John F. Kennedy Class of '74
35-year Reunion with a Gala Dinner Celebration
Francesco (Frank) Reda
| Francesco (Frank) Reda |
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Member Joined Nov 1 2009
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64 years old Edmonton
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DAMN! After looking through everyone's pics from the reunion and recognizing so many faces I am so overwhelmed with memories and emotions that I think I'll have to take a sick day just to be able to process all of this! PLEASE keep posting more pictures and IF anyone should have video of the evening I'd love to see it! Ciao! :-) =====================================================================
Well. hello everyone! This whole 35th Anniversary blast from the past is so surreal! On one hand 35 years have indeed passed since our last appearance on the same "stage". On the other, it feels like time simply stopped and that it was just yesterday that Miss Gendron taught us how to use the Ouija board, Mr. Spina tried to hypnotize us, and that sexy (or was it just me who thought that? ;-) Mrs. Tisdale had us write yet another short story based on random titles she wrote on the board every class.
Anyhow, I can't believe this is the first reunion our graduating class has ever had; but such is life. The ripples spread out in all directions and sometimes it does take 35 long years for them to return to their point of origin; then it seems that but a moment has passed, High school must be one of the most delightfully dysfunctional times of our lives. Such close relationships are forged and then suddenly, overnight, arbitrarily,and without any REAL warning, the show's over, the curtain closes, and everyone goes off in directions they could never have foreseen, for the next 35 years!
Later, one day and as if by magic--around Halloween of all times--the spectres of times past arise and once again reach out to each other! My God, this is far more intriguing than the lost years of Jesus!
I DO hope to get into contact with as many of you as possible. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] Ciao! :-)
Frank (till 1980) Francis (as of 1980) Francesco (since the mid-90s) Domenico Reda
p.s. I was never called Frank, Franco, or even Francesco at home-- even though my mother did name me after San Francesco di Paola-- to my family I am, always have been, and always will be: Mimmo-- (short for Domenico, my maternal grandfather)-- but more often than not it's been Mimmuzzu, Mimmu, Mi, Micù, Mimmuzziallu. Micuzziallu, Micuzzu--and I'm sure I'm forgetting some!-- but NEVER Mimi! Thank God! And you always thought I was just Frank! :-) I'm sure you all have stories to tell about "your name" as well...care to share?
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Caro Calabrese, "First trimester report cards?" Let me guess: you teach English in a French school :-) Io faccio il giornalista da quasi trent'anni, e sono corrispondente della rivista L'actualité in Europe da 18 anni. Mizzica! (Ho imparato l'italiano, prima con voi, poi con Marco Micone a Vanier. ) Me puoi scrivere il qualsiasi lingua a: [email protected] Un abbraccio, M
Ciao Francesco.. looks like the Skype connection never went through. Had a great time. Got back to London on Friday and haven't managed to get some sleep yet....must have been all the excitement from the reunion. Stay in touch. PS. went for a ride around our old hood last week...also passed by your parents' place...Didn't ring the bell. Speak soon.
Hi Anna, I told you this whole 35 year reunion is SURREAL! Anyway, I'm pretty certain that I was born nostalgic and never wanted to leave where ever we come from to come here. However, one day that will all be explained--well it had better be or I will be REALLY upset with the gods! And if they know what's good for them and don't want a hard- headed Calabrese aries-monkey on their case they had better prepare some REAL good answers! :-)
I don't remember Lorena--there is much that I remember and much that is wrapped in thick fog. By the way, since your sons loves "our" music he should definitely look into Shawn Phillips...there's a link on the Music page here.
Hi Frank, how are you doing, still nostalgic? Did you calm down a little? I'm so glad I finally decided to go. Remember Lorena Ruffini, well she found out for me that I could purchase a ticket at the door. Can you believe it? Now I have new memories. It is surreal, we were 16-17 and meeting at 52-53 is well "surreal"!! Take care Anna
Hi Frank,
I finally got a chance to add some names to the photos and also posted a couple more. Take care.
