Time Travel.

Fig. and Sis. Boom. Then and Now…

Ms. Fig and I attended homecoming together as high school seniors so when she suggested several months ago that we leave our spouses behind and go to our 30th reunion together it sounded like a good idea… I did do some considerable rethinking as the event drew nearer but I stifled the typical reunion angst as I did not want to disappoint Cindy by changing my mind. At worst, the thought of an entire evening with my blog mentor (and friend) sounded like great fun and I instinctively knew this would not be an evening for spouses anyway. If she was up for it, so was I. Turns out having her to lean on for the evening was the best decision ever.

Things started out with a bang as I drove up to the very house I drove up to 30 years ago in order to pick up my date. The neighborhood looks much more like Wisteria Lane than I remembered it. 30 years of tree growth and rising property values will do that. Instead of Mother Fig answering the door and admonishing me not to stay out too late it was her beautiful daughter Sophie. Upon seeing me she exclaimed “You’re the Pepper Jelly dude!” I fell in love with her immediately and started questioning my decision to not have children. Surely they all turn out this charming, fun, and beautiful? I opted not to gift my date with a corsage and she presented me with a big bag of Padron Peppers instead of a boutonniere. We have gotten much more practical in our dotage.

The rest of the evening was a happy blur. Any real anxiety I had vanished when I received a big hug from a classmate who took our picture and seemed genuinely glad to see me even though we probably didn’t have terribly much interaction all those years ago. I pretty quickly stopped thinking about why they were glad to see me and as I started feeling happy to see them too. I’m still not sure why this was so but I’m not sure I want to over think it either. It just was. In between the hellos and many furtive glances at name tags I remember seeing an unfortunate choice of hot pants and spending quite a bit of time contemplating the construction of one particularly fetching backless blouse –on a classmate who could very much still pull it off. Brava! I did manage to reconnect with someone who actually was a close friend of mine in gradeschool and high school so that was worth the price of admission right there. All the rest was gravy.

And having not really ever merited the attention from the opposite sex in high school I don’t think I could be blamed for enjoying the attentions Holly gave me that night for a few bubbly minutes. Going on and on as she did about how good I looked would have been embarrassing had I not enjoyed it so much. I never did get the chance to tell her ….well…you know. (Holly, if you are out there, you made my night and if you are in the market for a sassy gay friend, give me a call.) Thankfully Cindy described the rest of it so well on her blog and while she gives me way too much credit for being “a kick ass date” the rest of it she got perfectly. I was grateful that Cindy had more friends in high school than I did or our evening would have been pretty short. As it was, her friends were my acquaintances and former classmates and they were nice enough to pretend to remember me while I marveled at how nice it was to be there even though high school was not a particularly happy time for me. Its complicated for sure but I realized it was that way for most, not just me.

When I arrived at the party I saw a room full of strangers. An hour later my neurons were reconnecting at a rapid rate — bringing faces and memories into focus. Surprisingly, this is a process that can’t be stopped just by leaving the party. My high school life and its various inhabitants continue to push their way into my memory and I continue to work at figuring out just where the gravitational pull of this event comes from. 10 years ago, after attending the 20th, I swore that I would not go back. Yet I did. 10 years ago I felt as if I had fulfilled whatever obligations I had set out for myself and thought that was that. As much as I would like to blame the whole thing on Ms. Fig I know there is something else at play here.

When I figure it out I’ll let you know but in the meantime, I have no regrets. It was fun. I actually think Cindy and I had a better time than we did at Homecoming!

Now it is with great relief that this blog can return to its regularly scheduled programming. Remember those Padron Peppers? Well, we have been enjoying them all week long. They are mild and smoky, easy to make, and the perfect appetizer to whip up with a couple of after work margaritas.

Padron Peppers

.

Here again I don’t wish to rehash what Ms. Fig has already done so perfectly. Read her simple instructions for cooking them here. Eat until you get a hot one!

I will be looking for more of these at the farmer’s market this weekend.