The eggs were scrambled and the hash browns fried, but Jeff and I decided to skip the breakfast buffet and order from for the lunch menu at the Sunset Ellis, where we often stop after church for Sunday dinner. It was slightly cooler than recent past Sundays and the rain was falling pretty hard. From our window seat, I peered outside, watching people scatter from their parked cars into the front door of the Shinnston diner.

 

I dunked my tea bag into a cup of hot water as Jeff dug into his salad. While I stirred sweetener into my tea and tapped my spoon against the cup, I looked around the dining room for familiar faces. I saw one. It was Randall Hall, our band director at Bridgeport High School nearly 40 years ago and a regular at the Ellis. Mr. Hall eventually made his way across the room and the three of us began talking about a little bit of everything, including kids and grandkids and where he’s been making music lately. A quality, seasoned saxophonist and clarinet player, he’s still out there playing – at Mia Margherita and Heston Farms, among other venues. As we wrapped up conversation, Mr. Hall moved on to another table. Occasionally, his voice would carry and we’d hear a word here and there. We realized he was talking about us and before we knew it, we had another visitor at our table. Jeff recognized her right away. It was Mrs. Mercer, his senior English teacher at BHS. Neither one of us had seen her since graduation. Again, we caught up, swapping stories about our lives and family. She and Jeff also did a little reminiscing about high school days.

 

On the drive home, I thought more about those high school days, the classes we took, the teachers we had, the lasting friendships we made and the foundation that was established for not only our eventual careers, but also our marriage. Of course, at the time, we had no idea all of that was going on. We were just kids in school, doing what we were supposed to do and having fun while we did it.

 

Later this afternoon, our son Jacob – a junior at our high school alma mater - and I set off to run some local errands and prepare for the week ahead. We hadn’t bought any new school clothes yet, so we stopped off at the mall for a few things. Again, my mind wandered back 40 plus years to back-to-school shopping. In those days, it was a Saturday afternoon trip to downtown Clarksburg to buy clothes at JC Penney, shoes at Kinney Shoes and notebooks, pens and other school supplies at G.C. Murphy.

 

This evening, while taking a walk, I passed Jacob’s English teacher, Suzanne Randolph. We chit chatted just a little as we continued our walks. And as I proceeded up the street, I laughed to myself as a thought went through my head. Perhaps someday after Jacob has kids and grandkids of his own, he’ll run into Mrs. Randolph and they will reminisce – perhaps about things that Jacob has no idea are getting their humble beginnings right now – while he’s just a kid, going to school, doing what he’s supposed to do and having fun doing it. 

 

Julie Perine can be reached at 304-848-7200, julie@connect-bridgeport.com or follow @JuliePerine on Twitter!

 

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