Top Exec Blog (Web Log)

The San Joaquin Valley in California is a land of flatness, lush orchards, vast cotton fields, cattle lots, dairy farms, citrus orchards, olive ranches, oil derricks and countless communities that live and die by farming. On a recent weekend, this traveler on the Career Path Expressway™ took a detour, and found himself rolling down the highway to a town called Visalia.

Once a small farm town of 15,000 souls, it's now a major county center of 120,000 or more. Where there were only two high schools, there are now six or seven, if you count the Christian charter high schools. Where a single McDonald's was a major innovation years ago, there are now six or seven throughout the town (dare I say, city?). Change is apparent everywhere, in terms of construction, new, upscale supermarkets, additional freeway overpasses, and a continuous zone of strip mall and other businesses from the College of the Sequoias almost to Mooney's Grove, which then reconnects with more commercial establishments and such from the other side (or nearly) to a neighboring town called Tulare. Once it was just broad open fields and a very long open stretch of Mooney Blvd. that connected the two towns. My how time flies, and how change happens to the places in our memories.

So, as life would have it, a cross-section of folks from all over the state of California, and from all over the USA and even one person from Beirut, Lebanon came together to celebrate a long-ago event: high school graduation. Not a single school, but the original two, cross-town rivals, Redwood and Mt. Whitney. Blue & Gold vs. Maroone & White. North Side (RHS) vs. the South Side (MWHS). Gone now are the petty rivalries, the childish pranks and small cruelties that kids afflict on one another over how they dress, who they "like" and what type of clothes or car they favor. Now, with the passage of time, it's a mellow gathering of folks from both sides, matured by life's ups and downs, hardened a bit, wiser by a lot, and touched on all sides by death, disease and divorce. Despite these challenges, the gatherings are festive, the laughter comes easily, and the mood is upbeat, fun and "memorable" in every sense of the word.

What this traveler found interesting and what seemed a common thread in multiple conversations is the mood of the country. This cross section of folks (all of the same age, more or less) seemed to represent every walk of life: blue collar, white collar, professionals, housewives, ranchers, farmers, business owners, unemployed, underemployed and retired too soon, hoping to rediscover a means to earn a living. What came through loud and clear is the hard times that many are dealing with. Business owner? Business is down, because there are no jobs out there. Rancher? Selling half his land to make ends meet. Single mom? Doing a basic wage job just to pay some bills. White collar professional? Networking like crazy to find a new opportunity, but unemployed, all the same. Caregiver? Dealing with one loved one's suffering and then the next, in succession, with little respite.

What also came through in snippets of conversations was the carefree way we all used to live: no locked doors, kids playing freely without fears of predators, simpler times, simpler ways. In contrast, there seemed a mood of frustration with governments, in general. Many seemed angry and frustrated with interference, over-regulation, over-taxation, over-complication of all things in life today, whether it be federal, state or county/municipal governance. Many voiced a desire for smaller and less of the type of intrusions that afflict people in getting on with life, earning a living and having a decent "return on their labors", whatever they may do to earn a living.

On the bright side, and there were many, people seemed to shine through in new ways, with more confidence, tranquility and pleasure at being able to share these few days, these many memories and the sensation that "old friends" are truly good friends. Whether remembering a particular school event, a specific band playing favorite pop tunes at the after-game dance or some of the football or Christmas season traditions, folks were often chuckling with pleasure at shared memories, or chattering on in rapid-fire fashion as one memory triggered another, and then another, and so on, through common thoughts and images. Oh, how those images and memories collided, since so many long-ago experiences, long buried and forgotten, came rebounding to the surface as one person shared with another who shared back in return.

Another reality that each of us had to acknowledge was how we have each changed, physically. No matter, once the name and photo ID were matched to the current person, it became easy to share in who we are today, how many children/grandchildren we have and other achievements we shared these many years along the Career Path Expressway™. It didn't really matter that we matched today's face and person with the one we remembered from those high school days, but rather that we understood, "I'm still me," and "you're still you," and reveled in the pleasure of still being here, in this moment, right now, to enjoy each other's company. So sad, we seemed to agree intuitively, that some chose to not come, or that some are no longer with us in this world. We were glad to be there, and happy to find a connection with the past that resonates and replenishes our spirits in the present.

So, the traveler said goodbye to old friends and rolled out of town, and in so doing headed up the highway to his next destination. A snippet of a song came to him, no doubt of his own invention, something inspired by reunion nostalgia.....

Driving at dusk with sunglasses on,

Look in the mirror now, 40 years gone.

Twilight settles softly, yet with no sound,

Hearts ache, love heals, old friends found.

                       --o--

Thanks for reading, and remember to enjoy the ride.

© Daniel A. Cabrera, TopExec.org, All rights reserved, 2010.