“Let’s face it.
Friends make life
a lot more fun.” 
Charles R. Swindoll

There’s something to be said for a group of friends who gather around a table, enjoy a delicious meal together, and share stories and memories from their past. For several years now, a number of my classmates from the Saint Gabriel School Class of 1968 have met informally for food, fun, and fellowship. The first gathering was a lunch at Beach Chalet in The City in November 2013. It was a small group, but the number of attendees has grown slowly, but steadily through the years. We’ve met several times at a sports park in Pleasanton, at a variety of restaurants throughout the Bay Area, once at the home of one of our classmates in The City, and at the Rossmoor Community in Walnut Creek where two of our classmates reside. That event included a memorable bocce ball tournament.

Despite the inclement weather in The City yesterday, our largest group yet, 21 in all, met for lunch at Capurro’s Restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf. The restaurant is owned by Paul Capurro, a 1967 graduate of Sacred Heart High School. Sadly, I had never been to Capurro’s prior to yesterday’s lunch. I didn’t know what I was missing. The informal, order-at-the-bar venue was perfect for our group. I asked for a Shrimp Louie salad with garlic bread. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a better salad. It certainly exceeded my expectations. The owner, Paul, greeted us warmly upon our arrival and checked-in on us a few times throughout the event. I will make it a point to return to Capurro’s soon… and often.

For many years — fifty, to be exact — I made the mistake of judging my classmates based on my less-than-pleasant memories of what I recalled from my excruciating junior high school years. I was convinced that I was one of just a few guys in our class who were treated as social outcasts. Throughout that half-century, it never dawned on me that I was inappropriately characterizing a good number of my classmates based on who they were and what they did back in the mid- to late-‘60s. For this reason, I never attended a class reunion until our 50th. Even then, I approached the event with trepidation. Writing my classmates off was a significant error on my part, one which I now regret, for not having considered that my classmates were no longer 14-years-old.

Fortunately, a few years prior to the reunion, I reconnected with one of my classmates, Laura McCabe, on social media. She invited and encouraged me to participate in what was called Alumni Hot Dog Day at Saint Gabriel School. At that event, SG alums served hot dog lunches to the current Saint Gabriel students in the school cafeteria. I accepted Laura’s offer and was pleasantly surprised by the experience. In the weeks and months following that event I was able to reconnect with a number of other classmates through the Saint Gabriel Alumni Facebook page. In the fall of 2013, classmate Chris Freiling suggested the lunch gathering at Beach Chalet.

So what have I learned from all this? Well, for starters, people change. People grow up. Most of my elementary school classmates turned out to be well-adjusted, pleasant, contributing members of society. Secondly, holding onto a grudge or anger for so long is like drinking poison and expecting the other people to die. The only one adversely affected by my self-centered stubbornness was me. Finally, some of the best people in my life today were members of the Saint Gabriel School Class of 1968.

Oh,… and one more thing I learned: Yes, the sky was dark and it rained a bit in The City yesterday, but a simple lunch engagement with friends can turn even the gloomiest day into a bright one.