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A reunion is defined as a social gathering attended by members of a certain group of people who have not seen each other for some time.

I think reunions are fantastic and this month we had an impromptu reunion of the 2020 Aegis skeleton crew that stayed behind while everyone went remote that year. We had a potential COVID outbreak, so we sent everyone back to the home office.

Just like 2020 minus a small group that volunteered to stay at the office to make sure all things kept running.

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Granted this was for 3 days vs 3 months but it felt very similar. Empty office, ordering in lunch, happy hours, a little eerie but a great reminder of some of good memories of bonding with that crew during the summer of 2020.

High school reunions

It is also high school reunion season around the nation. To that end, I was checking my phone the other evening and my old friend Cameron Williams texted me that he and his girlfriend (Teil, one of my UF friends) would be coming to town for his 30th Leon High School reunion.

He suggested I come to the reunion. Why not? Minus the fact that I did not go to Leon I was all for it. Reunion crashing 101. It was pretty special to see folks like: Brad T. Tommy, Bruce, Bethany, Cam, Gonz, Lisa, Chris, Michelle, Hugh, and a barrage of some of my fave people from back then (and now) all in one place.

Cameron and I are the same age, so it was not a complete crash as I hung with this crew more than my own Maclay friends back in the olden days, pre cell phone era.

Football glory days

Speaking of the old days, our colleges football teams in Florida have enjoyed massive success in years past and how great is it to live through a title run? The 1996 Florida run for the national title was my senior year of college and football did not get any better with Steve Spurrier’s Fun and Gun. Like 35-29 at #2 Tennessee? One of the loudest games ever, I was there.

SEC championship vs Bama, amazing game, also there. Rematch with Florida State in New Orleans for the title, also there. When that team was honored on the field last year it was an absolute joy to relive that era for a moment with their reunion. Our crew knew some of those guys like Zach Piller (from Tally), what a team, loaded with characters like Ike Hillard, James Bates and Danny Wuerffel.

I am sure many of you reading this have the same feelings of the Seminoles 1993 or 1999 squads from back then, the characters on the team and the memories of those games.  Is it football season yet?

TV shows

How about TV shows, did anyone from my era watch "Beverly Hills 90210" back in the 90s? How about their reunion show not to long ago? Oh my, Dylan, Kelly, Steve (Steve rules). I loved that show to the moon and back. My high school girlfriend and I watched it religiously or at least talked on the phone while it was on.

Remember never ending teen phone calls? Before call waiting? Before texting? When is the last time you heard a busy signal when you called someone? What a time to be alive.

Mom hated the never ending teen phone calls as I tied up the line for hours. "90210" was intriguing also because my high school girlfriend used to draw a parallel between Dylan (me) her and Brenda and the Kelly character.

Band and movie reunions

Reunions of old school bands are also epic.

Motley Crue, Poison, Joan Jett and Def Leopard are touring and selling out stadiums right now. The thought of seeing them takes me back to Ratt and Poison live at the Dothan, Alabama,Civic Center in 1986. Or back to 1988 in Albany, Georgia, when my pal Quinn and I caught Motley Crue and Guns & Roses.

Wow I love that era of music, the chance to relive that time through a massive reunion tour (for Motley as they retired 5 years ago) is just too awesome to turn down. I follow the bass player for Motley Crue on Insta and he shot me a quick message about a photo he posted of the tour that I commented on. How cool is that?

I think reunions are fantastic. Even one of my favorite movies is about a reunion. Have you seen "Grosse Point Blank"? It is John Cusack’s Monet Lisa. A total masterpiece about his high school reunion that he comes back home for. Granted he does not have the normal career as he is a paid assassin. He bumps into his old flame, high-jinks ensue.

Clarity and perspective

I think the greatest things about reunions are that you get to remember who you were, where you came from, the people you kept close and maybe still do. You can recall the moment, the music, the memories, and the emotions of a time long gone.

Not to get too Zen on ya but I think reunions even provide some clarity and some balancing of the spirit of who you have become today. A moment of perspective on the now and the then perhaps, things you have done in life, identify things still left to do?

Maybe? Call me nostalgic, call me crazy, but I love a reunion and look out I might crash yours next.

Blake Dowling is CEO of Aegis Business Technologies. He hosts a Podcast called Biz & Tech, has been known to crash reunions and you can buy his book Professionally Distanced at Midtown Reader. Email him at dowlingb@aegisbiztech.com.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: From high school to bands, reunions spark nostalgia, perspective