In 1984, a group of friends use a unique homework assignment to bring themselves all back together in twenty years. The only catch, no matter where you find yourself in 2004, or with whom, you have to come alone—leave the husband, wife, lover, and kids at home. The idea is to allow yourself to recapture youthful abandon and embrace old friendships with no strings attached. To an 18 year old, the concept seems harmless enough. Ah, the naiveté of youth: teenage innocence. Yeah, right….is there really such a thing? An 18 year old has no way of knowing that a 38 year old is never alone, regardless of marital status or proximity to another living creature. A 38 year old has baggage. Has secrets. Has ghosts, and none of them are called Casper— they have names like Regret, Paranoia, and If I Would Have Killed You When I Wanted To, I Would Have Been Out by Now. Still, what 38 year old father of three, living in the Jersey burbs, whose 15 year marriage is suddenly lackluster, wouldn’t want to make a trip to Santa Barbara if only to temp fate? What 38 year old single mother, who isn’t having much luck at Singles Karaoke night at her favorite bar wouldn’t want to reconnect with her high school sweetheart? And what if there was an awful secret you’d kept inside for two decades—a secret that festered for so long, it has literally defined who you have become; a thought that makes you want to puke. Has the time finally come to clear your conscience? Some secrets you take to the grave, or they will put you there before you’re ready. Ah, the impetuousness of middle-age: adult stupidity. J.E. Anzalone was at San Marcos High School in the early 80's when the plan was set in motion. He also wrote a letter as part of his Humanities class—a letter to be mailed at a much later date in an attempt to reconnect with a person that didn’t exist anymore: himself at 17. In 2004, with clear disregard for common sense, a group of friends showed up at The El Encanto Hotel in Santa Barbara, CA for a reunion. And they all came alone…or so they thought. Humanities is proof that life is not only stranger than fiction, it makes a great novel.