CLASS '89 HIGH SCHOOL REUNION

WE were one in singing “Farewell” a ballad (a favorite graduation song during our time) by Bagets star Raymond Lauchengco, and befittingly, we said goodbye to our beloved high school, our teachers, BFFs, and the rest of our schoolmates.

For the Class of '89 of Narvacan National Central High School, it was the end of our young lives filled with emotions and excitements, our seatmates, groupmates, crushes, the JS proms, extra-curricular activities, and the music we played during school programs. The friendships that officially began four years earlier marked its end, and times ahead of us would test our commitment to stay in touch after graduation.

Right after high school we went separate ways. While most of our classmates in Acacia section trooped to Manila or Baguio for college, I stayed in Ilocos with Romano Peralta, Gilda Damayo, Mayrene Pintado, Joan Cauton, Jerry Cabanit and Carolina Filarca; we enrolled and finished college at the University of Northern Philippines in Vigan.

Now 25 years after, on July 12, some 21 of us in the Acacia section went to the same stage where we parted ways—that prominent facade of the old Sanidad building fronting the wide span of concrete where the flag pole is. It was a symbolic moment to reconnect and have fun again with the same friends we bid farewell with during graduation. Though we’ve had lots of opportunities of seeing each other in different groups, the last one being with Alex Cabrera, a US Navy officer based in California two weeks before the reunion, this was our first formal reunion and one with the biggest attendance.

And to think that our preparations for the reunion had a jumpy start a year before. We had disagreements particularly on the date; while most of us would want to hold it during summer or school vacations, others, especially those staying abroad, would want it held on September or December. Almost a third of our class are based abroad, so most agreed there could be no reunion if majority would be absent.

But thanks to Loida Fernando, our class valedictorian, who was super involved with the preparations. Soon after she arrived from Los Angeles where she teaches Science to high school students, she took upon herself to lead a small group of our classmates who are staying in Narvacan, namely, Gina Carbon who acted as treasurer, Edmond Cabusora, Ronald Gasmen, Carolina, and with some help from Victor Albayalde who are based in Manila. Financial contributions, however mostly from our classmates abroad such as Ethel Lucy Clarin, Edgar Allan Aquino, Angeles Cacas, Kit Calisang, Raymond Canto to name a few, and pledges for our class fund came pouring in.

When we had our first group pictorial in front of the Sanidad building, the feeling was “Wow, this is it. Sa wakas natuloy din!” I was very glad to see so many of our classmates whom I haven’t seen since our graduation, like Clarence Pagaling, Anabelle Mario, Joy Cisolo, Laurence Camero, and Giovanni Cabero. The couple Romano and Maricar Fines, who earlier said they couldn't attend the reunion, were a surprise addition to our number as they arrived from Hawaii a few days earlier to attend the wake of Romano's brother.

Seeing most of our classmates for the first time was pretty much like walking in time 25 years back. Not much changed, and I was actually shocked at how generally fit and good-looking everyone turned out, except for others getting belly bulge or getting bald (no surprise at 40 plus age), and some looked prettier than they were before. Nobody weighed 300 pounds or more, nobody had the look of a battered wife or husband or bitter old man, and nobody had a long face to show. Are the others stayed home for obvious reasons? Just kidding.

Everyone seems happy and animated, and everyone is really nice—no matter how many different persons we have become. And everyone still has (or is able to mimic) his or her high school silly or fun stuff and horseplay, I think it’s a good thing being our old selves again just for the fun of it.

And yes, in between the exchanges, we're no longer talking the big things ahead of us.(Do we need to talk about our ambitions in life?) We just gossip about the little things, like who looked great and who got big time and who had been avoiding the class. Those who didn’t attend the reunion, they sure can expect plenty of shits talked about them (just kidding). You’d think that 25 years would eliminate all gossips? Ha ha ha!  

The visit to the campus (memory walk) was the first activity of the day. Standing almost anywhere on the campus revived memories. We walked past the Social Hall on the left side of the main building. It was here that our Citizens Army Training (CAT) under our strict commanders Mr. Romulo Quitevis and the late Mr. Marcelino Soria, and our school paper The Pioneer also under Mr. Soria held their offices. I remember the Armory where we get our wooden rifles during the CAT training, and the benches around the fire trees the lined the pathway to the Science Building where we would usually spend our vacant period. We passed through our homeroom under our adviser Gng. Nena P. Cañero and from here we retraced our steps to the grandstand where we had our CAT training and some sports activities.

