Kubasaki High School Reunion Cruise: part four

In the final part of this four-part blog post about my high school reunion, I reflect upon why my high school classmates should and would want to attend the next reunion. I write this because I struggled against my own reservations (part one) to attend this particular reunion and had years earlier come up with rational excuses for not attending previous reunions.

A sign at Gordon College Gym where I’ve been exercising this summer in Massachusetts reminds me that life is about making the right choice. Excuses got me nowhere.

When I chose to skip a reunion, I didn’t get the results.

The results I got from this reunion cruise far exceeded the costs.

For one, I had a fantastic holiday with minimum fuss. I didn’t have to research. I didn’t have to negotiate a hotel rate or a cabin rate. I didn’t have to choose a date or a destination. I didn’t have to organize activities or excursions. I didn’t have to contact my classmates to get a group rate. It was all organized by my fellow classmates who thought through what would be most appealing and affordable. Thank you, classmates!

Second, I was free to spend more time with those I was closest to and yet still have time to get to know those classmates I’ve never met before. I was never bored. My classmates lead interesting lives. They are easy to talk to. We are all about the same age. One person’s current challenges may have been experienced by another previously. Problems and solutions find each other. We shared a common past which is unique and precious.

Kubasaki Reunion Cruise in the Bahamas, July 10-13, 2015

Third, it was important to share this part of my life with Robert, who had heard so much about Kubasaki but had never attended an “official” reunion. As an “honorary Dragon” he said this was the best holiday because “you just go on the boat and you don’t have worry about anything. You can eat and drink all you want.” He knew only six people (me, Lori, Leslie, Liz, Craig, and Lisa) but that didn’t stop him from getting to know others.

I often wondered if our partners and families would get bored or feel marginalized at such reunions. Sometimes our conversations got very anal. Over dinner, for example, Viola brought up the subject of television channels. “We had one American channel – AFRTS. Remember?” We also had one radio station in English – on the entire island of Okinawa. While we pondered over how little we had, did our partners and other honorary dragons also ponder the same? Or we’d quiz each other about where we lived or worked. How would an outsider participate in such conversations?

Fourth, as I discussed with Keith, one of the organizers of this reunion cruise, it was easier to plan a cruise than a land reunion where many decisions about hotels, restaurants,  and activities had to be made with minimum number of rooms booked in advance. A cruise took care of all that.

Fifth, contrary to my expectations, I did not get sea sick and the cabin was not small or uncomfortable. The cabin was just like a four-star hotel room, only smaller. It was not the Yangtze River Boat Cruise all over again. The cabin attendant visited four times a day to ensure our room was spotless. What a joy it was to discover she had a sense of humor — origami pet towels!

Sixth, we were able to be present and give full attention to each other. Because of the high cost and low quality of Internet access and the non-domestic charges on cell coverage, we were advised to switch our cell phones to airplane mode to avoid such charges. This meant no text messages or emails or Facebook pings to distract us. I might add that Robert didn’t bring his guitar. This meant he wasn’t practising or focusing on his next gig. We were able to enjoy the reunion to its fullest.

Seventh, I danced to music that brought back memories with friends who created those memories. How wonderful and rare is that? Thank you, Derrick, for making that happen. It seems that we created new memories with the “Stankey Leg!”