When I signed up, I knew so very little about the world of Facebook. As I got deeper and deeper into the dark world of my past, I wondered if it were possible to get those hours of my life back.
There were a handful of friends I was ecstatic about finding. There were also fun people I loved to say a quick "hello" to. I just wasn't impressed with knowing what people were doing every minute of their day. I'm not interested in when a person eats, sleeps, or poops.
Call me crazy, but I love reading things about someone... stories, experiences, and adventures. But just a sentence telling me that some who-ha "... has a rash" is not entertaining.
So I logged back on to the account today, to contact some people. Well, to my surprise... I found a contact had asked me to join a group of my High School class. There was a link to a blog which was set-up two years ago, to inform people of our 10-year reunion and have people RSVP.
This was a reunion I never heard about, until a friend of mine called to see if I would accompany her. She is a divorcee who has gone through some tough times. It was a smart move for her to come with me. She probably knew that showing up with me would save her any embarrassment or questions. (Since I was the reject who should be in rehab or locked up somewhere) Had she not called to invite me... I would have never known about it.
I can say that after attending... I'd have been okay having let that evening pass by without knowing. It was more than disappointing, and 10 years later... the banquet hall we gathered in might as well had been the lunchroom cafeteria. Same groups, same jokes, same feelings, same faces... just instead of boys trying to act cool... they were chunky, balding men trying to act cool.
So this blog, however, turned out to be an INCREDIBLE find. It was the best 'tasty nugget' I've read in quite a while.
(Tasty nugget: a quote, story, or experience worthy of sharing at the end of the day... in bed with your hubby. Something to laugh about... quite often about yourself! An example... "Did you know that _____ has 435 pictures of herself on Facebook?" or "Sassy Pants asked me if I knew what her favorite things were. When I said 'what?' she said 'your boobies!'")
This blog was intended to serve a meaningful purpose. It started out well, people RSVP-ing to attend a reunion. As I scrolled down through the comments, I started to become impressed with the adults of whom names I recognized. Then...
Classmates go from posting an RSVP, to adding things to try and prove they're funny. Trying to get attention... or to get a rise out of people. (funny, the same people who did that 10 years ago) Especially the group of guys who are still out to prove how cool they are... only now I think they are only trying to prove it to themselves!
So two guys (named Jake and Mike) joke that they are married and coming with each other. (wait... how old are we?) And then it started to get good...
Congratulations, Mike Smith and Jake Terry (or should I be calling you by your celebrity couple name JaMike? Or your San Francisco name, Mr. and Mr. Smith-Terry?) I am so proud of you guys for finally coming out of the closet. I have long suspected that both of you may be on my team, and now we have actual confirmation. "Not that there is anything wrong with that" - Jerry Seinfeld
...but seriously I am disappointed that there are still people in our society, from our generation that would discriminate people based on their own personal sexual orientation, that has been scientifically proven to be engrained into our DNA.
Sadly, it is because of this continued bigotry that I will not be planning to join you at the reunion with my life partner. Instead we are forced by the moral majority to live a closeted lifestyle in order to ensure that our adopted son is not subject to all of your hate. I sincerely hope that my son's generation is not as closed minded and hateful as my own.
sincerely,
J.
-
J.
I can't speak for all of us, but I know there are enough of us who would be happy to see again you and meet your wonderful partner. Please consider coming! And bring pictures of your son!
-
J. - Homo in Provo - dude, just come to the reunion.
Projecting hatred towards the people who are "discriminating" against you isn't the best way to overcome it. It will probably only make it worse.
And just to defend Mike and Jake... If you don't know, I will tell you. A family member of mine is gay, and Jake and Mike have always shown them love and friendship. The don't hate gay people. It was just a silly goof. No need to make a disertation on our closed minded society. -
Wow, I can’t believe what I’m reading here… Some of my former classmates are now coming out of the closet? I just found out about this reunion, and I’m actually going to be in town that weekend, but there is no way in hell I’m attending this. I’ve always thought Orem, Utah was one of the worst possible places to grow up as a gay male. For this reason, I isolated myself and didn’t really enjoy high school. Not that it does much good now, but it is some what comforting to know that I wasn’t the only gay student at MVHS who had to grow up in that homophobic environment.
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Leviticus 20:18 "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."
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That's right! It's been 10 years, and the people of Orem still haven't changed much!
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What's the big deal, people? Let's get real here. Some of us are gay, some of us are straight, does it matter? We all bleed the same. I am gay, i'm still attending the reunion ... and i'm not expecting to get stoned lol. So although i don't feel its anyone's right to ask one's sexual orientation -- or even CARE for that matter -- i want to break anonymity in the hope that other classmates who also happen to be gay won't feel the need to hide and not attend. Let's all feel welcome.
