Old friends front and center at the flashmob reunion

MONTCLARION: December 23, 2011

A guy walks into a bar. No, this isn’t a joke — it’s a story about social networking.

So, this guy walks into a bar, and suddenly I’m traveling through time back to 1971 and my senior year of high school. He was dreamy back then — with blond hair and a mischievous grin. And now he’s standing in front of me at the Gold Nugget in Glen Lake, Minn.

This is the power of Facebook. It started as a page for my graduating class and quickly morphed into a time machine, with yearbook photos and commentary and chatter about classmates and teachers.

And last week we came together. Forty kids from my senior class — some still working and some now retired; some with children and some with grandchildren; and in the case of the guys — some with hair and some without. Forty kids 40 years later, and it struck me how quickly those decades had passed.

The most interesting thing was the acceptance we had for each other. In high school, we were separated by cliques that kept cheerleaders from befriending band kids and athletes from hanging out with scholars. Facebook has evened the playing field.

I made 40 new friends the other night, and suddenly I feel 10 years younger. Math wasn’t my strong suit in high school, but I sure like these numbers.

TELEVISION TIDBITS: Remember the Nina Reiser case? The 2006 Montclair murder is being revisited in an upcoming episode of ABC’s docudrama “Final Witness.” Reader Ron Rifkin says he has no idea why, but Hollywood scouts picked his home on Zinn Drive for the re-enactment. “I don’t know why they didn’t use the real house,” he says, adding his home doesn’t look that much like the Reiser house in the hills. Crews also shot in Roberts Regional Park and at Farmer Joe’s Market.

TRASH TALK: Would the person who dumped a truckload of trash at the top of Escher Drive please come forward? I didn’t think so. Yet, we know where the garbage originated because Mike Petouhoff found a clue in the refuse — a bill with a name and address on Colton Drive. So this is a plea for the city to follow the lead and go after the illegal dumper. Someone needs to be accountable — even if it’s a handyman who was hired to dispose of the trash.

And speaking of crime, thieves are getting creative this holiday season. Some are following delivery trucks in the hills and stealing packages off front doorsteps. Others are more brazen, kicking down front doors on Exeter and other streets to get what they want. Two kids were even mugged in Montclair Park the other evening for their iPods. Stay alert and stay safe.

AREA ATHLETE: Congratulations to Scott Divelbiss, 19, the youngest person to compete in the recent Ironman competition in Cozumel. You may have seen this Montclarion and Merritt College student running and riding his bike in the hills to train. The Ironman is grueling, even for a young athlete. It requires a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a marathon — all completed in less than 17 hours.