It is hard to imagine that in about 2 1/2 months I will be attending my 50th high school reunion. Check that — it’s not hard to imagine, it is absolutely unfathomable.

Years ago, when I heard about people attending their 50th high school reunions, it was mildly surprising that they had even lived that long. After all, they were ancient — almost 70 years old! Now, incredibly, it is our turn, and, well, I don’t feel ancient even at the ripe old age of 67.

Oh, sure, most of the dark hair that grew long over my ears and collar back then is now gray and more closely cropped. With the extra weight I’m carrying, it takes almost three times as long to walk a mile as it did to run a mile in my youth.

On a good day back then, I could dunk a basketball; today, I can’t even jump high enough to touch the rim. There are times now when I can’t remember where I parked my car or put my keys or cell phone. Climbing stairs two at a time is a thing of the past, and a couple of Tylenols usually accompany each round of golf; sometimes two before and two after.

Where did the years go? It seems like only a short time ago when more than 800 of us in Norwich Free Academy’s Class of 1972 were strolling from building to building for classes ranging from algebra in the Bradlaw Building (also known as the Manual Training or MT Building) to humanities and history in the Shattuck Building to Symphonic Band in the basement of the Slater Building.

Jocks and other “cool” kids hung out on Chelsea Parade before school and between Slater Museum and the Tirrell Building between classes. The artsy kids and “freaks” stood nearby outside the arts building formally known as the Converse Building. Other students simply walked directly to their classes.

Founded in 1854, NFA was, and still is, like a small college campus, composed back then of a dozen buildings spread out over 38 acres on the main campus.

We were supposed to wear red and white — the school’s colors — the Friday before football games. Freshmen (they were called juniors or “greasies” back in the day) who didn’t wear the school colors were sometimes marked up with lipstick by the older kids. Some of the naive “greasies” actually bought tickets from older students to the NFA swimming pool and the Slater Building elevator ... neither of which, they would learn later, actually existed.

The naked phenomenon known as streaking was just becoming popular in our senior year. Word spread like wildfire that a few students had come down from the hill on a spring weekday afternoon and streaked on the football field while we were in Lois Anderson’s English class in the Cranston Building.

We didn’t see anything, but others swore that it had happened. So far as anyone knows, the daring culprits were never caught, though there were rumors about their identities.

Like today and always, there were great teachers at NFA during my years there. There were scholarly faculty like Dorothy “Toddy” Agranwitch, my humanities teacher, and English teacher Dan Gibson. There were colorful characters like history teacher Ralph Polsby; student favorites like history teacher Karl Ferling, math teacher Ken Lamothe and business teacher Jim Perrone.

And there were icons like athletic director and baseball coach Rene LeDoux and music teacher and band director Andrew Tellier. The impact they had on the education and the lives of thousands of students over the years is incalculable. I suspect today’s faculty are no less inspiring.

During our years at NFA, the Vietnam War raged and sparked protests throughout the world. Man walked on the moon, the first Earth Day was held, the Watergate break-in that would ultimately lead to President Richard Nixon’s resignation occurred, and the New York Mets won the World Series.

Locally, you could buy gas at the Lehigh station on West Main Street for as little as 29.9 cents per gallon. If only that were the case today. Those were certainly four eventful years.

Many of us had used cars and held down part-time jobs to pay for them. We played basketball for hours up at The Rec and would sneak down to the Lincoln Inn afterward for seven-ounce beers that were two for a quarter.

A lot of kids would gather at the Beverly Tea Room in down city Norwich after school. Friendly’s on West Main Street was a popular gathering spot on Friday nights as was McDonald’s on Town Street. We would occasionally see how many kids we could sneak into the Norwich-New London Drive-In in the trunk of someone’s car.

I had great friends at NFA, a few of whom I’ve re-connected with here in Florida while assisting the reunion planning committee with fundraising for a class gift. Rob DeVore, one of my beach and basketball buddies from Fanning Avenue in Norwich, is semi-retired and now lives in McAlpin, Fla., on the other side of the state from my home in Jensen Beach. We reminisced during a recent long phone conversation about that day we cut school to go swimming at the quarry in Westerly.

Another close high school friend, Paul Foley of Franklin, has had a wonderfully successful career in finance. Even in high school, Paul could carry on a high-level discussion with my father about the stock market. Dad correctly predicted that he would go on to be very successful.

Paul recently purchased a home in nearby Jupiter, and we were able to meet for dinner recently to catch up.

Last year, Dr. Bill Wilson, known as Billy when we were friends at NFA, would go on to a career as a neonatal cardiac surgeon. He stayed at a nearby hotel last year while working temporarily as a visiting surgeon at a local hospital. During his brief stint here, we made time on his busy schedule for a couple of rounds of golf and dinners.

Captain of the highly successful NFA golf team while we were there, Bill is still an excellent golfer.

After decades of being out of touch, I’ve also heard from Linda Bronerwine Allen, a former Cherry Hill neighbor who now lives in Pensacola Beach, and Denise Mura Vocke, who lives just up I-95 in Vero Beach. Linda, whom I’ve known since our grammar school days at John B. Stanton School, hasn’t changed a bit, and the long dark hair Denise had in high school is now a brilliant white and coiffed stylishly short.

It’s great to know they’re both planning to attend the reunion along with many others.

Some of the past reunions have been well-attended; others not so much. However, there is something special about the 50th, as evidenced by the three days of activities that have been put together by the planning committee.

There should be a robust turnout for this one.

On Friday, June 10, there will be an alumni golf tournament at Norwich Golf Club that is open to alumni from all NFA classes. Later that day is a “Meet & Greet” from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Bozrah Moose Club, which I plan to visit that evening for the first time in my life. How can you not have fun at a place like the Bozrah Moose Club?

On Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, NFA will host a breakfast and campus tour, which will show all of us how much the school has grown and improved since our days there. At 1 p.m., the Norwich Historical Society will conduct a tour of important historical sites throughout the city.

The main event will be Saturday evening’s Reunion Dinner, beginning at 5:30 at the Holiday Inn in Norwich. A variety of activities will include nostalgia, a photo booth and a DJ playing songs from that era. You can be sure that one of the songs will be that old, slow-song prom favorite, “Colour My World.”

On Sunday morning, June 12, there will be a farewell brunch from 9 to noon at Mohegan Park’s waterfront pavilion.

This is all very exciting, but humbling, too. It reminds us all how long we’ve been out of high school, and yes, how old we are now. However, for that one weekend when we’re back together again with many of our old friends, we will be young again as we recount all the good times we had during our NFA years.

If you graduated in 1972 or are the spouse or partner of someone who did, please come. It’ll be a great time and worth making the trip for, no matter how far you have to travel to attend.

See you there!

Bill Stanley, a former vice president at L+M Hospital, grew up in Norwich.