Joel Covington - At this point I was completely enthralled! This was better than ANY talk show or trashy book. Especially because I know these people... and they are coming out of the closet... in a High School Reunion blog!!! And it just kept getting better and better...
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Sadly, as some of the comments above have illustrated many of our 1997 contemporaries have yet to advance beyond their pubescent stages. Already, we have been subjected to several jokes about how funny it would be if 2 of our male classmates got married. I am sorry, but I don't find anything funny about mocking my lifestyle and my personal choices.
Furthermore, Leviticus popped up and pretty much said I should kill myself. Now I know that not all of you feel this way. Many of you are probably homosexual like me, but you have chosen that your living a sin instead of facing the realty that your genetic code has made you the way you are and there is nothing you can do to fight those urges.
Unfortunately, through my life I have come to realize that probably 90% of Utah County feels the way Leviticus does, and wishes I would just off myself. And it is because of that overwhelming bigotry that I cannot agree with you Andrea that we all had a hard time with High School. For how difficult you thought your life was did you really have people who felt you were better off dead? There are very few of you that can truely empathize with me and can truely understand what I have been through, but now I am just rambling on...
...my overwhelming point is that it has been 10 F*&#ing years and yet I am sad to report that my contemporaries have not yet to matured to the point where I can exit the closet and live my life in a persecutionless society.
Regretfully,
J. -
J.
I think you need to be careful in your own judgements. I live in Utah County and I could not care less about your sexual orientation.
I also think you need to lighten up about the whole issue of people joking about being gay on this blog. I had a roommate for about 6 months who was gay and he and his friends would joke all the time about straight people and being straight, I guess looking back I should have been offended by it but who wants to waste the energy, it was pretty funny anyway.
The majority of us would much rather see you come to the reunion so we can catch up than not see you come and if someone has a problem with you then they deserve a swift kick to the head.
In addition to all this rambling, I don't think people are going to sit in the corner think, "Oh my goodness, that guy is gay?!?" I'd imagine it's going to be, "Holy crap, look how fat he got" or "Wow, she really married beneath herself" or "Those are totally implants!"
So the moral of the story is COME TO THE FREAKING REUNION!!!! -
Don't you all think this is getting out of hand. And yes I may be a hypocrite by leaving this comment about it. But HOLY SH@# can we just stop!!!. J- I'm sure there are plenty of reasons not to come. But there are also plenty of good reason too come. So show up!!! it won't be the same without ya! I'm so glad that we are all adults and can talk about this in a rational manner. since the sarcasim it's coming on pretty thick!
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Well, if not a bit emphatically, spoken Mr. Preston! I think it has gone far enough. What began as a rather tongue-in-cheek joke has spawned some ugly commentary here. I'd like to note that since Joel Covington admitted to being openly gay, not one person has written him and said unkind things to him! It wasn't even a blip on the radar. And isn't that great? He's still Joel and we all still want to see him. We feel the same way about you, J. Even if you don't feel like you can come, please stop criticizing us for what you feel the community has done to you. I would hope you'd note that you've had a great deal of support (sans the scriptural reference)from your old friends and classmates and let it rest. We'd love to have you come... what more can we say?
- I am just honestly copying and pasting here! I wish I could take some credit, but I could not have scripted it better! I realize it shouldn't be so entertaining... but at this point I was ready to start flipping through the yearbook, because I was dying to know who all these 'anonymous' people could be! And as sad as it all is sounding, there are actually some very good points made, and intelligent and insightful words of wisdom... but anything positive about this whole situation is completely overshadowed with the fact that these posts are part of a 'class reunion invitation'! Bahhhh!
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I didn't think it was legal for gays to adopt children. If it isn't I think it should be. I would hate to think of passing away and having my kids raised in that environment being taught that homosexuality is NOT a sin (and don't give me your B.S. scienticially proven argument).
J, I implore you for the welfare of your son, please let him be raised in a normal household so he won't have to be subjected to the same bigotry you were.
I love you as my brother and I am praying for you. -
J, you need a real counselor not the reunion blog.
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And I would implore that we return this site to its original purpose... an RSVP page for those who will be attending the reunion and those who are sending their regrets.
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J, I agree with anonymous above have you tried counseling? I have a cousin who had your same problem and his parents sent him away to a camp to get counseling. That was about 5 years ago and he has now grown up and is married to a woman. If you want I can ask him or my aunt for the information. Just let me know?
-Caleb -
Jake and I didn't mean anything derogatory. I have gay friends that I care about and my comment wasn't meant to offend anyone.
