There are certain milestones we all share. My classmates all remember getting their draft cards. Everyone remembers getting their first driver's license; landing your first job. First date, first kiss, first....well, let's just say the first of anything.
Most remember high school graduation; some have a college graduation to remember. Each of these events, be they first or not, mark our journey through time and our evolution as people. Each of us use these memories as snapshots of the people we were when these events occurred. As each of these moments go by, there is a change in perspective that subtly occurs.
When I was younger, everything was either directly in front of me or coming soon (or worse, coming at me); I don't recall feeling that the past had much significance, probably because there was so little of it. Maybe when I passed 40, I started looking back every now and again, to see where I had been, as though that glance backward would allow me to chart a better course for the future. I'm not saying that I'm a fatalist; that my course was set from the beginnning and I was just playing it out, but I think everyone has predispositions that help drive those decisions we all face in a particular direction. I've made decisions to the contrary, but always ended up regretting them and recharting a corrective course that led me back to my original direction (I guess those times were when I was fooling myself, and I've done that plenty of times.) Perhaps only an old fool could admit that. Missteps taken, nothing fatal, nothing irrecoverable.
Paul Wagner, a friend of mine from high school, and I used to have these philosophical discussions (as philosophical as two 17 year olds can be) about types of people. We decided that there were dabblers and divers. Dabblers experimented carefully around the edges of things until they were sure they were safe and wouldn't result in death or disfigurement. Divers, as the name implies, just dove in without looking, grabbing opportunities without a care. We also decided that Paul was a diver and I was a dabbler. I wonder now if I missed out on anything because of my basically cautious nature. I wish I could ask Paul if he felt he made mistakes because of his precocious nature. I would if I could find him; if he's even still above ground. Somewhat more philosophically grounded, I can now say categorically, that it didn't make a bit of difference one way or the other that will be detectable in a couple hundred years.
So on this, my ascension to the ripe age of 62 and my official entry into the realm of "Retireable" , I look back and realize how well life has treated me, in spite of myself, granting me a life rich with good memories, good friends, two wonderful wives (consecutive, not concurrent), a great family, and perhaps most importantly, the wits to remember and appreciate it all. If I never did another thing except play in the dirt and make things grow, I'd probably still be happy. It may have taken 62 years, but I am pleased to say that I think I've found my happy place in life. Now the trick is to enjoy it to the fullest. And part of that is sharing it with as many people as I can. That's why I'm writing to you. Thanks again to all of you who took the time to wish me a happy birthday. Linda made sure it was eventful ( even holding a pre-birthday get together; sound familiar? ). Of course, I couldn't let the moment slip away without commenting on it.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Momentum
One thing I ask myself, I say, "Self, what else can we do to keep this ball rolling. What can we do to keep people in the loop and looking forward to the big 45 next year?"
Well, the first thing that can be done comes from you, the Reitz Class of 1967 yourselves. I mentioned it in passing on the website at the very beginning, before the major events occurred, i.e., the nearly 100% successful conclusion of the hunt for lost classmates; the building of the class database; the construction of the class website, the production of the class directory; the planning and and execution of what began as the Howell Shelter Cookout that quickly turned into the Spring Get Together of 2011 (unofficially, the Surprise 44th), the photo CD, and now the Gulf Condo Class Fundraiser, the not forgotten production of the digital version of Reflections for those of you who have lost their yearbooks (I've been a little busy lately and I know, I've only got myself and Linda to blame). I also built another website for my stepdaughter's Cat and Kitten Rescue in Mobile AL (www.projectpurr-al.org) along the way. I had to remind self of what has gone on in the last year. Whew!
Back on topic, back then, I mentioned that I would love, and I think your classmates would too, to be able to click on your website entry on the Classmates pages and get a short bio of what you've done over the past 44. I know, I know, you can't do that. You're too busy, you don't have a way with words, you're not entirely happy with the way things turned out, you don't think you've had a very exciting life, all you did was just got married and had kids, I know the list just goes on and on why you can't tell us about yourself.
If everyone had taken that attitude, the 44 never would have happened and you remember how that turned out? Everyone there took that extra step out of their way, rearranged things for that one night to make some collective magic. It's time to do it again.
