Memories of Our 40 Year Reunion-Class of 1967

In a bygone era when Western civilization was at the cusp of post-industrial transition to the dawn of a new Information Age, a biblical phrase, "What hath God wrought" (Numbers 23:23), became the text of the first telegraph message ever transmitted by inventor, Samuel F.B. Morse. Those four words of pious awe--part question, part exclamation, express a suitable context of a similar sense of awe in a brief retrospective when most of the Dalat Class of 1967 gathered for a few days in Scotts Valley, California to celebrate our 40th year reunion.

For one brief weekend time seemed to stand still. Some of us literally took up conversations as though high school graduation had been but yesterday. The laughter and the joy was pervasive, giddy at times, comforting. And for the rediscovery of unexpected ease of wide-ranging, free-association, yet unique reunion conversations there was this magnificent two-fold increase to experience and process together in our small community, the presence of all these spouses to meet and make acquaintance. Personally speaking, it was distinct and pleasant surprise to be immediately conscious of how much I liked these people I was meeting for the first time. Our class proved to be a dynamic, inclusive social identity demonstrating its natural desire to welcome. Everyone just seemed to fit in and add natural compliment that was very soon evident. Of course each had heard many stories which meant that now in the certain retelling there was some necessity to compete above the laughter while so many would attempt to de-mythologize and render considerable commentary and revisionist versions of what we all remembered so well. Not that we were like the Hindu parable of the blind men attempting to describe an elephant for the first time from their different vantage points touching the animal. But just try manufacturing that light-hearted social experiment at your typical high school reunion, if you dare, and see what happens.

Our rendezvous point was in the beautiful home and absolutely welcoming hospitality of Bonnie and Mark Overgaard. Mark was our class president. There is reason in Western tradition that no matter how many years pass after one has left office he is still called, Mr. President. Well, I didn't hear anyone calling Mark by that honorific but his natural leadership and stewardship of our class was certainly still evident and much appreciated. Also honor to whom honor is due, it was the casual dinner conversation some years back between the Overgaards and (Dr.)Dave and Rebecca(R.N.) Thompson during a brief respite in the United States from their medical missions career in Gabon, Africa, which would prove to be the catalyst to set on course to its culmination this extraordinary milestone event for our class.

Platitudes aside however, our Dalat class should not serve as a template for Dalat alumni with regard to our timely interpersonal communications and keeping current with one another's lives. We collectively confess we just haven't done much to stay in touch. The unique challenge before Mark and others to achieve by an organized "virtual reunion" a ten years ago was a monumental achievement. Therefore this particularly wonderful event we shared this past summer would affirm that important sense of reconnection that is one of the Western world's life cycle events. But it was more than this writer's attempt to convey without any exaggeration. What was apparent from the outset through to the conclusion for me requires a Hebrew word--RU'AKH--and its English synonym, Spirit.

We are a class blessed with Spirit, Ruakh. No other word fits to depict best the demeanor of the wonderful time e shared together and the mild inebriation that persists to the present day. This is also to say that we sincerely missed, were pained, and held in our hearts the few who were unable to make that journey to be part of this together. But I think in a way this, too, transcends time and distance because we are a class imbued with the Hope of eternal life. In fact in was in that precise sense of the missing, we took a few moments to honor the memory of one classmate who could not be there with us. Kenneth Troutman, our classmate, died in the middle of our senior year at Tanah Rata, and went to his eternal reward. Therefore, the idea of Reunion, albeit 40 years as a unique class event shared this summer in the Santa Cruz mountains of California's beautiful northern coastline where trees live for a millennium, we also had a clearer sense of a far greater eternal view.

As we arrived at San Francisco airport from our many national and international venues within 24 hours or so of each other, a hallmark Dalat culture emerged. This was a well organized event but the learning curve of boarding school years inculcated considerable flexibility to the program. Nevertheless--if you were a late arrival, well, you'd better get with the program and hurry up if you didn't want to miss out. I arrived only a half day later than some. Already the early birds had taken a tour of one of the nation's premier marine aquariums and research centers located on the beautiful coast in Monterey. I had hoped to go but, well, something else was already scheduled by the time I arrived and had rendezvous'd with my special guest for the weekend and longtime friend, Carol Drummond. Carol and I were pen pals my senior year at Tanah Rata. She flew in from Florida. We laugh with amazement how our diligent teenage correspondence via snail mail, excuse me, Mel Udara--Tanah Malayu-- took a full three weeks to come full circle in dialog. This was long, long before the click of a mouse can bring communication into real time with email, chat, or Skype. And what an amazing, beautiful afternoon it would be at the garden party hosted by the Overgaards. It is not possible to capture vignettes and nuances of so many impressions in words after not seeing one another for such a long time. But there we were suddenly together, classmates, spouses and all. Deja vu with such a delightful atmosphere that time seemed to stand still. Bonnie and Mark really outdid themselves and brought new meaning into our lives for chapters on hospitality and diligence. It was such a pleasure to have this happy unhurried time together to enjoy so much and to be take care of and fed so very well. As to what we planned to do the next day after a delay of forty years, we simply took a vote. What? No extended student council debate? No passionate arguing and having the last word? Nope. Given some alternatives we matter of factly voted to take a train ride through the coastal redwood country and down the mountains to the seacoast setting of the famous Santa Cruz boardwalk and then lunch at a seafood restaurant on the pier before taking the train back up to Scotts Valley. For all the conversation and getting reacquainted with each other, we couldn't help reminisce a little about that Senior Sneak of 1967 in which this same band of merry mischief-makers had successfully and surreptitiously pulled off the Great Escape and had chartered a little bus that took us from Tanah Rata down from the Cameron Highlands to Ipoh. I remembered well also visiting Penang with my family and my brother, Sam,who had flown in from Vietnam to be present for my graduation. The Penang visit must have been one of those portents of things to come.

Each of us alumni will take away our particular memories of this amazing reunion weekend, but collectively I hope a couple of things will stay with us forever. One was that Jim and Romaine Webber had compiled on DVD this amazing tribute to Dalat, an audio-visual photographic collage, montage, rejuvenated archive of probably the past 45 to 50 years of Dalat School memories from the mountaintop campus, Villa Alliance, in Dalat, Vietnam through the dislocation years of temporary quarters in Bangkok and Tanah Rata to the new campus in Penang, Malaysia. Thanks to skillful digital mixing, this presentation on the big screen was nothing less than a profound emotional and spiritual tour de force. The second event that I hope gets etched on the frontal lobes of our still sharp brains is that last evening together in the Overgaard's living room when we just told stories, sang old ballads of a bygone era, all while sporting our new Dalat-logo caps and we reminisced and laughed hysterically until late into the night when suddenly good judgment and common sense prevailed and we all realized we needed to head for our hotel rooms for needed sleep and to face the after breakfast goodbyes of the next morning.

Dalat is a treasured heritage that now spans generations, continents, nationalities, languages, faith traditions. In all that Dalat has striven for in ideals of mission, of education and academic excellence, of building lives, of spiritual legacy that will make a difference to the sixth generation, I think that we the Class of '67 will attest to Dalat's continuing resonance in our mindset and to its incalculable benefits accrued in our lives. For this we are truly grateful. May God bless and prosper Dalat now and always in its every worthy endeavor.