2012 HHS Geezer / Sheikster Road Trip Reunion~ from your friend, Ruben Bustamante, class of (72)

[Susan Silvestri (Furness)]

It’s amazing how things change so quickly in this communication age. I remember my old rotary phone and writing letters to my grandma. Now a days, a stamp is not needed and communicating with friends and business associates has developed into something we only dreamed of for the 21st century. Take Facebook for instance. It all started with a search for old friends and without realizing it, everyone is reconnecting with people all the way back to high school and so starts my story.

In January of 2011, a 1974 Hollywood High classmate Lee Anne Petrie informed her friend, Wendy Sharpe Farkas (74) that she was coming down to L.A. from Washington to visit and would love to see some old friends. Wendy decided to get a few friends together and make her wish happen. What started as an invite to a few friends on FB quickly spread and the word got out. It ended up being the 1st Annual HHS Love Fest Happy Hour at a restaurant in Studio City called Ole, on a Monday night! Word spread quickly on FB and before you knew it, you were toasting alongside a non-familiar face with a long ago recognized name, as over fifty Hollywood High School classmates showed up. By the end of the night, we had classmates from five different years attending this Monday night impromptu mixer. Classmates from 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 & 1974 were represented.

The camaraderie, joy and fun of the evening didn’t end there. Much was said about doing this again as soon as possible and inviting more classmates. Time passed, as it does so quickly and soon weeks became months. We realized that we needed to recharge our desires and organize an event.
Many classmates form Northern California gave us the suggestion of doing a road trip to the Bay area and having it as the meeting point for other classmates not residing in Hollywood or the Southern California area to also join in and so it began!

We have just returned from the first Annual HHS Geezer / Sheikster Road Trip, which we celebrated in San Francisco, CA. over the weekend of Feb. 10th thru Feb. 13th. Planes, Trains and automobiles were used to get there and the main mixer was held at the Law offices of Lee Manus McNutt (74) on Saturday night.
Many classmates who had RSVP’d ended up not making the trip, but the ones who did, will remember this trip forever, as it began in San Diego by train with classmates boarding from different locations all the way up on what we referred to as the Love Train.
Many of us chatted with each other and shared how rare this was, to be actively partying with classmates with whom we didn’t particularly hang out with at school, but because of FB and these types of mixers, we now had acquired a definite friendship. As great as Facebook, texting, new Gphones, iPads, iPhones and easier ways to communicate are, nothing can replace the one on one conversation, the hug and the handshake for making new friends.

We toured the city like tourists and partied like teenagers, at times with everyone and at other times in smaller groups. A Hollywood High Geezer banner made by Wendy traveled with us and proudly flew whenever the cameras were rolling or people were watching. The weather was great and we happened to pick the weekend of the Chinese New Year parade and celebration to be visiting this great city.
We have not yet picked the time, date or the place for our next HHS Geezer/Sheikster Road Trip. But two things are secure. First, we will vigorously wave our Hollywood High banner wherever we go. Secondly, there will be more Sheiksters joining us, attending and befriending.  Please visit and view pictures from the road trip. Your friend, Ruben Bustamante (72)

[Susan Silvestri (Furness)]

2012 HHS Geezer / Sheikster Road Trip Reunion

[Susan Silvestri (Furness)]