We far too often look for reasons why something cannot be done rather than looking for ways to get it done. I say if we can do what we have already done, we can certainly do this too. I believe that there is no life that has not served a purpose: I doubt that even what some might consider an ordinary life is really all that ordinary. Think of all the obstacles life has tried to put in your way. Yet here you are, bowed a little, but unbroken.
I don't want anyone telling me that getting married out of high school and raising a passel of kids and watching them turn out to be worthy adults isn't worth a lifetime achievement award. I can tell you about jobs with companies that I would still be doing if the companies hadn't gone belly up. I can tell you about businesses I've started that ended up short of money without making it over the top. If you've got a golden goose story, we want to hear it too! Fact of the matter is that everyone has a story and everyone wants to know your story too.
Hey, this is the Westside. Chances are some of us know most of it already. This will just be your chance to set the record straight for your classmates. I'm not talking about a novel (not everybody is as wordy as I am [thank heavens] or no one would get anything done) I admit my autobiography in my Wayne class blog is the first time I ever attempted to explain, no relate, my life to anyone (wvhs67.blogspot.com) and it's not easy. But it is cleansing in a way. On the one hand, it makes you step back and take stock of yourself. On the other hand, it tells your classmates what happened. Why you didn't become a doctor, lawyer, indian chief. That's what I told my classmates. How did Ralph (Ed) Branch get to work with blind folks; how did Bruce Alan Seegert end up commuting between Denali Alaska and New Mexico? How did Linda Lively end up with some yakky Chinese guy from New Jersey? There are over 360 stories to tell, and I for one would like to hear every single one of them (except that last one. I know what happened and how it turned out)
So, first call for biographical blurbs. Don't make me ask Linda to start calling to collect stories.............We can also connect them to the class directory so that if you get the digital version and click on a classmate's photos, you get a pop-up little bio. Way cool!
On an entirely different note, we had our grandson run into Lowes and shoot a photo of Cecilia "Doodles" Dillworth and post it up on the website at the bottom of the West Terrace page. Doodles went to West Terrace with Linda and up through freshman year. I've been getting helped by her at Lowes for years without knowing that she was a classmate too!
We are officially over the $1000 mark for the Orange Beach Condo drawing fundraiser. Reitz Class of 67, you've done it again; exceeded expectations and reached another milestone. And there's still time to enter the race to Orange Beach. Call or email Linda Yuan, Nancy Burke, Patty Qualls, Bob Willis or Tommy Lee Waterman (he's out of town for a few days but everyone else is available.) What's that Lotto saying? "You can't win it if you ain't in it" or something like that.
Well, the first thing that can be done comes from you, the Reitz Class of 1967 yourselves. I mentioned it in passing on the website at the very beginning, before the major events occurred, i.e., the nearly 100% successful conclusion of the hunt for lost classmates; the building of the class database; the construction of the class website, the production of the class directory; the planning and and execution of what began as the Howell Shelter Cookout that quickly turned into the Spring Get Together of 2011 (unofficially, the Surprise 44th), the photo CD, and now the Gulf Condo Class Fundraiser, the not forgotten production of the digital version of Reflections for those of you who have lost their yearbooks (I've been a little busy lately and I know, I've only got myself and Linda to blame). I also built another website for my stepdaughter's Cat and Kitten Rescue in Mobile AL (www.projectpurr-al.org) along the way. I had to remind self of what has gone on in the last year. Whew!
Back on topic, back then, I mentioned that I would love, and I think your classmates would too, to be able to click on your website entry on the Classmates pages and get a short bio of what you've done over the past 44. I know, I know, you can't do that. You're too busy, you don't have a way with words, you're not entirely happy with the way things turned out, you don't think you've had a very exciting life, all you did was just got married and had kids, I know the list just goes on and on why you can't tell us about yourself.
If everyone had taken that attitude, the 44 never would have happened and you remember how that turned out? Everyone there took that extra step out of their way, rearranged things for that one night to make some collective magic. It's time to do it again.
We far too often look for reasons why something cannot be done rather than looking for ways to get it done. I say if we can do what we have already done, we can certainly do this too. I believe that there is no life that has not served a purpose: I doubt that even what some might consider an ordinary life is really all that ordinary. Think of all the obstacles life has tried to put in your way. Yet here you are, bowed a little, but unbroken.
