Desert Sun School - Reunion 2001 Poem

Reunion 2001
by Peter M. Lee, Class of '81

Such a time I had. I laughed, I cried, I held friends I haven't held in decades... and they held me right back.

I saw teachers and authority figures from the past and the love for them was still there; the hate for others was not!

The love for the mountains of Idyllwild was as fresh and new as the day I left.

My olfactory sense was working, not hard to close my eyes and smell the smell like no other place I have ever been. It brought back memories so clear, as if I was walking to the Lodge on the way to dinner, or to see a friend, or sitting on "the rock" behind our dorm rooms gazing at that tree I remember like the back of my hand.

It made me feel free to look at that tree. The smell rang clear as a bell... we thought it was hell, in fact it was not!

It was truly heaven. It was heaven back then. It is heaven now.

I took a walk with old friends, down the road bends, in the dark, whispering, no flashlights allowed, no talking out loud, blinded by the familiar starlight, while the urge to dodge cars and warn others was there we went onto campus, fear... I could feel my heart pound as we traversed across ground I haven’t stepped on in over two decades, trying not to trip, while on the journey "the trip" one weekend in June 2001... What a trip!

It was really a trip.

Some of us were still single and others had children with familiar eyes, how could that be? How could a child I have never seen have familiar eyes?

I know. It is in the lives of past friends; from the eyes of old friends' memories without ends that reflect in the eyes... through the eyes of the children of friends I will never forget.

I will NEVER forget!

Many of us were there, some of us were not. Some who weren't will be seen at other reunions I'm sure, while one in particular however, was not there, and future reunions for him will not be... not in person anyway but in spirit yes and always in our hearts, because he lives in our memories as we live in his.

He lives in the trees. He lives in that special tree too... the one I remember like the back of my hand. Wish I could hold his hand though just one time more. The tequila is there, the sage in the air and our thoughts and our prayer. How we all loved him so! He brought us together though, of this I am sure.

Thank you Stephen Achen.

Another special person won't go without mention, is the one who made it all possible, the one with intention, David. His Intention! He was intent on re-igniting the fire, re-uniting us all, he inspired... inspired a fire which burns brightly in us all. It is not a fire with heat, it was a fire of love... quite a feat indeed. You know it was a success.

A success indeed.

The years have flown past. Like a leaf they've blown past. Boy, they went fast! Past us all they have gone but more will come. As sure as the sun shines our memories will entwine each of us forever.

I had the time of my life, remembering a life not so long ago. We supported each other and gave one another so many stories to tell. We mentored each other just like a brother because that is all we had... each other.

We shared everything and we will continue to share the memories of Desert Sun School forever and ever.

I will see you again as the road bends down Saunders Meadow in the dark, under the stars. We will walk to the rock while the smell it will tell... the stories of the past, they will stay as strong as a mast of the ship they call Desert Sun.

Our fond lady in Idyllwild.