Since I read Afton's post about her favorite memory from the old days I have been thinking quite a bit about my own. It is a little hard for me to settle in on just one, so I will list a few that came to mind.
Some of my very favorites come from the band days around my Senior year in 1990. Specifically, I highly regard the band parties that we had during band camp that summer at the park and also at the West Mountain church. Shortly after that I remember the Labor Day weekend of that year as one of my all time favorites. I recall that some of us went up to watch the fireworks on that Friday night, and then afterward we walked out to Red Bridge in the dark. The next night me, Kyle, Rob, and Steve Lindsey camped over in the park at the band's food-stand and watched videos until very late. That whole weekend was very memorable. On October 29th of that year a bunch of us went up the canyon and hiked up to the Grotto. I believe we were out of school that day for some reason, but I always remember that as being a memorable time. Of course shortly after that came the California band trip that seemed to cap off everything from that fall. Anybody that went on that trip can remember all the great stuff that took place then.
Well, now I will leave the band centered memories because I know that not everybody from our group was included in them. There were a lot of great memories from us all hanging out in 1991, but I will try to list a couple of the stand-outs for me. I really thought that our Senior Ball was a good time. We kept it simple by just eating at the Spring Lake Church with our parents doing the cooking, but I think that also made it a very personal occasion for our group. A few months later was when many of you went on the trip to see Steve Lee's graduation. I didn't go because of work, but I have regretted that over the years when hearing what a great trip everybody had. I think another good time was when we had the surprise birthday party for Derek that year out at Camelot Forest. That was another very personal occasion for our group when we were all very close and at our best back then. We pulled off the surprise well and made it a great night for Derek and everybody else there. (I seem to recall somebody or two even wetting themselves there, but you tell me.) Another big highpoint for me was that October when quite a few of us went to see Oingo Boingo play at the Delta Center. It was also the first ever concert played by anybody at the Delta Center. That was another occasion when those of us there were very tight as a group of friends and just had a hell of a fun time together.
Rob was the first one to leave on a mission in December of '91, but during 1992 we still tried to make great memories with whoever of us was still here. I remember a bunch of us all piling into Dennis's truck one Sunday afternoon that spring and driving up Payson Canyon. (There are some good memories with that old red truck.) On Friday the 13th of March several of our old friend and acquaintances were camping up at the mouth of Santaquin Canyon. That was when Derek, Dennis, Kyle, and myself all sneaked up to their camp with Derek disguised as a mummy. We hung out for a while around the campfire and that was a memorable night. About a month later a bunch of us went up to Trumbolt in Santaquin Canyon and had another bonfire. I remember that night that we just hung around and talked and really had a great night. Then in July shortly before Kyle left on his mission we all had a get-together at my parents' house. We had a cook-out in the backyard, and then later those left went ice blocking on the Peteetneet hill. What an incredible night that was. Shortly before Dennis left on his mission I remember that a bunch of you went to hike Mt. Timpanogos. Again I didn't go because of work, but I wish I had went from all of the stories I have heard from those that did go. It sounds like it wasn't a time when everything went smoothly, but it was a time when everybody there was very tight and looked out for each other as friends.
Those are just some of my favorite memories with you all. I still really enjoy when we get together these days. In recent times there have still been favorite memories being made of getting together with our old friends. A couple stand-outs were that time in June of 2004 when we had a get-together at the trout farm because Synthia was moving to Boston. That was just a great time for everybody there, and I thought it was cool to see the fireflies in Utah that night. In December of 2005 we had a get-together at a church and then we went over to the Furniss house to visit some more. That night came shortly after a difficult trial in my life, and I really was strengthened by associating with my old friends at that time.
Sorry for the novel I wrote for you all. Hopefully it won't take too long for you to read all this. These are not all of my favorite memories with our group of old friends, but they definitely are some of the highpoints for me. I look forward to reading some of yours. Another interesting idea may be for people to write about some of their biggest regrets or "what ifs" if they feel so inclined. I talked about a couple of mine as being times that I wish I would have been there with everybody when I wasn't. I would be interested to see what other people have thought about our old times together over the years since then.