I don't want anyone telling me that getting married out of high school and raising a passel of kids and watching them turn out to be worthy adults isn't worth a lifetime achievement award. I can tell you about jobs with companies that I would still be doing if the companies hadn't gone belly up. I can tell you about businesses I've started that ended up short of money without making it over the top. If you've got a golden goose story, we want to hear it too! Fact of the matter is that everyone has a story and everyone wants to know your story too.
Hey, this is the Westside. Chances are some of us know most of it already. This will just be your chance to set the record straight for your classmates. I'm not talking about a novel (not everybody is as wordy as I am [thank heavens] or no one would get anything done) I admit my autobiography in my Wayne class blog is the first time I ever attempted to explain, no relate, my life to anyone (wvhs67.blogspot.com) and it's not easy. But it is cleansing in a way. On the one hand, it makes you step back and take stock of yourself. On the other hand, it tells your classmates what happened. Why you didn't become a doctor, lawyer, indian chief. That's what I told my classmates. How did Ralph (Ed) Branch get to work with blind folks; how did Bruce Alan Seegert end up commuting between Denali Alaska and New Mexico? How did Linda Lively end up with some yakky Chinese guy from New Jersey? There are over 360 stories to tell, and I for one would like to hear every single one of them (except that last one. I know what happened and how it turned out)
So, first call for biographical blurbs. Don't make me ask Linda to start calling to collect stories.............We can also connect them to the class directory so that if you get the digital version and click on a classmate's photos, you get a pop-up little bio. Way cool!
On an entirely different note, we had our grandson run into Lowes and shoot a photo of Cecilia "Doodles" Dillworth and post it up on the website at the bottom of the West Terrace page. Doodles went to West Terrace with Linda and up through freshman year. I've been getting helped by her at Lowes for years without knowing that she was a classmate too!We are officially over the $1000 mark for the Orange Beach Condo drawing fundraiser. Reitz Class of 67, you've done it again; exceeded expectations and reached another milestone. And there's still time to enter the race to Orange Beach. Call or email Linda Yuan, Nancy Burke, Patty Qualls, Bob Willis or Tommy Lee Waterman (he's out of town for a few days but everyone else is available.) What's that Lotto saying? "You can't win it if you ain't in it" or something like that.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Word is Out about that Class of 1967
I received an email response to a request I made of Beth Carnahan, Head of the English Dept at Reitz. Now I think the world of Beth. She is savvy and she's a great teacher and leader of teachers. It seems like a long time ago, but I asked Beth whether she could help me get Linda a replacement yearbook. She promptly got to Bob Hammonds, media specialist (that's librarian extraordinaire, to us old folks) at Reitz who discovered that they didn't have a 1967 yearbook. Well, Bob is a man of the world and gets around and has a prodigious memory. He discovered a website and sent me an email to help me in my quest:
Mr. Yuan: Last school year Beth Carnahan had mentioned that your wife had lost her 1967 Reitz yearbook in a fire. During the school year I tried to locate a copy for the Reitz files since our copy was missing. Since that time I haved learned that one of the members of the class has posted the entire yearbook on the Internet. The location address is: reitz67.com. The posting is very nice and is complete with additional information. Hope this is of some help.
Bob Hammonds- Media Specialist Reitz H.S.
Imagine my delight in being able to reply to him:
Thanks Bob. I really appreciate your thoughtful follow-through. We have since located a copy, scanned it and put it on CD and had my Grand daughter, Aniesa Ricketts (Reitz 2014) deliver it to the media center and Willard so that the school and the library (their copy was missing too) would have a copy. It apparently didn't get in your hands. If you don't locate it, let us know and we will get you another copy. Apparently the free wheeling spirit of the 60's overwhelmed honesty and person or persons unknown borrowed both copies and neglected to return them.
By the way, thanks for the kind words about the website. Linda Lively Yuan (Reitz 67) and I did the website.
Linda located every member of the class (over 360 less 4 and contacted them all [all that were alive, that is]). We used it to act as a nexus for an unofficial 44th reunion of the class scheduled for this past April 8 originally at Howell shelter but we outgrew the shelter and had it at the Cottonwood Center on Hitch Peters Rd. We had 180 paid attendance. There is a blog too, which begins on the website and continues at reitz67.blogspot.com which documents that process and our official preparations (we and several others became the reunion committee) for the 45th reunion scheduled to take place in early September 2012. Not bad for old farts, eh?
