By Chris Shugart
As we approach our Saratoga High School Class of ’72 Fiftieth Anniversary Reunion, it got me thinking about what fifty years’ worth of life and living has made us what we are today. Consider five decades of important events, not to mention the many changes in American culture. politics, and technology. Then consider that in the time since that graduation year, nine presidential administrations have come and gone, as has the Volkswagen Beetle, the AMC Javelin, and the DMC Delorean. And while we’re at it, let’s bid a nostalgic farewell to the sights and sounds of punk, disco, and grunge. At the risk of understatement, times have changed.
Meanwhile, stalwart SHS alumni live on. We know this because we’ve seen many of them at a class reunion or two throughout the years. For me, each reunion has been a fleeting snapshot of who we’ve been, and who we’ve become. And as the accruing years continue to add up, I’ve observed how our lives have evolved into living chronicles, like a series of chapters that have been woven into some grand autobiographical novel.
I’m certain that you all have unique collections of personal tales that you can claim as yours alone; an ongoing assortment of narratives containing ups, downs, and unexpected directions sideways. Knowingly or unknowingly, intentional or not, we’ve each created a history about who we are and what we’re about—a legacy, if you will. Our lives are now also our stories, and I like to think that it’s the very stuff from which epic sagas, fantastic myths and heroic legends are born. Over-imaginative fiction, perhaps? That’s unimportant. What matters is that somewhere in the annals of the Saratoga High Class of 1972 are more than a few stories that would be well worth telling.
Welcome to The Falcon Chronicles.