Thursday, June 12, 2008

Fences

I was recently invited to and joined an online community for people who attended my high school. Since my school was a Department of Defense Dependants School located in Germany, about the only way we can keep in touch is via the web. Alumni are literally scattered across the globe. It has been fascinating getting back in touch with people I haven't seen in the past 18-20 years. It's bringing back a ton of memories and some bitter-sweet nostalgia.

I graduated from General H.H. Arnold American High School in 1990. At the time, the base was open to anyone who cared to drive through all the military housing units, past the BX, around the commissary and schools. September 11 changed a good many things... Now there are fences and soldiers surrounding everything. Without a military ID card, I cannot enter the premises. Unlike most Americans, I can never go back to my high school to look around and walk the halls.

Even though the odds of me making it back to Germany in order to take such a walk are fairly slim, the fences hurt. It is another shock to the system how things changed post 9/11... If I had thought about it, I would have realized fencing and security guards would be a part of HH Arnold, but I didn't think about it.

I am excited about the online community. I hope we find enough graduates that we can put together a decent 20 year reunion come 2010.

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