Bob Hammonds is not just a media specialist (librarian). He is also a historian and a man of letters, a rare quality these days. Now he knows what we have done. Yup, the Class of 1967 is holding events that rival, no surpass, those of later Evansville high school classes, some of whom have cancelled their reunions from lack of interest. Lack of interest?!? What is the matter people? Is the Internet and texting and life on Facebook more important than getting together with your classmates in person? Are you to busy with busyness to wake up and smell the coffee? Will it take another 40 years for you to realize that the ship has already sailed and that you have missed the boat? What is so important in your life that you can't spare one night out of 10 or 20 or 30 years to see your classmates? Let us, the class of 1967, 44 years out of school, explain to you what it means to be one with our classmates, happy to share stories about everyone doing well, sharing the pain of losing some along the way, but sharing. The operative word is sharing. And that's what we're going to do again in September of 2012.
Condo drawing chances are still available. We're trying for an even grand and we're within striking distance. Be the one who puts us over the top. Contact Linda Lively Yuan, Nancy Layson Burke, Patty Qualls, Bob Willis, or Tom Waterman for tickets. We're 6 weeks away from the drawing.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
I Don't Usually Like to Do This But......
I don't usually like to plagiarize myself. As you may know, in addition to writing about Reitz 67 activities, I do the same for my own high school, Wayne Valley in Wayne, NJ. Linda and I have been busy doing the same thing for them as we did for you folks, finding as many lost classmates as we can. But sometimes, something happens that is universally enlightening and reveals a universal truth. Well, here's what happened:
Not Everyone Remembers Wayne Valley Fondly
I suppose it takes something like this to realize that not everyone remembers their high school days with fondness. Victor Quinn just replied to me in Facebook after we found him and I messaged him to confirm his identity:
"Aside from the fact I have no idea who you are, I had no friends in that place and put it behind me a long time ago. I haven't even been to Wayne in 30 years. Anyone over the age of 30 who actually cares about HS is an idiot who needs to grow up"
"Aside from the fact I have no idea who you are, I had no friends in that place and put it behind me a long time ago. I haven't even been to Wayne in 30 years. Anyone over the age of 30 who actually cares about HS is an idiot who needs to grow up"
I simply replied that I didn't remember him either and now I realize that I didn't need to. Now I see that the years haven't been kind to Victor's personality and I hope that it has been kinder to his accounting business in Plainfield NJ. WVHS must not have had the same impression that it did for everyone else I have talked to over the past several weeks. In truth, I suspect that it was something other than WVHS that caused him to react so rudely to what must have appeared to be a total stranger. What if I had been a billionaire looking for an accountant? There's an opportunity blown.
Well, I guess that we're all idiots, but I know for a fact that there are a lot of us who have made it life's work not to grow up. And I for one am glad of it. I am still curious about things not immediately in front of my nose and am willing to well wish people with whom I was once associated but are now separated, even by so many years. I am not rude to strangers, least of all to classmates, even if I didn't care for them back then. We are all different, and I hope better and wiser people than we were so many years ago. At least I would hope so and hope that Victor comes to that realization before it really doesn't matter anymore. And the unfortunate truth is that day is coming sooner every day.
Our class search goes on. I have just sent our class reunion committee a slew of information about folks we have located. I'm happy to say of them, the ones who are alive are living happily, in the company of their friends, children and grandchildren, most doing what they always wanted to do, and all are curious about people with whom we went to school. Most inquire of specific people they grew up with, special friends with whom they have lost touch and in some cases we have been able to help in that regard. The ones not alive are still alive in our memories and that of their family and loved ones. That is all the legacy that anyone has the right to expect.
So, to the Victor Quinns of the world, I can quite proudly and defiantly quote James Barrie and Peter Pan,"I won't grow up!"
Well, I guess that we're all idiots, but I know for a fact that there are a lot of us who have made it life's work not to grow up. And I for one am glad of it. I am still curious about things not immediately in front of my nose and am willing to well wish people with whom I was once associated but are now separated, even by so many years. I am not rude to strangers, least of all to classmates, even if I didn't care for them back then. We are all different, and I hope better and wiser people than we were so many years ago. At least I would hope so and hope that Victor comes to that realization before it really doesn't matter anymore. And the unfortunate truth is that day is coming sooner every day.
