白岩松：同学聚会，岁月的见证与友情的馔

文/白岩松

在我们心中，同学聚会已是信仰的一部分。奇妙的是，在分离之后，我们之间的亲密感反而比在校园时更深刻。每次聚会后，我们得出结论：岁月的流逝使我们的友谊演变成亲情，每一次重逢，都让亲情中的元素更加丰富。

当我们步入中年时，常听到身边的人自嘲地说：“老了。”然而，我发现自己经历了不同的变化——过去的事情清晰如画，而今天早上做了什么，却一片模糊。

如果这就是老去，那么我恐怕已经开始走向那条道路，因为每次同学聚会，场景都如此熟悉。学校生活中的细节被挖掘得无所不至，即使是在聚会前后的几天，我似乎都忘记了，因为我的注意力总是集中在聚会上。

一种名为“同学聚会”的时尚正在迅速蔓延——儿子和同伴们十多岁就频繁举行；母亲七十多岁回家，最期待的是与老同学相遇。而我，也曾经历过昨晚与高中同窗共饮大酒，今天上午，还有小学时代的小伙伴守候在门口；中午之前，还要提醒自己留神，不要因酒而迷失方向。我誓言，当烟消云散之际，再也不忘记这一切。

一个班级是否能定期集体，是取决于学园时期班级气氛和友情的密切程度，以及有几个热心人士利用他们辛勤工作和热情来点燃那些半推半就欲走又留下来的朋友们。这需要组织者具备无穷尽用之不竭智慧，以创造出一个又一个理由进行集体活动。

例如，在北京中学，与日常集体活动并列开设了一项每年九月一日必参加的传统，因为“开学”。有一次，在飞机上，我看到了关于导演康洪雷访谈，他也是内蒙古人，就像我一样，每年都会回到草原，与同龄人共度时光，不用说《士兵突击》，不用说《燃烧的年代》，大家只需提到过去，就是大快朵颐地喝酒，而且行也行不行也行，只要酒量顺畅，人们就会释然：“这小子没变，就是咱们那个老伙计。”

看到这里，我泪水盈眶，只好合上了杂志，没有再看剩余的一半。我没办法，不禁感同身受。在大学里，我们并不在地草原，但也不少喝。我那位来自天津的朋友，如马三立般留下这样一句话：“每次我们班集体，一直记得前半截，但后半截都是等到下一次才知道。”因为每次后半截，我都喝醉了，所以忘记了。但其实，有很多人或许也是这样吧。

大学毕业二十年，我们组织集体活动，用名词“至少还有你”表达我们的意图。不管世事如何波折，不管路途顺逆怎样，或喜或悲，或泪或笑，只值得欣慰的是至少还有你。在集体活动前夕，我们收集了各位提供的心灵照片，并制作成了一个巨大的专辑。在开场仪式上，当中年的男女重新汇gathered in the school yard, where our teachers also returned. The initial scene was old photos playing; twenty years of time, not to mention who can't recognize others, even ourselves might struggle to identify. Amidst the "who is that?" and "is that me?" murmurs, we slowly began to cry. Seeing children still happily playing between desks as if transported back in time, I suddenly felt a strong illusion: is this past or present? Did twenty years of time truly disappear?

In our reunions, laughter often fills the air. For instance, one classmate sincerely asked another over wine glasses during a toast: "I've always secretly loved you; what's your name again?" The whole hall erupted in applause and laughter.

Our gatherings cannot be without music. Once we compiled two CDs featuring popular songs from our campus days and danced through them for two hours at a reunion dance party amidst familiar tunes that brought us comfort as we pretended youth would never fade away.

At times like these when reality hits us after reunions—reentering an ever-changing world while leaving behind pure friendships—it becomes clear why reunions have become so popular and are rapidly developing into an industry.

For us, reunions have become a faith—a testament to shared memories and enduring bonds forged over decades of growth together. Each reunion strengthens those ties further.

It's because of classmates like you who make gatherings possible that even ordinary days feel less unbearable knowing there's someone out there remembering it all for us should we forget—should life pass by too quickly or memories grow foggy with age. And more importantly than any future uncertainty lies within the warmth of shared pasts among friends gathered once more under sunsets long gone by—the unspoken promise that no matter how far apart life takes us tomorrow morning will find some part of yesterday still alive within each other's hearts.