Saturday reunion activities brought
both Lee and Heidi to Annapolis, Maryland, where we spent a pleasant
day wandering around town and walking through the grounds of the Naval Academy
before joining others for a BBQ supper at the home of Ilse and Phil Reynolds.
Several observations emerged from these
two RPCV reunion gatherings. Especially during our first evening
together, we tended to talk largely about where our lives had taken
us over the past several decades. We didn't talk about our health,
our children or sports; we spoke about career and international
postings and contributions to international well-being. During our
second evening, we did wax a bit nostalgic, recounting amusing
anecdotes connected with our years in Thailand and recalling events
surrounding JFK's assassination. And the soiree ended with several
rousing renditions of “Loi Loi Kratong” as well as “Auld Lang
Syne”. We touched on children as well but left health issues out
of the loop entirely.
Lee was struck, too, by how many,
having retired fairly recently, still seemed intent on continuing
their social contributions in some way or other but were uncertain
exactly about what that might entail. We seem, once again, to be
entering into uncharted territory as we enter yet another life stage.
Our pioneering activities as PCVs should stand us in good stead in
that regard. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out;
perhaps we'll find out at our NEXT reunion half a decade hence...
No comments:
Post a Comment