The school has improved with more structures and trees inside the campus. But some didn’t improve at all, particularly the old grandstand that is now in state of disrepair. The oval is like a wide span of abandoned lot with tall grasses and unleveled ground.

But there’s always that feeling of achievement of being in the same old place together, that after years of being physically apart, we can still remember almost everything, and everyone agreeing and teasing as the old tale is retold.

Before we left the campus, Mr. Gilbert Cadacio, our YDT teacher, joined the group in another series of photo-ops. From NNCHS ground, we went straight to NOAH, an outdoor adventure hub in Barangay Bulanos, the venue of our program and fellowship. Mr. Cadacio would join 17 of our former teachers, including our librarian Mr. Efren Cachola, canteen manager Ms. Julita Maranion, and former Head Teacher Mr. Reynaldo Peralta.

We made the program in the morning as a tribute to our old mentors. Instead of us speaking to reminisce our days, we had our teachers, each one of them, speaking about us during our days in high school under them and how they see us now. Everyone agreed we made them very special that day.

And I agree with them saying that our parents did pretty good. Among us in the Acacia section (we were 54 in all) are teachers, a doctor, a lawyer, a college professor, an architect, engineers, nurses, teachers, US navy officers, executives, seafarers, policemen, office managers, small business owners, and many other productive members of society.

To celebrate, we had a sumptuous boodle fight lunch under the bridge near the seashore and very near the slope of the Bantay Abot where the town’s famous via ferrata and zip line are. From our place, I can spy the long stretch of Sulvec shoreline where I spent a good dozen of our vacant periods and weekends with some of the boys, like Alex, Victor, Marco Pasion, Richard Sunico, Paul Cabasal, and Gary Bueno. Diving from the abandoned, dilapidated pantalan and doing some crazy stuff underneath the concrete were the most memorable.

The later part of the day was more fun-filled fellowship for the whole class. Loida and her committee had done well preparing for the success of the occasion with parlor games (such as the Pinoy Henyo game won by Nerissa Doles and Laurence), videoke singing, and dancing (I didn’t expect Gilda could sing and groove like a TV host), and we had a brief meeting to discuss our class projects. 

After that, we had a bonfire dinner on the beach. We also had adobong banias (monitor lizard) as pulotan during a round of beer/wine with Paul, Arnel Bernal, Romano, Laurence, Clarence, Victor and Edgar Gapusan. Jerry and Jerico Cadileña missed this one as they went home before dinnertime. And sadly missed by any of the boys, like Atty. Eric Gabatino, Ronald Espiritu, Dennis Esteban, Marcelino Aquino, Francisco Cabarloc, and Resty Crystal, who were abroad or anywhere in the Philippines at that time.

They say that meeting old friends again during a high school reunion is not as thrilling as it used to be now that we have Facebook. Having our classmates as FB friends, with the hundreds of pictures they posted in their Timelines, you can see how the rest look, their jobs, how many kids and selfies they have, and you can chat with them anytime you want. As if we are not missing anyone that much, and posting and commenting in our FB group is like having a virtual reunion.

But with this reunion, we found out there’s just no substitute for interacting in the flesh. We gave everybody a warm handshake or a hug, things that we couldn't do on Facebook. A kind of gathering that is actually a breath of fresh air from the usual hassles and hectic schedules of our respective jobs. So for those who didn’t attend, do yourself a favor, log out and go to our next reunion, OK? We like to see the rest of the girls like Dr. Minerva Macabeo, Melody Munar, Ma. Dolores Aquino, Rowena Ramos, Amalia Borge, Marjorie Cañero, Marivic Rebodos, Arlene Cabotage, Annaliza Cachola, Crisanta Cantano, Nemia Castillo, Mae Cachola and Rowena de Guzman. Maybe most wanted are those missing in our social media radar (or no personal sightings), like our class mayor Charito Galinato, Richard, Joan, Imelda Menor, Cherry Ann Panem and Marites Domalanta.

It was just a moment in time, a very limited connection from past to present to future. As our graduation song says, “Yesterday's a treasure, today is here/ Tomorrow’s on its way, the sky is clear...” It's only after the meeting, or after we’re back on Facebook again peeking in on each other's lives, many of us would realize how much we miss that moment again.