No need to lose weight for online class reunions.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

We're in the midst of graduation day, a rite of passage when high school and college students _ their parents often sighing with relief _ receive their diplomas and, without looking back, move on to the next chapter in their lives. For many of us, however, graduation day is but a distant memory. This is a time of year when we look back and wonder what happened to some of our classmates _ the cool kids, the dorks, the teacher's pet, the class clown _ you get the picture.

Class reunions are a way of keeping up with the past, of course, but how much do you dread that? Unless you can fit into your prom tux or gown or have the money to be surgically restored to your teen-age dimensions, unless you've made a killing on Wall Street or simply married into an upwardly mobile lifestyle, attending a reunion _ especially after 20 or 25 years _ often isn't worth the anxiety and scrutiny.

Now, however, you can converse with old chums from the comfort of your own home. Just log on to

http://www.ClassMates.com/

and renew acquaintances with the school bully from a safe distance. This Web site has connections to 40,000 high schools and says it has 19 million users. "The world's best place to reunite," is ClassMate.com's slogan. All you have to do is fill out some basic information, including the name of your high school and year of graduation, and you'll have access to classmates who have also signed on.