Fear at First Glance

Of Swans and Swine... For Janice Coldwell Stanton, the final class reunion at Stoney High School would be her last chance to capture a specific "look" from those people in her hometown who only knew her as the tall, skinny, frumpy, piano-playing accompanist she had been in high school. In a candid moment, she had to admit it would be worth the trip back home just to see how those folks would react to seeing the poised, beautiful, successful business woman that she had become. And, she couldn't deny that double take would be all the sweeter with her "trophy" husband in tow. After this year, Stoney, Michigan, would no longer have a high school, and that fact alone would entice graduates of all years for one last look at the past at the annual Homecoming Football Game and Alumni Reunion - a tradition that would end as the school property was turned into a housing project. Reunions hold a certain amount of anxiety for all alumni. There is a normal hesitation that comes with touching their youth; comparing themselves to the baseline they started from, and to those others who started with them. But for some, looking back on the Class of '80 carries more anxiety than just comparing waistlines, careers, or shades of gray in the hair. For those, an examination of the past threatens everything they've lived for, strived for, and attained. For those, this annual gathering offers the real danger of discovery, and with it, fear at first glance.