Fast times at Palmer High

I was watching "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" last night.

At t the end, as Jeff Spicoli and his buddies were entering the graduation dance, I mentioned to my fiance´e, Amber, that all of the local high school graduations are this weekend.

Then it hit me.

Ten years ago - 10 years ago this weekend - I graduated from high school.

Ten years! Ten years, man! Ten years!

The feeling reminds me of a scene in "Grosse Pointe Blank," a movie about a man returning home for his 10-year reunion. When Jeremy Piven's character, Paul Spirecki, sees Martin Blank, John Cusack's character, for the first time, he freaks out.

Ten years! Ten years, man! Ten years!

It kind of hits you - like being plunked in the melon by a fastball, or nailed on the blind-side by a 300-pound defensive lineman.

Ten years!

Every once in a while, I get jolted by that bolt of reality. It has to be like being hit with the defibrillator. Standing on the middle of Machetanz Field at the end of the prep football season I had that same feeling.

Ten years ago, I was here on this field - as a player.

Ten years! Ten years, man! Ten years!

But as much time as I spend in or around my alma mater, I don't often have that same feeling. I am proud to walk through the hallways, knowing I was once there as a student. But the thoughts are casual - nothing that would make me completely stop in my tracks and yell, "Ten years! Ten years, man! Ten years!"

It takes a milestone to really give you that alert. A milestone like a 10-year anniversary.

I told Amber sarcastically, I should have been the keynote speaker at the Palmer High School graduation. Who better than someone who graduated 10 years ago, and is somewhat of a local celebrity?

"But what would you say?" she asked.

I am not exactly sure.

Normally I am not very nostalgic when it comes to high school. College - that's a different story.

My four years of high school had its moments, but for the most part, high school is just a bridge to better things. It's important while it lasts, but should not be the highlight of your life. Some grasp onto the high school experience, just as a rookie hitter would hold a baseball bat in his first game. But the key is, knowing when to let go of the bat, and take off for first.

Hey, that would be a great little metaphor for a graduation speech.

I had my fun, and there are experiences I will always cherish. But some go a bit overboard. I know some people who became teachers, because they didn't want to leave high school in the first place.

I would have not known this while sitting through 100 minutes of a calculus class - but high school does fly by. For me it was, "Fast Times at Palmer High."

As fun, boring, tedious or ridiculous as some of the high school moments may have been, regardless of whether it was a high or low, the ride we call high school ends in a hurry.

It's like I woke up one morning with college in the past, a career and a daughter.

And 10 years ago, I was walking across the stage of the Palmer High School gym, with all of this ahead of me.

Ten years! Ten years, man! Ten years!

Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz still can't believe it has been 10 years.