Our class search goes on. I have just sent our class reunion committee a slew of information about folks we have located. I'm happy to say of them, the ones who are alive are living happily, in the company of their friends, children and grandchildren, most doing what they always wanted to do, and all are curious about people with whom we went to school. Most inquire of specific people they grew up with, special friends with whom they have lost touch and in some cases we have been able to help in that regard. The ones not alive are still alive in our memories and that of their family and loved ones. That is all the legacy that anyone has the right to expect.
I hope that all you Reitz '67 grads will join me in that sentiment.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Higher Expectations and a New Perspective
When Gary Malin offered up his condo in Orange Beach, AL for a free week's stay as a class funraiser...er....fund raiser, he had modest expectations of our selling 50 tickets so we could raise $500 for the class fund. The general idea is always to build up the fund so that we can minimize reservation price for the 45 in September of 2012. We believe that this was one of the factors that made the 44 so successful. Westsiders are all about bang for the buck.
We have come to learn that when it comes to drumming up interest and sales and participation, our current class reunion committee does not rest on its laurels. With 7 weeks to go until the August drawing, we have logged well over $800 in paid ticket sales and commitments for a number more. The idea of raising $1000 is not beyond reason or reach. So get in touch with Linda Lively Yuan, Patty Qualls, Nancy Layson Burke, Tom Waterman, or Bob Willis for your chance at this opportunity. Remember, the availability of this condo has been extended to include some choice times in the Spring of 2012 as well as this fall.
Just when I thought we had run into a stone wall with my Wayne Valley classmates search, we hit paydirt over the weekend, and I had a chance to reminisce with two more classmates, neither of whom knew they were lost and were both grateful that they were found. It seems nearly universal; very few consciously try to lose touch with their high school group, it just happens over time, day by day as life's demands and happenstance buffet you through the years. Whether by design or not, you come to a moment of respite and your mind starts to wander to the past, and high school days come to mind along with the inevitable speculation about this one or that one. Did they fulfill their yearbook ambitions; if they didn't are they happy anyway? I admit I've run into some classmates who .... Let's put it this way, just like my old classmate (I don't seem to have any other kind), Dale Weber being listed in the dictionary under smart ass, there are a few that can be found under hateful and paranoid. "I don't remember you. Who exactly are you and why are you contacting me and why do you want this information?" I know that this is going to cause you to have to contact your federal witness protection program handlers, and you'll probably have to move again, but your high school classmates are curious about how you turned out. Now I can tell them without you having to provide a lick of information.
Anyway, not to get off too far off target, the contact process for the condo drawing was really quite different than that of locating everyone. Now it's not a case of 44 years since last we spoke. It's a few months, and guess who I talked to the other day or guess who I had lunch or dinner with a few weeks ago, or guess who's coming into town and wants to get together with a few friends to break bread. Things are happening and they're all good. You can see it on Face Book. Pictures of old friends gathering here and there; Gayle Brown is still rounding up all the Colorado and Texas people for something local. It's in the wind. It's more than nostalgia. In the past, I was always cynical about it, whether it existed or not, and if it did exist why would you feel it anyway. I feel differently now that I've seen it in action and experienced it firsthand - it's called CLASS SPIRIT and it's alive on the Westside of Evansville.
We have come to learn that when it comes to drumming up interest and sales and participation, our current class reunion committee does not rest on its laurels. With 7 weeks to go until the August drawing, we have logged well over $800 in paid ticket sales and commitments for a number more. The idea of raising $1000 is not beyond reason or reach. So get in touch with Linda Lively Yuan, Patty Qualls, Nancy Layson Burke, Tom Waterman, or Bob Willis for your chance at this opportunity. Remember, the availability of this condo has been extended to include some choice times in the Spring of 2012 as well as this fall.
