Wow.... so it has been 30 years since we graduated from high school. Where has the time gone? It can not be, it is seems hard to believe that it has been that long.
Let me start at the beginning... we moved to Venice in 1978. I started my junior year at Venice High. I was miserable at first, wondering what my parents were thinking of moving us/me at this point in my life. Back up north, OK... Michigan, I had had the same friends since 2nd grade. It was hard, very hard. I later learned (at this reunion) that many of the friends that I made during high school also arrived in their junior year. The weather in FL was definitely much better, as was skipping school hanging out at the beach and Snake Island, the Pier and of course Caspersens. It turned out the be good, and some of the friendships still continue 30 years later. And some were re-kindled here. **(A tidbit of info that most are not aware of.. on my very first day at Venice High School, not knowing a single soul, I hear "Sue, Sue" I turn around and low and behold it is Julie, one of my old classmates from 5-8 grades from our little private school up in Michigan. Her family had headed to the area a few years before we did, and we just ended up landing in the same town. One of my favorite stories ever.)**
I remember my 10th year reunion. It seemed that everyone was still stuck in their cliques from back in high school. The 20th I did not make, I was living in Budapest at the time. So this one, I was excited to attend and see the old faces again. The plans had been made. Friday night, I would attend the VHS home football game. Saturday night was going to be at Sharky's Restaurant at the Venice Fishing Pier for an informal dinner.
I dropped Sophie at my mom's, actually Friday night is her night with the grandparents, so that all worked out well. I headed over to Lum's parking lot, sight of the tail-gate party. Lum's no longer exists, the empty building is still there, and the parking lot was ours for the taking. This brought back memories, this is where we used to meet up, figure out who was going to stash the bottle of Meyers Dark Rum, that we would eventually spike our Coke's with, and head into the game. This time it was a bit different, as we openly consumed our beers and our wine, chatted and hugged and reminisced and took photos.
Of course we had all aged. The girls hiding it better than the guys, thanks to the little bottle of Clairol. Most had put on a few pounds, but the personalities had not changed much. The quiet ones were still a little quiet, the wild ones still wild. What I did notice, the cliques from 20/30 years back had been erased. Everyone chatted with everyone, everyone hugged everyone. It was great. I was actually surprised to find out how many of us still live in the area. Wow. I have only run into about 2 or 3 people that I graduated with in the past 30 years. Here is one of my favorite pics I took that night. We used to cause a lot of trouble together, The South Venice Villains. Eddie, Robbie, Chris, Alan, Rob.... Oh the good old days. They guys have really not changed much. They are great and an amazing group. After hanging out in the parking lot for a while, we headed in to watch the game. It was a victory for Venice. Yeah... Go Indians!! We left the game a few minutes early to beat the crowd out, (that is what old people do). From there we headed over to what once was called Smitty's Restaurant, now Pineapples. We sat and exchanged stories of our families, our kids, our lives, our occupations. At about midnight, I had to call it quits, and say my goodbyes. It was getting way past my bed time. 
The next night we, headed over to Sharky's for a nice dinner with some old friends. In this photo is Bill, Jane, Shelley, Louise, myself, and Larry. Dinner was good, the music great, the atmosphere could not have been any better. The weather held out as well. Nice and cool and breezy, no humidity. Seeing old friends was so good. I had an amazing time. 
Here is picture of the spectacular sunset that evening. On the right side of the picture, you can see the Pier.
After realizing how many of us are still in the area, we talked about doing this more often. There were many that did not make it. One dear friend who just lives around the corner, another up in Buffalo and one out in Alaska. Maybe they will be able to attend one of these other ones.
I know that life is busy, we are always on the go, running here or running there. Sometimes you need to run into your old friends. To get a hug from a long lost friend is an amazing feeling.
It would be great to see everyone more, to hang with old friends, to share our old memories, and make new ones. Life is too short to take friends for granted. Therefore, I would like to dedicate this page to our friends who are no longer with us. May they forever be watching over and protecting us.