Francesco !! (never knew you as Frank)
I have often thought of you over the years. I have many dear memories of all the people of my past filed away somewhere deep in my brain. There is one in particular that stands out when I think of you, and that is the "Hot Wheels" days, and yes I am talking Mattel. More specifically I think of you sharing your Batmobile with me. I don't know exactly what it is but this whole reunion thing is indeed, "SURREAL" in a very good way. I LOVE IT!!! Tony
Hi Frank, I'm so glad to hear from you. Yes, it's been too long! I haven't lived in Montreal since '84, which made the reunion particularily special. I'm married to Joe Santella (go ahead, look him up in the yearbook) and living in Aurora, Ontario. Looks like you and I were in Alberta at the same time. We lived in Calgary from '89 to '93. I taught with the french catholic school board and Joe was working for Nortel. In fact, our two children were born there. Francesca is 19 and studying engineering at Queens, Marco is 17 and hoping to join his sister next year. I'm an occasional teacher now, which means it's payback time for all the aggravation I've caused our substitutes at Kennedy. Again, it's been great hearing from you. I'm glad they've managed to track you down.
Continue to keep in touch, ciao Maria (Mary)
Wow - a reunion that would include the 73 grads would include my husband and one of my best friends. 75 grads would include Luba and Nancy. Sounds great! Just sent you 2 emails on this site. You could also reach me at [email protected]
Looking forward to hearing from you, Carol
Hello Francesco,
Ahhh.. on your profile. It seems to have a character limit. Maybe you can delete some characters to make space for the links. But please feel free to send me those links to Cat Stevens and Jethro Tull, and if you like, I could post them on the Memories page. Or should I call it the Music page? On the page Organizers - I posted the names of the ladies who organized this lovely reunion, and their email addresses: Kathy Agostino, Corrie (Incoronata) Bertone, and Anna Del Balso. Victoria sounds wonderful, but Montreal has very affordable housing. Maybe you'll consider moving back? All best and more to come.. Carol
Wow, those are great photos from the reunion! When you get a chance please include a note with the names of the people. I recognize some but not all! Ciao :-)
Hi Frank, nice to hear from you! I taught one year in Mclennan, geez did I even spell that right, ha, ha, it seems like it was so long ago. You know even those of us living here in Montreal don't even bump into each other. In 35 years I think we can all count our "rencontres" on one hand!! Unbelievable! I've often wondered if everyone just moved away to some other country!! So nice to hear from everyone! Thanks for all the nice tunes you put up, showed them to my teenage (17) guitar playing son who still thinks our music was the best!! Stay well ,Anna
Hi Frank, I don't think retirement was even in our vocabulary last time we talked. Actually, I've had to erase it from my vocabulary - with 4 daughters (21, 19, 14, 12), I wish it could be in 7 years, but with 2 now in college and two not far behind + with cost of college in the US - retirement in 7 years is but a dream. We've been in Dallas for the last 8 years; that was after having lived in New Jersey for two years. I've been in the insurance business since I graduated in 1980; with the same company just different responsibilities in different cities. If you're in Dallas, don't hesitate to let me know. My home e-mail address is [email protected] (In addition to my daughters and wife Joan, you'll also have to put up with a dog, 2 cats and 2 chincillas if you come visit!)
Hi Frank, you have so eloquently summarized our past 35 years
such truism! So many questions to ask. How are you, how has life treated you? Are you where you envisoned yourself to be....etc Too bad you could not make it. But this is link...Take care
Hello Francesco,
What a nice surprise! Thanks for joining 
Such a shame you can't attend in person. Hope you'll be able to virtually, using Skype. So nice of you to send those links to music from the past. What amazing finds!! Just added them to a new page - Memories. Love what you wrote. Thanks for sharing. How are things in Edmonton? Wishing you well, Carol (Zimmermann) Busato |
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