It was not my intention to arrive "fashionably
late" -- I had just not factored-in "getting lost" time. Michelle and Vikki
were sitting at the table with yearbooks all around when I arrived. I did not recognize
Vikki though I knew she looked somewhat familiar. Immediately we headed for the yearbooks.
"Ah," I said, "yes I remember now." Vikki had not run in the same
crowd as I had. In the discussion that ensued it was established there two types of
ASMers. Vikki presented one type, the ones who studied and I offered the other type, the
ones who partied. I knew that back then I had definitely placed Vikki in the "those
who studied" category, and no surprise, Vikki placed me in the "those who
partied" category. And as she later pointed out, in the three years we were in ASM,
we never spoke to each other. Now here we were, thirtyfive years later, sitting across
from one another.
This was one of those moments, when on an instinctive level, you know there is going to
be some "catching up" to do. Fortunately for us, I thought, we are adults now
and there can be a free exchange of information. The conversation ranged widely to account
for the differences in the groups and how we viewed those not in our group. We touched
briefly on how we felt. I wasn't sure how this was going. I knew there was no obligation
on anyone's part to change his or her perception, even after this many years. I had a lot
to think about on my way home. Would the old differences continue to make a difference
now?
I did not have to wait too long to get the answer. In my e-mail was this message:
"Dennis,
It was really nice to meet with you again after all these years. I'm sure we
exchanged more words today than in all the time we were at ASM together! Hope we can do it
again sometime and hopefully with more people of our vintage.
Hope you had a safe trip back to Alhambra!
Saludos, Vikki"
Works for me ASMers, and if I may add, I have not met one ASMer so far who has not
turned out to be a wonderful person. So, if for whatever reason you are hesitating getting
in touch, don't wait any longer, time to make yourself known! Nuff said!
Saludos de
Sergio/Dennis '64
[Sergio (Dennis) Cerda '64, Vikki (Mortensen) Regier '65 and Michelle (Fearey LaGue)
Mock '69 met at Berta's Latin American Restaurant in Old Town San Diego.]