"I've learned over the years that if I go through life avoiding 'making A' before others, one will never know the doors that would otherwise open," he said, quickly adding: "Still, Jasmine Trias doesn't have to worry that I'll quit my day job."

This kind of reflection is typical at any high school reunion, when classmates come together after years. The event makes you think about your choices, along with what-ifs and the could've-beens.

And the 83 graduates of Kaimuki's class of 1975 who attended the reunion could relate.

"I have no regrets as to how things have been," Hashiro said. "But if I knew in seventh grade what I know tonight, I would have strived and stretched more in school ... Back then, in school, was the best time to start. The next-best time is today."

People began arriving just before 6 p.m., looking for their name tags, which Hashiro fashioned with their senior portraits. They were greeted by fellow classmates with hugs and smiles. "Good to see you," they said to each other. "Long time no see."

"That was my favorite part," said Sue Shishido Saffery, 47, a self- described band geek who's now an administrative training coordinator with the Federal Aviation Administration. "Out of 630 people, you couldn't possibly know your whole class."

The evening was a smooth blend of '70s memories and local style. Wafting through the ballroom were sounds of the era, from the Carpenters' "Breaking Up is Hard To Do" to Tony Orlando & Dawn's "Knock Three Times." The menu was Hawai'i grinds, including somen salad, fried noodles and teriyaki beef.

There was a karaoke contest, door prizes and a group photo session. Attendees shared a moment of silence for the nine classmates and a class adviser who had died.

Toward the end of the night, everyone got up and did the timeless Electric Slide, followed by a hand-holding rendition of "Hawai'i Aloha" and Kaimuki's "Alma Mater."

Now the class reunion committee is planning something a little more ambitious: a 50th birthday party for 1975 grads — which it is hoped will include those from Kalani, McKinley and Kaiser — in Vegas two years from now. The planning has already begun.

"The 30th class reunion," Hashiro said, "was just the warm-up act."