25-V-2019.

The grand 45-year parastos. Unbelievable, last time there were 215 of us, this time 240.

16:30 trying to call a cab, my cell phone just reports empty. And I checked it in the morning. Calling on landline, the 544 have no cars (as usual), 566 gives me 16 minutes. Finally, after drawing a couple of blanks, I pull 512-510 from memory and get one. My backpack is 9kg heavy. A miracle - weather was fair and sunny, not too humid. This is among the rainier mays in my life.

16:50 finding my way behind the stage in the theatre... met the same guy as five years ago, and he already prepared everything.

17:10 went outside to see if anyone's already coming and met our oldest professor (she only had an astronomy course with us, finishing grade), slightly confused because she came right on time and so ahead of everybody else.

17:20 most of us came. I later saw these scenes on the video made by local cable TV, with me in about quarter of the scenes, the camera guy probably thought I looked interesting with white beard and long (although thin) ponytail. Most of the class appeared on schedule - among first Mjedac, then Mandža, Sredljak, Bajlo, Baki, Dragana, Oli Boj, Ivanka (unseen since 2012), Vasilija (1998), Jasmina, Savka, Mima and Staša (I think forgot none). The neighboring classes and other two gimnazija were also there.

We all hug and kiss, only Oli Boj says „no contact, don't spoil my makeup, you can't know how many hours it took me to do it“. Sredljak: „how did you get your beard to cast sparks?“ Me: „that's electricity, I hit a force field shield“.

17:45 went behind the scene again to launch the slideshow and to hand the actor his... well, not payment. This was a debt of honour, no less, because when we met (for perhaps the first time since the early eighties) we immediately went into talk about rakija. So I handed him the specially selected cherry rakija. (not what you think: this is distilled cherry, not some bullshit scented with cherries), crop 2015/16.

18:00 the choir began the gaudeamus igitur, and I was caught behind their backs. Well, no matter - made a few shots from behind, over their shoulders, with one incredible shot when someone flashed from the right at just the right time. The academic anthem I didn't want to interrupt; however, the next two songs were something church related, nice music to itself but I really have no respect for religion, so I just walked down the right edge of the scene... or did I walk the corridor of the parter loža? Who'll know, I was zigzagging the building for a full hour, I don't remember.

18:45 taking pictures around the monument

19:00 in the gimnazija with Sonja holding class for us again. I finally took the chance to photograph the class logbook - not all the pages but those of interest, where it opens by itself. Went with Mandža to pee and pretended to sneak back into the class. Finally used the remote to make a couple of shots with me too. Bajlo reported battery dead in the flash; replaced with full spares but actually just three full and the fourth fingers-crossed-may-have-some... well, it didn't and then I mixed up all the others in the pocket of the backpack. So when we finished...

20:00 and took our places in the hotel, with our table in the corner and my place way deep in, I just left the backpack and the camera there and went for a walk, to perhaps lift some cash from a serekeš and buy fresh batteries. The serekeš had "sistem se startuje" just like it had few months ago, still the same. A couple was there, just having given up, and the guy looked at me with some recognition and then he remembered me (I him not), said he worked at the students' home, with Eči and, like, heard I was in Canada etc. Well, didn't have such an encounter for about five years now.

Sonja was sitting at our table, near center. I was switching places with whoever got up to dance and had a chair near the dance floor whenever I could, which made for several interesting trips - sometimes the camera was at the wrong end of the table, sometimes my drink, sometimes the cigarettes. The 1,5l of tutifruti brandy that I brought wasn't too popular, because Mjedac was faster with his bottle of whiskey, but eventually that dried up so we did drink about half a liter of it, pouring surreptitiously under the table.

The band was as good as it gets. For a while I had thought they were the same as the guys who played at that wedding on 31-III-2018. - same width of repertory, same fun while playing.

I managed to find B. and to ask her whether she remembered the evening of 20-I-1973. when she refused me. She nodded slightly. "Thank you for doing so. The next evening I met the woman of my life".

Mongol was the official photographer, as usual.

They kicked us out somewhere between 1 and 2. I had packed my gear and sat like that for almost half an hour, waiting to see where we go now. I half thought to accompany Dragana and Oli Boj to Lesnina and catch a cab there, but Jasmina was waiting for her husband to give them all a lift. Remembering how badly he drives, I opted to go with some folks, mostly from the Second, to some nearby cafe, which was kind of reserved for us (and otherwise empty at that time). The waitress there, surprise, Zina again :) (saw her in the theatre, she sang in the choir). Trle was there, he organized this bit, and the deejay (or the bar owner, whoever picked the music) was his apprentice, so it was all the music of our youth. He was with some bomb of a girl, obviously our age but one of those who cede no ground to years. Perhaps she's his wife and a couple of years younger - if she was one of us I'd have known her.

Had a zaječarsko tamno, and a long talk with a fellow programmer (from VIII₁, BTW) and once neighbor from šećerana area - though she was on the other side of the park. Her mom was a teacher in the obdanište, though not my group. Talked about just everything until I went near the end of my beer and opened the 2nd tozna of cigarettes for the night, then went to catch a cab, hauling the remaining 7,5kg of backpack on my back. Couldn't catch one - hailing doesn't work here, there were none at their station, and I didn't bring my (empty) mobile. So I walked home into a beautiful sunrise (well not quite, just dawn).

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Mentions: 17-XI-1972., 20-I-1973., 15-V-1974., Seniors' outing, 31-III-2018., Branislav Rade (Baki), Dragana Vitas (Dragana), Endre Felbab (Eči), gimnazija, Gradivoj Sredljev (Sredljak), Ivanka Stojančev, Jasmina Vlajin, Lesnina, maturski parastos (parastos), Merima Tabarski (Mima), Nenad Bajlo (Bajlo), obdanište, Olivera Stojanović (Oli Boj), rakija, Savka Čajkanić, serekeš, Slavoljub Mandić (Mandža), Sonja Savković, Stanoje Serdarević (Staša), šećerana, tozna, Trajko Kajganić (Trle), tutifruti, Vasilija Zajić, VIII₁, Zina, Žika Šašić (Mongol), Živko Mjedenica (Mjedac), in serbian

23-X-2019 - 15-IV-2026