Reflections on the Way to Work

       It was a beautiful sunny, warm spring evening with the forsythia and cherry blossoms in bloom along the corridors of I95. As I stopped in pockets of traffic a sense of Catholic school panic set in that I would be late for the, yes, 40th high school reunion of the class of 1978. As I reflected silently in traffic on my time at St. Francis Prep, simply known in Queens as “Prep”, I was overcome by the sentimentality of a time gone by and at the same time excited by the thought of catching up with my former and fellow terriers. Now, if only I could arrive on time. With a few prayers to St. Francis, I did, in fact make it on time.

     Life for me is compartmentalized in the time capsules of each chapter, including high school. Once the Prep chapter was complete, I rarely looked back except for the occasional reflection when I hear “To Sir With Love” on the radio or when the Prep Alumni Newsletter or email arrives. However, when the invitation to the reunion came this year I felt a strong magnetic pull to attend. While connected to many fellow graduates through Linked In, I don’t really socialize with many of my fellow alumni with the exception of Grace Ann who immediately said let’s go to the reunion. Maybe it was Grace Ann’s enthusiasm, or maybe it was the reminder of how special Prep was/is when you see how the Prep alumni rallied to support the daughter of a fellow graduate whose Secret Service husband was severely injured or, maybe it is the acknowledgement of how short life is when you receive an alumni notice that one of our fellow classmates has passed away. Perhaps it was the collection of all of these thoughts that triggered the desire to go. In any event, as the day approached, I was excited to reconnect with my former friends and classmates.

     The class of 1978 had a special camaraderie and spirit, in part because in 1974, Prep moved from Brooklyn to Queens, NY and took over Bishop Reilly, and became coed. We were the first graduating class that went through the full four years at Prep at the Queens location or maybe it was the great winning football team, of course attributable to the players from our class! In addition, the bond was made even stronger when, during our years at Prep, a tragic car accident took the life of a fellow classmate but her memory and spirit are forever part of the soul of the class of ’78.

      As with most Prep functions, including the reunions, the celebration starts with a mass, followed by the proverbial party in the school cafeteria. As I walked into 6100 Francis Lewis Blvd., how lucky for me, standing by the entrance to the auditorium was my homeroom teacher, Br. Dominic. After a quick hello, and an acknowledgement that both Br. Ferdinand and Br. Kevin (though much to my disappointment, I never was able to catch up with them during the evening) were also going to be at the reunion, I went into the auditorium, which looked much smaller than I remembered it looking as a student and found the seating for the Class of ’78, and there were my former classmates.

      Expecting to receive a mass booklet, we were instead greeted with stadium size projections of the mass booklets on the side walls and center stage of the auditorium, a far cry from the mimeographed booklets on white paper with purple ink having a distinctive smell that one could either have fond memories of or panic attacks because it reminded them of the ol’ calculus exams. In case you forgot, here’s to the memory. 

       Mass was celebrated by Fr. Edel, who made it a point to let us know that he was only 28 years old. Not sure why……maybe to remind us of the passage of time (Just wait Fr. Edel, one day before you know that 28 will be 58 and mass and the reunion will be a virtual celebration by then!) The mass was celebrating the “Good Shepherd” and despite the chatter emanating from the class of ‘78 row, the message did resonate as Fr. Edel reminded us that God is there to hold on to his falling sheep, for me it was symbolic of the Prep Alumni returning to the Prep, a place we can call home and find friendship and comfort in our fellow classmates. For those of us who went to Catholic school, the ‘70s was a time where Baltimore Catechism was replaced by spirituality and Christian folk music. The mass did not disappoint, it was accompanied by updated Christian guitar music.

      After Mass, many of the members of the Class of ’78 decided to head down to the party and skipped out on the Hall of Fame formal induction ceremony. Once again for me personally, the Catholic guilt of not staying for the ceremony set in, and my fellow classmates said “come on Janet just come we don’t know any of the inductees.” For those looking to get an early start on the evening, the bar didn’t open until 7:30pm. A little punishment for not staying for the ceremony.

     As we approached the cafeteria we picked up our name tags, which was our yearbook picture with a 12 font name identification underneath the photo. All night long, despite most of us still looking the same, the passing of time required us to at least read each other’s name. This became a challenge with the 12 font. You practically had to hug each person just to see their name (maybe, just maybe, that was the intended result). Emanating from the doors of the cafeteria was music being played by the Prep Band, 40 years later, the school band continues to be a world class band! Well done!

     As we waited for the festivities to begin, some of the group took a stroll through the hallways and bathrooms. Time has been kind to 6100 Francis Lewis Blvd. as the corridors were beautifully decorated with photos, and a saying by St. Francis that stood out in particular, “Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Also, the ladies took particular note of the bathroom renovations, the dreary white tiles were replaced with beautiful tiles reflecting Prep school colors, lighted mirrors and automated facilities, a far cry from years past.

      As 7:30pm approached, the crowds started to gather, it was time to catch up to see where time has taken each one of us over the years. The stories were a reflection of the mosaic of life – some married, married and divorced, single, widows, many with children who went to Prep. Some of us moved away and unbeknownst are neighbors living in the same or neighboring towns.

     What stood out the most is that in the paths that each of us took, whether as a nurse, teacher, parent, lawyer, finance professional.…. we individually embraced the spirit of Prep and of St. Francis, and continue to be a beacon of that spirit and live the values of St. Francis in the circles of family, friends and work that we are a part of today. Those values are to show love, pardon, faith, consolation, understanding and hope.

     As the evening was coming to a close, each of the Anniversary classes gathered for their class photo, and in the true spirit of the class of ’78, the class erupted in On For Ol’ St. Francis

On for ol’ St. Francis
On Red and Blue
Our Colors Streaming
Rush right in and,
Fight for Ol’ St. Francis
Lead us on to victory
Again without a miss
Fight for our colors,
Ol’ St. Francis

     As I was getting ready to leave, everyone told me that someone was looking for me. It was Mandana. We sat next to each other and became friends in Mr. Abruzzo’s theology class (one of my favorite teachers whose life ended way too young). Mandana emigrated to the US with her family shortly before she started at Prep. During high school I never saw her different than any other student or friend in our class, and at the time didn’t appreciate how difficult it is to be immersed in a new existence in the U.S. from a language, emotional, and cultural perspective. It had to be challenging, and while we never discussed it, I suspect at that time that feelings of loneliness and alienation were a part of her new life in America. We lost touch after high school, but over the years with all the unrest in the world and all of the discussions in the media regarding refugees, I often thought about Mandana and how she and her family were doing. I gained a greater appreciation and respect for what Mandana and her family may have experienced during her high school years. Reconnecting after all these years was an emotional meeting for both of us and we agreed to keep in touch this time.

So, my fellow Terriers of the Class of 1978, until we meet again at the next 5 or 10 year reunion, may the sun rise to meet you and the wind be always at your back! Godspeed!

As the Prep Alumni home page says,
High school is four years;
St. Francis Prep is forever!