Just when I thought we had run into a stone wall with my Wayne Valley classmates search, we hit paydirt over the weekend, and I had a chance to reminisce with two more classmates, neither of whom knew they were lost and were both grateful that they were found. It seems nearly universal; very few consciously try to lose touch with their high school group, it just happens over time, day by day as life's demands and happenstance buffet you through the years. Whether by design or not, you come to a moment of respite and your mind starts to wander to the past, and high school days come to mind along with the inevitable speculation about this one or that one. Did they fulfill their yearbook ambitions; if they didn't are they happy anyway? I admit I've run into some classmates who .... Let's put it this way, just like my old classmate (I don't seem to have any other kind), Dale Weber being listed in the dictionary under smart ass, there are a few that can be found under hateful and paranoid. "I don't remember you. Who exactly are you and why are you contacting me and why do you want this information?" I know that this is going to cause you to have to contact your federal witness protection program handlers, and you'll probably have to move again, but your high school classmates are curious about how you turned out. Now I can tell them without you having to provide a lick of information.
Anyway, not to get off too far off target, the contact process for the condo drawing was really quite different than that of locating everyone. Now it's not a case of 44 years since last we spoke. It's a few months, and guess who I talked to the other day or guess who I had lunch or dinner with a few weeks ago, or guess who's coming into town and wants to get together with a few friends to break bread. Things are happening and they're all good. You can see it on Face Book. Pictures of old friends gathering here and there; Gayle Brown is still rounding up all the Colorado and Texas people for something local. It's in the wind. It's more than nostalgia. In the past, I was always cynical about it, whether it existed or not, and if it did exist why would you feel it anyway. I feel differently now that I've seen it in action and experienced it firsthand - it's called CLASS SPIRIT and it's alive on the Westside of Evansville.
Friday, June 10, 2011
It's Not Like Being There
We've resumed the search for the missing classmates of Wayne Valley High School (You all know by now how Linda likes to keep us busy with condo ticket drawing sales, the cruise to somewhere, the 45, the new rent house [alright, that was my idea], the memaw and papaw shuttle [or MAPS for short]), and I realized that I was missing a big part of what made the search for Reitz '67 grads so successful - input from other classmates.
It's as though we're searching in a vacuum with no background information other than what we find on the Internet. There are a few who are also looking but they are from out of town now too. Without some more information other than a name, how hard is it to find Thomas G. Smith? Now I remember him from gym class cause he always wore dark socks and black and white Keds tennies. The gym teachers used to ride him mercilessly. But there are dozens of Thomas G. Smiths in all parts of the country.
Now I don't know if it is just something about Westside folks who know and want to know everything about everyone, or whether it is just because I've been away from my own home town for so long, but I don't know parents, or relatives or childhood buddies of my classmates. I didn't go to grade school there. I went to so many grade schools it isn't funny. My dad's corporate life gave me what amounts to an army brat school history. Even if I had gone through my entire school career in Wayne, people seem more disconnected; there are so many people that we've found that say that they never get back to Wayne, or go there just rarely by coincidence than intent, because there just isn't any other reason to. And I recall thinking how sad that is. I'm not saying that there aren't aspects of Wayne that are quite endearing (and there is an active "I'm from Wayne, NJ" group on Facebook, but they are mostly a nostalgia group - you know, the "who remembers the Valley Road Sweet Shop?" kind of stuff)
Of the Reitz bunch, even those far afield keep in touch with someone. If nothing else, the Fall Festival calls you back here like lemmings to the sea, well, more like Wimpy to a burger or ....I seem to be digging a hole here.... I'll have to give that simile a little more thought. The point is that Evansville people seem to remain Evansville people even though they are living somewhere else. Everyone seems to know everyone else's parents, alive or gone, or brother or sister or niece or nephew or even more importantly, who got married to whom, and even more in most cases. To me, this is part of the magic of Evansville, part of the magic of the Westside in particular. For the travel weary, for me in particular, Evansville and the Westside have become my home. I know without being told, that not being born here, I'm not a genuine Westsider, just a pale imitation. But I'm trying, and I have come to appreciate those qualities that distinguish Westsiders and Evansville folks too. What other small city can raise a million bucks at the drop of a hat when a disaster strikes? or do it regularly for MS or Reilly Hospital or dozens of other equally worthy causes?
