<H2>Falling into a nostalgia funk</H2>

Lately, I've been in a serious nostalgia funk. It's one of two "funks" I get into a lot, music being the other one. (I might delve a little into the music funk in a subsequent post).

I've been reflecting back on so many different things in my life -- high school, college, post-college work years and family. When that happens, I often find myself on the Internet, trying to find people who were important in my life.

Actually, some of that time on the Internet isn't entirely random. About a year ago or so, I began a "project" to compile a sort of "where are they now" narrative of people who were in my freshman class at a private high school in Milwaukee but did not stick around at the school to graduate (they transferred out to other schools before senior year).

My freshman class numbered 91; by the time we graduated four years later, the number had nearly halfed -- it totaled 47. Three students joined us sophomore year, and one of those left after junior year. That left me with 45 people to chase down.

I'm somewhere between a third and halfway through the endeavor. Along the way, I've come across some very neat stories. Some people, especially with those with very common names, have been difficult, or in one case, almost impossible to find. I'll keep trying, though. I'm tempted to buy a subscription to newspapers.com, which a couple people have told me is a good source of locating things, especially obituaries. (From my online searching, online obits are plentiful and have been around since around 2005 or thereabouts, but before that, it's difficult).

In my search for information on those 45, I've also learned about four deaths -- again, so far. There are seven deaths -- that I know of -- among the 47 graduates, so I realize I'm likely to come across a few more among the 45 as my research progresses. I say "that I know of" about deaths among the grads because some guys have sort of vanished. They never responded to reunion invitations.

I've also recently purchased a yearbook featuring the graduation class of the public school I would have attended if I had not gone to a private school. Most of the kids with whom I went to grade school (also a private school) in Greendale, Wis., attended the village's public high school. It's been many, many years since I've seen any of them -- in most cases, not since we left St. Alphonsus for the last time.

Some of my Internet searches also have included some of the people I have worked with through the years. I've had four employers since I left college -- one radio station, one weekly newspaper (both of those in Wisconsin) and two daily newspapers, one in Iowa, the other in Indianapolis.

Doing this is the best way I can think of to stay in touch with my past ... and remembering people who intersected my life along the way.