College Reunions I guess everybody has their own idea about what makes a great college reunion. The ones I've been to haven't been so great as reunions because so many people I'd like to see don't show up.

There are half a dozen people I would dearly love to see who live less then two hours away, and they aren't there because like me they really don't identify with the institution.

I probably wouldn't go myself except I have these two great buddies, Mark and Vince, who come all the way from Seattle, and it's worth the trip just to check in with them.

I've always had a great time at these reunions because the food is great, there's an open bar all day, and I meet a lot of people I never knew when I was in college, and instead of asking them what they "do" like everyone else, I ask them what they've been reading and we have great conversations.

Mark and Vince and I (class of '74) usually wind up partying with the '79s and the '84s and the other hip young people.

This year Mark and Vince came up to the Pioneer Valley after the reunion, and we went to the Peace Pagoda in Leverett and the Sojourner Truth memorial in Florence, and dined at Bertucci's in Amherst and the River Valley Market in Northampton.

We also had a great dinner here at Harmony House where no one had to be the designated driver.

We did a lot of catching up and a moderate amount of reminiscing, and just being with old friends brought back memories of that brave new world we faced in 1974.

Like most Americans, I shed old lives like snakeskins, and generally that's a good thing. But once in a while you get reminded of something that was important then and is just as important now.

Like that anti-war movement. I so thought we were over that. It's a pain in the ass to have to go over it all again.  ¶ 7:26 PM