This town is special to me, and for those of you in the class who were born Westside people, you're special to me too. You need to see yourselves for who you are, for who you went to school with and get over all the rest of the nonsense that separates you from the special values you grew up with. I'm not admitting defeat in finding my lost classmates, but I'm saying that it is a lot more difficult to find them because I don't have the special connections that your classmates have with you. I'm going to keep looking because I'm a little hard headed about things I decide to do and with Linda's help, how can I fail?
You owe it to yourself, you owe it to your class to get back to Evansville for this reunion. We've got a year to plan it. You've got a year to rearrange your schedules and plan for it. This one's going to be something else. You've heard about how the 44 went and that was on a shoestring budget. If we could have bottled the delight of that night and sent it to you so you'd understand what happened there, we couldn't keep you away. It was truly magical. And we intend to do it again, bigger and better because now we know it can be done and what kind of support from everyone we will get. Don't hear about it from others. Experience it in person.
And although if you say I said it, I'll deny it, we've got other plans too.............something about the Cruise to Somewhere? and a 47th, ('cause we don't know if we can make it to the 50th?) and other smaller get togethers along the way. It's just ridiculous what idle minds can dream up!
It's as though we're searching in a vacuum with no background information other than what we find on the Internet. There are a few who are also looking but they are from out of town now too. Without some more information other than a name, how hard is it to find Thomas G. Smith? Now I remember him from gym class cause he always wore dark socks and black and white Keds tennies. The gym teachers used to ride him mercilessly. But there are dozens of Thomas G. Smiths in all parts of the country.
Now I don't know if it is just something about Westside folks who know and want to know everything about everyone, or whether it is just because I've been away from my own home town for so long, but I don't know parents, or relatives or childhood buddies of my classmates. I didn't go to grade school there. I went to so many grade schools it isn't funny. My dad's corporate life gave me what amounts to an army brat school history. Even if I had gone through my entire school career in Wayne, people seem more disconnected; there are so many people that we've found that say that they never get back to Wayne, or go there just rarely by coincidence than intent, because there just isn't any other reason to. And I recall thinking how sad that is. I'm not saying that there aren't aspects of Wayne that are quite endearing (and there is an active "I'm from Wayne, NJ" group on Facebook, but they are mostly a nostalgia group - you know, the "who remembers the Valley Road Sweet Shop?" kind of stuff)
Of the Reitz bunch, even those far afield keep in touch with someone. If nothing else, the Fall Festival calls you back here like lemmings to the sea, well, more like Wimpy to a burger or ....I seem to be digging a hole here.... I'll have to give that simile a little more thought. The point is that Evansville people seem to remain Evansville people even though they are living somewhere else. Everyone seems to know everyone else's parents, alive or gone, or brother or sister or niece or nephew or even more importantly, who got married to whom, and even more in most cases. To me, this is part of the magic of Evansville, part of the magic of the Westside in particular. For the travel weary, for me in particular, Evansville and the Westside have become my home. I know without being told, that not being born here, I'm not a genuine Westsider, just a pale imitation. But I'm trying, and I have come to appreciate those qualities that distinguish Westsiders and Evansville folks too. What other small city can raise a million bucks at the drop of a hat when a disaster strikes? or do it regularly for MS or Reilly Hospital or dozens of other equally worthy causes?
This town is special to me, and for those of you in the class who were born Westside people, you're special to me too. You need to see yourselves for who you are, for who you went to school with and get over all the rest of the nonsense that separates you from the special values you grew up with. I'm not admitting defeat in finding my lost classmates, but I'm saying that it is a lot more difficult to find them because I don't have the special connections that your classmates have with you. I'm going to keep looking because I'm a little hard headed about things I decide to do and with Linda's help, how can I fail?
You owe it to yourself, you owe it to your class to get back to Evansville for this reunion. We've got a year to plan it. You've got a year to rearrange your schedules and plan for it. This one's going to be something else. You've heard about how the 44 went and that was on a shoestring budget. If we could have bottled the delight of that night and sent it to you so you'd understand what happened there, we couldn't keep you away. It was truly magical. And we intend to do it again, bigger and better because now we know it can be done and what kind of support from everyone we will get. Don't hear about it from others. Experience it in person.
And although if you say I said it, I'll deny it, we've got other plans too.............something about the Cruise to Somewhere? and a 47th, ('cause we don't know if we can make it to the 50th?) and other smaller get togethers along the way. It's just ridiculous what idle minds can dream up!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Is it Always a Stab from the Past?
