I guess I have to give a little bit of a back story before I can just release the main story since Subiaco Abbey is not a normal high school. Subiaco Abbey is first and foremost a Benedictine Monastery, it is a High School, a church, a retreat center and summer camp as well as other things. I belonged to the High School part of the Abbey where they house around 200 students every year that live, eat and breathe high school education. And yes, we lived there too, it is a boarding school. When school is not in session there is a retreat or a summer camp going on. And no, it is not some place where you send bad children, the place is rich with tradition where some of my class mates fathers and brothers graduated Subiaco. Then again yes, there were kids there that you might consider bad children. It was just all fun and games to us, did not matter who you were or where you came from as long as you enjoyed toilet humor. Come on, I guess I forgot to mention it is a all boys school, need I explain any more?
I began attending Subiaco Academy in the summer of 1989 (August). I had been attending the famous Little Rock Central High School for my 10th grade year and attended Henderson Middle before that. During my time at Central my family life was very dysfunctional due to my parents irresponsibility to me and divorce, they did not get it and were self involved. While hanging out with the Central High crowd I met several kids who went to Boarding School in other states. When they would come back in town they were like Rock Stars who went to boarding school and got to do what they wanted with no crappy family life. I quickly wanted to be like them, not live at home and come back into town to bask in boarding school fame. Half way through the school year I was bugging dad to send me to Darlington, Baylor Prep or Saint Andrews Swanee, all of which were in the Boarding School Catalog of schools. Subiaco was not in this catalog of schools and I knew it, I was masking the idea of going to school there because I heard it was military style barracks and no girls, boo to that. Subiaco Academy had burned down in 1927 and had to close for a year until 1928 when it reopened. Only schools that were over a certain age appear in the Catalog of Boarding schools and since Subiaco closed its doors in 27 it was out of the range because the catalog stipulations. Then at the end of my 10th grade year my dad invited me down to his office for lunch one day and broke news to me that if I wanted to go I could go to boarding school at Subiaco Academy. One of his business associates told him about the school, awe man, not there...... So a week later we went up to Subiaco and I interviewed with the headmaster at the time, toured the campus and the semi private rooms I would stay in at Heard Hall. It was not so bad, very beautiful campus to say the least and they had lots of sports to choose from. I would be free of family dysfunction and their rules, so why not.
1989 before I came up to Subi. Lincoln Smith to my left went to a school on the East Coast, I thought he was so cool and he still is very cool.
Later that Summer I would go back up to Subiaco and spend my last two years of high school there with pleasure. Ok, so is this the part of the story where I tell mad stories about what went on at the Abbey? Nope, back to the reunion....
The reunion started on Friday, goes Saturday and ends on Sunday after a big breakfast. I was not sure what to do when it came to register for the reunion, should I go up there Friday or Saturday?? Who would be there and would they even talk to me, it has been 20 years for most of these guys and 19 for a couple of others (there is a homecoming revisit story that happened in fall of 91). So I went for a safe bet, get there Saturday afternoon, attend 4pm mass and then that nights activities. I got there around 230, got my room squared away and headed down to the pool. There at the pool I met a few class mates - Anderle, Beans, Jones and Fleetwood. I had also briefly talked to Benard Tougas on the way down there leaving Coury House. I did not recognize David Jones from the pool because he left Subiaco after my first semester.
We made our way back up the hill and attended 4pm mass. I sat next to Eric Lacerte and his family during mass. Then this guy from the 1981 class sat on the other side of me, this guy ended up being a ass later on in the story. Mass was mass, I have been so many times, it was great....yah. After mass we headed over to the Round House where most of the nights activities would happen next. The round house is a big parish house that has a large room full of tables, perfect for our banquet. The class of 91 had a grouping of tables where I got to shake hands and talk to Roger Lisko, Kieth Schulterman , Nino Ardnemagni, Steve Schmitz, Eric Chapman, Brian Koch, Leon Guidry, and Jason Taylor. Later I would talk to Kenny Seiter and catch up. Most every body is married and the majority of everyone has kids with the exception of me, no marriage and no kids. There was a full bar inside and plenty of beer out side. After everyone had there drink of choice the live auction started offering up items such as a weekend in Stuttgart, a 22 caliber rifle, a Walnut Coffee table, a TV and other non notable stuff that went for a lot of gravy. Then they served up steak and potatoes buffet style, I had two of each. After every one had there fill of food the silent auction got started on the items in the hall way. It was a fairly uneventful affair, the most fun was sitting on a bench with Guidry while watching his son draw on the auction sheet. Nobody knew the bench we were sitting on was for sale, I think one person bid on it, good for them. After the silent auction a few of us went out back to help Chapman load his new Walnut coffee table into his Honda Pilot. So for the next two weeks the table, his wife and four little girls are going to keep close company.
