Comments from the Canyons: Reunion annual offers memories of high school years

Shortly after receiving THE GOLDEN RATTLER DIRECTORY, the Rattler Alumni received the TUCUMCARI HIGH SCHOOL 2012 RATTLER REUNION ANNUAL. Its colorful cover lets us know that the Class of 1982 will be hosting the reunion Aug. 2-4. After capturing our attention that way, the editor leads us directly to the schedule of events, major announcements, and provides a map of the parade route.

The reader then meets the Class of 1982 as they appeared in the Tucumcari High School YUCCA in 1982. Seeing all those young faces is a real treat and reminds us of the many years we have been privileged to watch such young people mature and become outstanding citizens. We will be looking for those Rattlers to greet us as we enter the Convention Center to register and to see our own classmates.

As we continue perusing the annual, we see many of the Rattlers in the parade and recall watching as they rode along Historic Route 66. Those of us in the Golden Rattler gang recall the many years during which we also participated in those parades. A few years ago, several of our classes decided we'd rather watch the parade than participate in it. Now, we cheer the younger ones along and just enjoy sitting quietly in the shade.

For the alumni who no longer live in the area, the editor included a colorful section to alert them to "The Route 66 Gas Station Project." This section allows those who won't be able to attend the reunion to glimpse what is happening in their hometown. It also gives all readers a chance to do even more remembering of all those hours we spent "dragging the highway" during our high school years. We can even remember to cars in which we "cruised" and can recall pooling our money to buy enough gasoline to enjoy such outstanding driving time.

We then get glimpses of the various events that occurred last year and can see some of the people in attendance. All of this whets our appetites for this year's gathering. We'll be getting ready to see hundreds of alumni and will be planning how to spend as much time as possible with classmates, friends, and teachers. As usual, this alumna will be eager to see her former students as well as the members of the Class of 1952 as we celebrate our 60th year as Rattler Alumni.

We really appreciate all the work that goes into the preparation of the Rattler publication and will continue to enjoy it as we get ready for that first weekend in August.

Lynn Moncus is a Tucumcari resident and can be contacted through the Quay County Sun by calling 461-1952.