Old Friends

Rarely do I take a weekend during the craziness of school to just hang out with old friends. This past weekend was fabulous. After a bit of planning, my friend from high school Gusti and her family were able to procure the house next to my dad’s in Coos Bay for bit of a reunion. Gusti sister, Quinn, is married and lives in Germany. She and her family were unable to attend her 20th high school reunion in 2008, so plans began to develop for an LDS reunion in Coos Bay. The classes of 1988-1992 had large pockets of LDS youth in Coos Bay with large numbers of converts and this many of these pockets have stayed close though the years. The classes of 1988 and 1991 were most of what came together over this past weekend.

Gusti, Quinn, and their families arrived in Coos Bay on Wednesday, 8 July and I drove down from Portland on the afternoon of the 9th. We enjoyed late nights, side splitting laughter, and endless bonding moments together. Friday was a day set aside for crabbing with my dad. He graciously ferried 5-6 people per group out of and back into the boat dock, so that all of Gusti and Quinn’s families could experience crabbing in the bay ‘local style’. Dad and I laid the pots around 8A and by 3P the boat was back at the house. We had ferried four groups, Gusti had taken hundreds of photographs, I had cooked 38 crab and after a demonstration of cleaning a crab, they were ready to eat.

As we all began to clean up a bit, Gusti sat and picked crab. She probably eat 3 crab all by herself and loved every minute. The kids were now more adapt to ‘play’ with the crab now that they were no longer moving. Dad and Beth’s house slowly became the gathering place as many arrived into town and discovered fresh crab was available. I owe Dad and Beth a huge thanks for not freaking out when they suddenly had 20 plus people in their driveway whom they had never met.

The rest of the weekend was spent at the beach, BBQ’s, and in friend’s living rooms. As Gusti picked up her phone at 10P on Saturday night we wondered who else we could find to catch up with. Thanks to Eva for the impromptu gathering in her living room s late at night and thanks to Rebecca who crawled out of bed, hoped in her car, and joined us for a few hours of chatter even though we didn’t get home until 3A.

Sunday morning came quickly after a few hours of sleep and as all the girls in the group gathered to sing in our old ward sacrament meeting, we were all proud to be a part of something so profound and full of greatness. As we listened to Quinn talk of being baptized at 17 years old, attending BYU, serving a mission in Germany, assisting the area presidency of Germany after her mission, marrying a German National, and raising her family in Germany…we were all profoundly aware of what started in a small town on the Southern Oregon Coast.