Chapman all loaded up.
This was the Jerry Springer guy from 81.
Once we got Chaps loaded up we noticed that the beer had disappeared and people were filing over to the official Beer Garden. Here we relished in stories of the past and present while some of us threw back what ever that was in those kegs, hopefully Bud Light. The night was going round in a fairly normal mood, nothing out of the ordinary, just basic conversation and laughs, then out of no where there was screaming. David Jone's wife was yelling at the top of her lungs at the guy who sat next to me in mass. She was exclaiming that how dare he try to kiss her, to never text message her again and to leave the premises, her area now. Apparently he had fooled her into giving him her number, he later texted her something about her lips being soft and then tried to lay one on her right there in the Beer Garden. I could tell the guy was a bit of a turd during mass because during mass he kept trying to be funny but failed on all attempts. So here we are witnessing something off the Jerry Springer show, what fun. After that, 2 am rolled up and everyone went to bed including me.
The next day I went to breakfast at 9am sitting with Kenny and his father (who graduated in like 67?). I Had eggs and sausage flushed down with weak coffee and juice. There was a short presentation and then we all said our good byes, we all went on our way, back to our lives. Except Chapman, he still has two more weeks of the unknown with a Walnut Table and Family. I got in my car feeling kind of depressed, I did not want to leave. I had been nervous about seeing all these guys again, that is why I had played it safe and only come up Saturday but as I drove off towards Memphis I wished I had been there since Friday. I had no idea this experience would be so great and refreshing. To see all these guys and nothing much has changed, they are still the same but grown up. In the end we were just still high school buddies shooting the breeze, some of them with kids and big jobs, some of us single and working hard, no matter what- we are still the class of 91! That part has not changed, fun times. Can't wait to see these guys again. I have been invited back next year, lets do it.
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The reunion started on Friday, goes Saturday and ends on Sunday after a big breakfast. I was not sure what to do when it came to register for the reunion, should I go up there Friday or Saturday?? Who would be there and would they even talk to me, it has been 20 years for most of these guys and 19 for a couple of others (there is a homecoming revisit story that happened in fall of 91). So I went for a safe bet, get there Saturday afternoon, attend 4pm mass and then that nights activities. I got there around 230, got my room squared away and headed down to the pool. There at the pool I met a few class mates - Anderle, Beans, Jones and Fleetwood. I had also briefly talked to Benard Tougas on the way down there leaving Coury House. I did not recognize David Jones from the pool because he left Subiaco after my first semester. 
The next day I went to breakfast at 9am sitting with Kenny and his father (who graduated in like 67?). I Had eggs and sausage flushed down with weak coffee and juice. There was a short presentation and then we all said our good byes, we all went on our way, back to our lives. Except Chapman, he still has two more weeks of the unknown with a Walnut Table and Family. I got in my car feeling kind of depressed, I did not want to leave. I had been nervous about seeing all these guys again, that is why I had played it safe and only come up Saturday but as I drove off towards Memphis I wished I had been there since Friday. I had no idea this experience would be so great and refreshing. To see all these guys and nothing much has changed, they are still the same but grown up. In the end we were just still high school buddies shooting the breeze, some of them with kids and big jobs, some of us single and working hard, no matter what- we are still the class of 91! That part has not changed, fun times. Can't wait to see these guys again. I have been invited back next year, lets do it.
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