We Were Valedictorians and Young Once
By JoeBruin88. Filed in Events and Friends |Tags: Events, Food, Friends, high-school, traffic, wedding-reception, Whittier
The last memories I have of Julie were in 1984 or 1985. We were studying in the Biomed Library at UCLA. She had transferred to a real school, UCLA, from UC Irvine. After that year, we really didn’t see much of each other at UCLA. She was a Communications major (North Campus) while I was suffering in the Biology department (South Campus). Our common love for the band, Duran Duran, did not bring us together as much as the band’s popularity fizzled. And so life passed on.
A year or so ago, we reconnected electronically. I knew that Julie was the International Vice President for Sony Music in Europe and I was in the middle of my MBA program and also looking for a career change. I contacted Julie out of the blue to see if she could connect me with anyone in Sony San Diego. While that did not pan out, it was good to touch base a couple of times by phone and email.
So now some twenty years later, Josephine and I went to Julie’s parents’ house in Whitter for her California Whittier wedding reception. It was fun, driving through the old stomping grounds of Whittier. I had not been to Julie’s house in a long time since we were in high school. We had launched on some crazy adventures from there that involved going to dance clubs in Los Angeles and under-age drinking. But that was a lifetime ago.
Now we’re on the cusp of middle age. Julie finally got hitched to Robert, her long-time boyfriend. And life comes fulls circle.
Josephine and I had a great time. We met and hung out with some of Julie’s friends and family. She had great, authentic Mexican food there. They hired a Mexican woman to make carne asada, pollo asada, and salsa. It tasted sooooo good. It was just like Mr. Taco.
We stayed for three hours or so, talking and sipping on margaritas. Julie’s nephew played a few songs on the violin for entertainment. It was very cute. I saw myself many years ago playing piano and performing at my parents’ parties.
Because of the traffic going up to Whittier, we decided to take the 60 freeway to the 15 south to head home. So on the way we passed by the high school and my parents’ old house. Memories. The old neighborhood. The tennis courts. Whittier, from days of old.
