Y'all don't have one clue as to what I'm talkin' about, do you? Sounds pretty good, though, doesn't it, especially that spendin' the night part? The truth is that all of the people/nicknames I listed above are old high school friends of mine, and I just spent most of a night with all of them at our thirty-first high school class reunion!

Yes, the Mary Persons High School Class of '74 just celebrated its thirty-first reunion. And look, I know that having a thirty-first year reunion may seem kinda weird, but we didn't get around to having a thirty year one, so this was the next best thing. I'm really sort of glad it worked out this way, as we were always a very unique class and having a somewhat unusual class reunion fits us like a glove. It was so good to see my fellow classmates again!

I won't lie, I sort of dreaded going at first. My Yellow Jackets were about to play (and demolish) the Auburn War Eagles, it was Labor Day weekend, and I had all sorts of excuses milling about in my brain as to why I couldn't attend. Thankfully, Percy had already asked me to speak, so I couldn't duck out of it and let him down. And thank God that was the case, because it was beyond good to see all of my buddies again!

I knew it would be special just as soon as I walked into the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Forsyth - I was immediately recognized by all of my classmates as I've changed the least of any of them over these past few (ha ha) years. Okay, that's a lie, but I'm writing this, okay? I immediately spotted my two good friends, Percy "Sweetness" Freeman and Edgar "The Black Ric Flair" Slaughter, guys that I rode back and forth to football practice with everyday for several years. "Hambone" Gary Ham pulled me over into a corner and reminded me of a couple of our youthful exploits that almost had me crying with laughter. I then proceeded to catch up with Ted Strickland, Steve Stokes, Ricky Colbert, and Big Puddy (Thomas Woodard). Best of all, though, was getting to witness "ooooooh, that walk" again!

"Oooh, that walk" describes the best walk that any female has ever possessed, that of my classmate Christy Johnson. Back in our MP days she was known as Christy Rodeheaver, and she was a good friend of mine, in fact, Christy was a good friend to everyone. We all liked her for her sense of humor, her natural intelligence, and her overall sense of fun. Most of all, though, what we guys liked best about Christy was the way she walked. It's sort of hard to describe it here and give it full justice, but Christy walks in a very feminine way sans any exaggeration (some women walk like they're trying to knock down the walls on either side of a hallway, Christy simply walks like she wants to ripple the air some). She has a naturally sexy walk, and it nearly drove all of us guys crazy back then. I always felt sort of bad lusting for her because she really was a good friend, but you would've had to be a dead man not to notice how Christy walks. She was sexy without even trying, and to me, that's the very best kind of sexy. And get this - even at this reunion, with all of us being as old as we are, when she walked across the room to get some food I noticed that most of us guys were watching her as she did so. Folks, she still has it, and yes, it still hypnotized us guys just as much as it did back then. The very best things in life really do improve with age, I do believe.

The rest of the evening? Hey, we partied like there was no tomorrow - Percy and I sang harmony on "Mustang Sally," Robert Ogletree proved that he's the next Barry White, and we all shook our booties to The Commodores, Wilson Pickett, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Simply put, it was one of the best experiences of my life. As I finish this and sum it up in my mind, I think I may have figured out why high school reunions are so important to us - they remind us of just how much we loved our classmates, how important they were to us, and they also remind us why we'll keep on loving them for the rest of our lives...

About the Author

Ed's latest book, "Rough As A Cob," can be ordered by calling River City Publishing toll-free at: 877-408-7078. He's also a popular after dinner speaker, and his column runs in a number of Southeastern publications. You can contact him via email at: ed3@ed-williams.com, or through his web site address at: www.ed-williams.com.