Reunion by Diane Perkins
This past weekend my friend Barbara (see more of Barbara here) and I went to our high school reunion in Jacksonville Alabama --Jacksonville High School Class of 19??. Neither of us live anywhere near Alabama; we both moved the summer after our graduation and have only been back one time, for another reunion. We lived at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, an army post that was closed about five years ago, but it is undergoing a metamorphosis and is turning into a lovely, vibrant community.Barbara's father and my father were both colonels in the Army and we lived in officer's housing. It was a surprise to discover that our neighborhood has now been designated an historic place - Historic Buckner Circle. The houses are in a big circle with a parade field and gazebo in the center. Barbara and I used to walk around the circle endlessly, talking and dreaming about the future. We used to stand inside the gazebo and sing Beatle songs.
Here are pictures:
My house
Barbara's house
The view from my house across the circle
the gazebo
Barbara and me. inside the gazebo once again
What we looked like then, this photo taken behind Barbara's house which bordered on the Officers Club and the swimming pool.
The reunion was lovely. What pleased me the most was that my fondness for old friends was undiminished, perhaps even enhanced by the pleasure of seeing them again. My old classmates were surprised to see that the shy and brainy quiet girl was now writing Romance! I gave away 25 copies of my books, and some of my old classmates who live near Atlanta might come to see me at the RWA Literacy Signing at the Hilton on July 26. Their excitement for my new writing life touched me.
Here's a photo of four old friends, happy to be together again. From Left to Right, Peanuts (Betty, but we never called her that), Eleshea, Barbara, me.
Here we are before, in the same order:
I miss them all terribly now that I'm home, all my old friends from JHS....
Diane
posted by Diane Gaston @ 9:51 AM
8 Comments:
Wow, I love this blog, Diane! Especially the photos. What a great thing to have lifelong friends like that. Buckner Circle is gorgeous, and so are you and Barbara! (You must have quite a hit with the officers in that bikini!)
Thanks for sharing your reunion with us. What a great history.
Very cool, Diane! You look just the same from HS!
Diane, I loved the pictures-- present and past! It's great that you've kept in touch with friends from high school. And even better to find high school acquaintances who recognize the brilliance of your writing. :-)
Thanks for sharing your fun reunion news.
What a fun post! And I agree, great pictures and the area where you lived is lovely.
Diane, how wonderful. I loved the photos, the beautiful houses, the very hip and groovy girls! And it's also wonderful (but not surprising) that you've kept your friends for so long, as Jenna and Pris mentioned. thanks for sharing
From past to present, you've always looked beautiful Diane!! Thanks for sharing all the photos and about your high-school days!
I was searching Buckner Circle on the internet and saw this, my grandfather was a col @ ft McClellan and lived at 20 buckner circle. It was nice to see the pictures to bring back my childhood memories.
anonymous, the Circle is still as beautiful as it was when I lived there, a brazillion years ago! I was Diane Gaston in those days (am still in my writing life) and my father was Col Gaston. Were we there at the same time?
You can email me at diane@dianegaston.com
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