By Gilad Stern

In 1968 Martin Luther King Jnr was assassinated and the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia. Neither country exists anymore. Jackie Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis, and the Vietnam War raged on. Hippies had long hair and psychedelic outfits. And we wrote prelims, and then Matric final exams. And then we all went in our own separate directions. It took us 50 years to gather again. “You haven’t changed at all”, we all lied to each other. Fact is, we have all changed an eetsy beetsy bit. I mean, those of us who still have hair, have grey hair now.

So on the weekend of 16 to 18 March 2018, the Class of 1968 had an incredible reunion, attended by half of the classmates, from all corners of the Earth. We had a sumptuous Shabbat dinner, a mountain walk, a school tour, and nostalgia session, and a regular old braai.The bracha ‘Shehecheyanu’ comes to mind. It’s was such an extraordinary gathering. We are all so fortunate to have had the start in life we had, the marvellous lives we have lived, and the opportunity to meet each other again in such a wonderful reunion.

Stories were exchanged and memories rekindled. It was sublime. We all agree: Herzlia was fantastic, and we are a lovely vintage, maturing well. And we also all agree that the changes are very slight, but positive. Who needs long hair anyway?