On High School Reunions

I'm fresh off the plane from my 10th (cough, cough, cough) high school reunion. I'm completely beat from hanging out with all the old people, who I'm here to tell you, can still really party despite the extra pounds, gray hair, baldness and, lord help me, grandchildren. I'm going to make this brief due to the headache from staying up past my bedtime for too many nights and a yoga class with my 75 year old father in which I found myself doing a headstand.

In any case, high school reunions are kinda awesome for a variety of reasons, but here are my top ten from a writerly perspective:

1. You get to see the overall story arc of a group of people you've known in many cases since childhood.
2. Is there anything more fascinating than the evolution or non-evolution of people you've grown up with?
3. In so many cases, the careers, spouses and personalities were eerily close to what I'd imagined, but what of those few people who threw me for a loop?
4. Why was it those voted Most Likely To generally didn't and, more interesting, what did they do instead?
5. The physical changes, both positive and negative.
6. The cliques and how they still impact classmates who stayed in our hometown.
7. How much and how little people really change.
8. How and why time truly is the great equalizer.
9. Where else could you possibly find so many fleshed out potential characters in one place?
10. The stories!