Sincerely,
The Pre-Pubescent Immature Closed-Minded Bigot
(Sometimes I go by Mike Smith)
P.S. I hope no one was offended by that Post-it note comment that I left too. -
Wow- this is quite the blog! I'll be there.
- And just as I thought all hope was lost...
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Mike and Jake-
You disappoint me. About the only reason I was going to make the extra effort to trek out to Utah was to see the two of you arm-in-arm. Especially after seeing you in drag on myspace. Wow! To know envy is to see your shaved legs poking out of a saucy cocktail dress. You, my friend, CAN work it.
While my girlfriend of 6 years will tell you I am straight, who among us didn't question their sexuality watching the two of you squat thrusting in gym class. But I digress...
However you identify, I wish you the happiest of Pride Days from my hilltop hideaway in San Francisco. It is a damn beautiful thing to see so many people with so many bad haircuts flock here yearly to a Mecca of personal freedom and public hand holding.
One doesn't need to look at genetic evidence to find proof of homosexuality being natural. Look at dogs at the park, hamsters, SLC zoo, discovery channel, bonobos (closest genetic relative), yes even the newly beloved and mistaken-for-monogamous penguin. Or ask any medical doctor who wasn't too scared to actually look and ask--namely Alfred Kinsey. Or just pick up a history book for a change. Would anyone bother to be afraid of it if it wasn't so NATURALLY everywhere?!!
The APA has not considered homosexuality a mental problem since the 70s and anyone who treats a patient for homosexuality is quickly stripped of their license.
Leviticus was written by a bunch of old woman-hating Jewish Rabbis who were also fearful of pork and being near any woman who was menstruating. Are you really going to live your life by that? When was the last time you stoned your neighbor for walking over 40 paces on the Sabbath? Move to old Jerusalem with the Orthodox Jews or the Taleban in Afghanistan--you'll fit right in
And to "J." this hateful punk wrote "scienticially" Are you really going to let that kind of ignorance worry you? Not that you should move if you don't want to--but what is keeping you in Utah? Is it because you love Olive Garden and Krispy Kreme so much? Well we have those here, plus WAY better food. Mountains/skiing? yes! Forests? yes! Deserts? yes! Way more cool people per capita? h#*% yes! No offense to my classmates or to Utah. It's a gorgeous state to visit, especially the southern part. Is rent more expensive? yes. Is it worth it? yes. Are you paid more by employers to compensate? enough yes. Or pick some other coastal state.
But Heck and Gee whiz things have changed in Utah. Why there's a strong latino presence there now. They're changing everywhere. Which is why we have a fundamentalist resurgence now. They're fightin' scared. My classmates may have been judgemental but I didn't know any that believed the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's flood like Bush and Jerry Falwell. They did believe Jews floated to America in wooden submarines...but they've always been fiercely interested in science and history to justify their faith in Joseph's Tomb Raider epic. Again no offense, Mr. Smith could write and I called that divinely inspired.
Again I send my regrets. I'm amazed at how much I have changed and experienced in 10 years, and also how much I have not changed. It would have been fun to wander around like so many slow songs at a weekend dance, people-gazing and laughing to myself, at myself, and with all of you.
When I was 16 I wanted to play in Rancid. And some drummer I met and skateboarded with in Utah when I was 16 is now doing just that. I'm really glad that I changed, but it's cool to know that I could have done that or anything else with the right motivation.
Perhaps I'll have some big accomplishment in 10 years that will be worth coming out there to gloat about.
Thanks to everyone whose been posting here. I'd love to hear more from you.
Sorry for lurking, then posting such a long message.
Peace,
Nate Gallagher -
I will be in Cali on vacation, so I won't be coming to the reunion. I didn't think I wanted to go, but now after reading these posts I kinda wish I were coming! I forgot about so many people! I was laughing out loud at work when I read some of this stuff! Hope you all have fun!
- And with that post, the tasty nuggets ended. It was last post before the 'big night'! Oh how I wished I had read all this before the bless-ed event. I would have had a MUCH better time, I would have been SO entertained to see some of the people whose names are on the above comments, and even more entertained wondering who the anonymous comments came from. This was 2 years ago!
- I think we deserve some award for that display of knowledge and maturity! I mean, who are these people? I can't help but wonder if submitted to Oprah, we might get some special 'America's most IDIOTIC graduating class' episode. Dr. Phil could help us sort out our issues with one another. And to think... so many people in my class married each other? No wonder I had a fighting chance... I dropped out of High School. You hear that you should 'stay in school', well in my case, staying in school would have only increased my therapy sessions.
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