant thought at this one remained, "I never thought it would be possible for Antilles to have a reunion." And this one was back home, on Puerto Rico! Many heartfelt thanks to Freddie Velez and the AHS Alumni Association, and the many other dedicated Antilles alumni who labored for months to create this happy event for the hundreds of us who went back to capture the times of our youth and to spend time with people who we once thought we'd never see again.
Why did we think this? Because, as our Alma Mater says, "...and scattered are Antilles' sons and daughters." Of the 7 other members of my AHS graduating class who attended this reunion, I had not set eyes on some of them since the evening of Thursday, June 13, 1963 when we paraded across the stage in our caps and gowns (the first AHS class to graduate from the school after it relocated to Ft. Buchanan). Early the next morning, I boarded an Eastern Air Lines jet at Isla Verde Airport and flew off to college in Alabama. We were the offspring of military and federal employees stationed in Puerto Rico, and we were destined to be scattered like "the clouds that float o'er Caribbean waters." But thanks to the Internet over the past few years (and dedicated and visionary people like Sid Grant and Freddie Velez) we've proven that "the ties of loyalty and love still bind them, as firmly now as e'er they did before, to all the faithful friends they left behind them upon that distant Puerto Rican shore."
If you're someone who's sitting there and regretting that you did not attend this reunion, now is the time to resolve that you will not miss the next big one. Where it will be held is not yet known, but the plan is to hold it in 2008. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one inspired to step forward and lead the planning and execution of it! And now is the time to resolve to begin attending those mini-reunions that various classes and groups of classes will hold each year between now and 2008. Regularly access the AHS Alumni website, make sure your e-mail address is correct in the alumni directory, read and post messages on its bulletin board, help locate more of Antilles' sons and daughters who have yet to find this most valuable of Pirate treasure, and let's see you at the next reunion!
Pirates Forever!
Bruce Thomas
AHS '63
Press the right-arrow icon below to begin viewing some of the pictures I took at the 2003 AHS Reunion.
|
|
