High school reunion

Beverly Clark sits on the end of a bed, confessing to an acquaintance her fear of losing her husband. Her deepest lament? “We need a witness to our lives,” says Clark, played by Susan Sarandon in Shall We Dance. “There's a billion people on the planet … I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things ... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying, ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness.’ ”

Some of us have been blessed by spouses or partners. Others have led lives as single people. Others have been married, then not, then maybe partnered anew. Which really isn’t the point here.

The point is, who are the witnesses to our life?

Our class is having its 30th high school reunion this weekend. We’ll blow three decades of dust off memories that have accumulated like so many old record albums in some closet of our brain. What is the allure of going back, metaphorically if not literally?

For some, I suppose it’s to be reminded of the days when life seemed simpler. Or of how little we’ve changed. Or of how much we have.

But these friends really are unique witnesses to our lives.

Beverly Clark feared losing her husband because he came home late, night after night. Ultimately, her fears were unfounded. He (Richard Gere) had been out taking dancing lessons in hopes of rekindling their relationship.

Those of us who spent years together through high school and then went our separate ways – we’ve been out learning lessons, too, dancing or otherwise. After being gone so long, we’ll come back home to remind ourselves that in a world of relative anonymity, we are rare witnesses to the long spans of our respective lives.

Photo courtesy of Helen Bryan