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SEEING A HIGH SCHOOL PAL at his place of business the other day, interacting with the public professionally, made me stop and think.
Despite our best efforts to feel young forever, we're all growing up. Or at least becoming adults.
Two things prompted me to make the short drive over the Potomac River bridge and into the farm fields and big, tree-filled subdivisions surrounding Port Tobacco, Md., one recent Friday morning.
First, I was curious and happy to learn that my pal, Andrew Packett, was the acting supervisor of the Thomas Stone National Historic Site.
Second, I knew very little about Stone or this site, administered through the George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Westmoreland County.
Packett, a former classmate and teammate at Rappahannock High School in Warsaw, gave me a warm welcome and began to give me a tour of the restored and rebuilt plantation known as Haberdeventure.
I was impressed with his knowledge of Stone, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a member of the Continental Congress and one of the drafters of the Articles of Confederation, a critical first step in the eventual creation of the U.S. Constitution.
Even more impressive was the discussion my friend had with a black visitor who interrupted my tour to ask why there wasn't more information provided about the role of slaves on the plantation.
"That's something that we're taking a look at, expanding information on that and on many other facets of life here," Packett said. "That's something many historic sites are re-examining these days."
He then referred to several different histories that examined slavery on pre-Civil War plantations, and added that the perspective on the issue was one that historians have long struggled with.
Hearing him discuss the issue with depth and perspective made me smile.
Could this really be the same kid who bragged that he'd made it through history class one year without ever reading the book?
The one who drove teachers crazy by making wisecracks whenever they turned to write on the chalkboard?
Yes, like so many others who shared my bumpy road through adolescence, Packett has grown up and become a productive member of society.
Well, he's gotten older. Luckily, he's kept the same zest for life, that impish smile that makes him a hoot to be around.
I enjoyed my visit with Andrew, and left with an appreciation for Stone, the Maryland statesman who eventually embraced the drive for independence.
Sitting in traffic on U.S. 301 on my way home, I thought about others in my high school class and how they'd gone on to succeed in careers and other ventures.
My pal George is a successful engineer for NASA. Sally published her own nutritional magazine. William has his own historical re-enactment company.
It goes on and on, with Chip becoming a lawyer, Mark a Marine officer, Ed a successful businessman and several other classmates following their parents into successful careers as farmers or watermen.
If you live somewhere away from where you grew up, you don't tend to see your old high school chums very much.
So when you do bump into them, the vision you still have of them is the goofy one from high school.
So when you witness one behaving like a knowledgeable, responsible adult, it takes a little effort to update their image.
One thing that helps: When you get together, they're updating you as well.
That means that for at least a few minutes, you both have license to go back in time and relive something silly from high school.
It's the closest thing there is to a fountain of youth.
ROB HEDELT can be reached at The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401; by fax at 373-8455; by phone at 374-5415; or by e-mail at rhedelt@freelancestar.com.