It was fifty years ago that the class of 1970 was getting ready to go out and face the world. At the Delaware Valley Central School, sitting high above the rippling waters of the Delaware, my high school class was celebrating our prom (Queen Prudence Wood and King Kevin Coll) and studying for our last set of finals.

We had put on Oliver! as our Spring Show that year, to rave reviews. The late, great Richard Bjorklund was outstanding as Fagin, the leader of the band of thieves who takes in Oliver. Richard designed the sets and created his own makeup and costume for his character. He also designed the end papers of our yearbook which featured a Woodstock dove. Richard was by far the most talented artist in our class.

Our class posed in a giant peace symbol for our picture that year. We had worn black armbands after student protesters were killed at Kent State earlier that spring, and the student strike at universities world-wide was in full effect. The times were a-changin' and we were in the thick of it.

And the times just kept on changing through the five decades that have passed since we walked across the stage at DVCS on that hot June evening so long ago.

We saw Vice President Spiro Agnew resign, followed by the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Nixon. We saw a lot of history. You know the Billy Joel song, “We Didn't Start the Fire?” Well, we lived it.

In our own lives, we got married, had babies, and survived parenthood. Then our babies had babies and we were suddenly grandparents. These were the gifts that life gave us.

Of course, along the way, we lost some of our classmates to heart attacks, strokes, cancer, HIV, or accidents. Many of our parents died. Some lost spouses or partners. We learned over and over that life isn't always easy but yet leaves us much to cherish.

We had planned as a class to get together this year when DVCS was holding its All Class Reunion on Columbus Day weekend. Of course, that gathering has been canceled, and plans for our 50th Class Reunion are up in the air. In fact, they may take place as a Zoom meeting, for all I know!

Listen, my fellow 1970 classmates, we are in that group of folks who must be super careful these days. I know we sometimes don't act it, but we are officially senior citizens and we are in the high-risk group for Covid-19. So please behave and let's plan our celebration for a time when we can all be safe.

We made it to 50 years, and good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise, we can make it to 51.