Phil Major

Just like every class before it and every class since, the high school Class of 1973 tossed its caps in the air and went forth to change the world.

Did we?

I doubt there’s a metric or standard upon which to base the answer.

Much like the rite of passage of crossing the stage in a cap and gown to receive a diploma, so is returning to the scene of the crimes, to be acknowledged at homecoming 50 years hence.

A good crowd made it for our brief moment on the Jumbotron and grew larger for the Saturday night event.

That rite is primarily a passage into old age. We will soon be 70. Discussions for some ranged to great-grandchildren. (There were a few grandparents at the 20-year mark.)

There were about 500 in the class, and the most recent list of those who have passed on numbered 77.

With another 200 or so unable to be contacted, statistically I have to assume that something over 100 are probably no longer with us.

Some stats found on the magical internet (which we could not have imagined in ‘73) revealed that just over four million people were born in the U.S. during the time period of our class members’ births. Some 80% were still alive two years ago, and that figure for the then 68-year-olds had shrunk to 76%.

That would put about 380 of us left, and less than half reunited.

It was pointed out that if there was a 50-year class at our homecoming in the fall of 1972, they would have been graduates of 1922 and would have been born in 1903-1904.

Did we change the world? I could make a case for that.

I’m not sure what the percentage of doctors might be in the general populace, but I’m guessing that it’s much less than seven out of 500.

I’m sure they changed many lives for the better. And there were others in related medical fields as well.

A good number went into various aspects of education. For example, my senior English teacher’s daughter also became a classroom teacher. Another recently retired as a principal in an area district and returned to her hometown.

My college roommate was training to be a pilot during those years and I rode many an air mile with him. He had a nice career with Southwest Airlines, then worked for a charter jet service whose work included transporting organs to their transplant recipients. Sounds world-changing to me.

At least three went into ministry. Enough said.

One friend became the third-generation leader of his family’s communications business and took it to the next level, then used the fortune he received when it sold to fund biomedical research into the disease that took his college-age son.

Heartbreaking yes, but one day will matter a lot to other families.

There are a few lawyers, bankers, engineers and architects among us.

Several spent at least some time in various journalism and communications fields, though only one I know of still publishes a weekly newspaper. Not sure how world-changing that is, but I could argue that it’s still important work.

One made a documentary about our years in the school system that included the period of desegregation. It is now a required part of the curriculum for the freshman class.

The fellow whose dad was a key figure at our hometown newspaper was my cohort for a fifth grade coin and stamp newsletter and co-editor of the high school paper. He went a different route with his career. I don’t know if he changed the world, but he certainly helped others to have a better perspective of it through adventure travel.

Among the weekend’s events was a tour of the brand new high school that opened a year ago and replaced the one we attended that was built in 1958. My how things have changed.

I won’t bore you with too many details, but here’s a couple. There are 500,000 square feet under roof (the new Mineola primary will be 77,000). The security system has more than 300 cameras and can automatically track any person labeled as suspicious – including going back in time.

The fellow who flushed something from the chemistry lab and blew up a urinal (wasn’t me) would have been found out quickly.

The statute of limitations has long expired.