William Kirkpatrick:  

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' Into the future Fly Like An Eagle Lyrics - Steve Miller I suppose that there are many of us "class of '69" graduates that might better understand, now, Steve Miller's lyrics. With the big 6-Oh looming large, I feel as Rip van Winkle must have. I nodded off and 3 years of RMHS passed by, Nod off once again and 4 years of college zipped past. I just blinked and a 21 year Navy career is a distant memory. Not only is time slippin' into the future.....it seems to be accelerating. I cleaned out the attic last month and found a box of High School "treasures". My parents had boxed and shipped them when they moved from Rockville, 25 years ago. I found treasures like my old eagle scout medal, pictures of my High School locker filled with beer cans and the "Anti Establish Mint" (yes, that was an OEM color) Maverick covered in TP (thanks ladies- you made senior year interesting) and most intriguing of all, three RMHS year books (1967-1969). I read through the books and was captivated by many of your inscriptions. I have not seen many of you since our 10th reunion so, I thought a post high school update would be appropriate. Graduation day at Cole Field House seemed like it might never arrive. Once the deed was done, there was a feeling of un-limited freedom. A few of us decided that we should take this new found freedom for a test drive. We packed our camping gear and drove off to the beach. It didn't matter if it was Rehoboth, Ocean City or where ever. Sand, sun and freedom were our main imperatives. For a time, we were able to un-furl our wings and fly-free. Then reality set in. My best friend had to leave early for the academy, many of us got jobs, prepared to leave for college or just drifted apart. I spent the remainder of the Summer wondering what my college experience at Tufts University would bring. Giving up this wonder filled experience of freedom without responsibility was very far from my mind. Tufts was a sobering experience. There was plenty of freedom but now you had to take the responsibility that came with it. Just another process called maturing and growing up. Another RMHS alum was at Tufts. Many of you have seen him on TV, as the State Department's spokesman. My experience at Tufts can be summed up as "hectic" and not quite as enjoyable as it should have been. I was scheduled everyday, from early morning through evening, with one event or another. My course load was so concentrated that I would have been able to graduate a year early. Instead, I entered the graduate school of Economics and concurrently pursued a MA in Economics along with a BS in EE. Every day for 4 years, my course load was math, science and EE, a science lab of some type and graduate courses in Econ. On top of that I piled on Naval ROTC courses and a seasonal sport. I continued to play varsity B...Expand for more