Visiting my sister over Thanksgiving means sneaking into her high school yearbook for the graduating class of 1986. 1986 at my high school meant a lot of things, most of which can be gleaned by reading the senior class' individual lists of "favorite things". At my high school, each senior was allowed five favorite things to list with his/her club activities, nickname and senior quote. Among the favorite things I saw were: "6-packs of Budweiser", "Black Kangols", and "hobbit holes".

But nothing I saw on those pages filled with feather-earringed ladies (and guys) and over-the-collar gold chains could prepare me for this perfect list of favorite things, submitted by one graduating senior: "Being alive, partying, friends, Jan Hammer, family."