School reunion is harsh reality

Last year, I wrote about the serious case of aging angst I contracted from the short-lived television series Reunion.

The show, which would have followed a group of friends from their 1986 high school graduation through to the present, never made it past the early 1990s.

Its ending, chronologically speaking, coincided with that of the grunge movement's. Bad news for Reunion, good news for me.

Without the weekly reminder that time keeps on ticking, I was able to settle back into my comfortable habit of denial, pretending that my youth is mere months, and not years, in the past. Until life started to imitate art.

It seems that John S. Davidson Fine Arts School, my alma mater, is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the first graduating class with an en masse gathering of graduates from 1986-2005 on April 27-29.

An excellent idea, but here's the rub. The first day, 25 years ago - I was there.

That first graduation, now an astonishing 20 years ago - I was there as well.

The truth be told, I thought I was out, but they seem to be dragging me back in.

Sure, there are people I'd like to see again, if only to compare stories and the occasional scar.

Davidson was, after all, the only school I went to in Augusta. Everything I know about growing up in this city revolves around that school. But I'm also a bit wary.

After all, when I discover that hairlines have receded and waistlines expanded, won't I have to own up to the silver that now highlights my hair and the belly beneath my belt? I know this is part of the eternal circle of life, but to be frank, it's a carousel that I wish would spin just a little slower.

As we speak, the school and its crack squad of volunteers are in the process of finding, contacting and inviting the estimated 1,200 alumni. It's been an arduous process, and the team's leader, Martha Long, continues to reach out to former students in an attempt to fill the 20-guest list needed to stage the centerpiece party, a semiformal shindig at Savannah Rapids Pavilion on April 28.

Here's how you can help. If you have contact information for any Davidson alumni, or are a graduate yourself, contact Mrs. Long at mgl1957@aol.com. Include your contact information, the year you graduated and, if applicable, your maiden name.

The girls, it seems, have proved a bit trickier to locate.

There's nothing to lose, except perhaps your misguided illusion of youth.

Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.