Got a great photo from Jess Searle, who was rummaging around in an old box. He found a circa. 1955 photo of the St. Marks kindergarten class, taught by Tom Townsend's mother. It is now a resident of the "Where we come from" page on the www.reitz67.com website. It even has the names listed. It was old and faded but I did the best I could to bring the color close to what it used to be.
We were wandering around in Lowe's the other day trying to decide how to most economically redo the new rent house (Jess asked us whether we had ambitions to be the new slumlords of the Westside.) Not quite, but then again, with CD rates as they are, real estate is somewhat more appealing. That's why they call it Real. At our age, there is very little ambition left. Linda says speak for yourself. Anyway, we ran into Cecilia Dillworth, who has worked at Lowe's quite some time. I just didn't know she was a classmate. Some of you may remember her from your memory's dimly lit West Terrace days. She moved away for a while, made it to Reitz freshman year and then went to school somewhere else. Linda got her a copy of the West Terrace 5th grade class photo in which she was a part and some other photos from the 44th. Linda says it was a touching moment. Needless to say, she extended an invitation to Cecilia (you may remember her as Doodles) to attend the 45th, in the spirit of inclusion.
And speaking of inclusion, it seems that more and more people are wanting to get included in the Orange Beach Condo Drawing at the rate of about $200 a week now. The drawing is set for the beginning of August so there's still plenty of time to get your chances, but there are always complications in our lives, grandkids that need shuttling around town and errands that can't wait or things that just pop up to complicate things, so don't wait too long. Paid chances are the only ones that will be included in the drawing. Don't be the person that wanted in and didn't get their ticket money into the pot soon enough.
We were wandering around in Lowe's the other day trying to decide how to most economically redo the new rent house (Jess asked us whether we had ambitions to be the new slumlords of the Westside.) Not quite, but then again, with CD rates as they are, real estate is somewhat more appealing. That's why they call it Real. At our age, there is very little ambition left. Linda says speak for yourself. Anyway, we ran into Cecilia Dillworth, who has worked at Lowe's quite some time. I just didn't know she was a classmate. Some of you may remember her from your memory's dimly lit West Terrace days. She moved away for a while, made it to Reitz freshman year and then went to school somewhere else. Linda got her a copy of the West Terrace 5th grade class photo in which she was a part and some other photos from the 44th. Linda says it was a touching moment. Needless to say, she extended an invitation to Cecilia (you may remember her as Doodles) to attend the 45th, in the spirit of inclusion.
And speaking of inclusion, it seems that more and more people are wanting to get included in the Orange Beach Condo Drawing at the rate of about $200 a week now. The drawing is set for the beginning of August so there's still plenty of time to get your chances, but there are always complications in our lives, grandkids that need shuttling around town and errands that can't wait or things that just pop up to complicate things, so don't wait too long. Paid chances are the only ones that will be included in the drawing. Don't be the person that wanted in and didn't get their ticket money into the pot soon enough.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Not Just the Weather is Getting Hot
As the summer heats up, so have ticket chance sales on the Orange Beach Condo. Thanks in part to a great phone campaign, our classmates have been buying chances to win that stay in the fabulous condo that Gary Malin has offered up and now with the window of opportunity opening wider, those of you with established vacation plans through the end of the year still have the chance to enjoy this vacation destination in the spring as well.
Additionally, the planning for the 45th is proceeding apace with offers of help in a variety of areas. Among them is from Ed (Ralph) Branch, out in CA, who has offered to help consolidate accommodations planning to get us some group rates for those of you requiring places to stay while in town. This can mean considerable savings at some of our local hotels convenient to the Westside. Arranging this is somewhat "chicken and egg" since part of doing this involves knowing the who, what, when, and where details of the event, and we all know that none of this is etched in stone except the anchor event on September 8, 2012. All the associated activities we are thinking about are all in some stage of planning but are not nearly firm enough to satisfy all the obsessive compulsives on the committee. I think Linda is planning a committee meet later this month to start divvying up some necessary tasks. Of course, much of the surrounding activities are organized by other groups who have not yet made their own plans public yet.
And like the guy on TV is fond of saying "but there's more!" but that will have to wait till next time.
Additionally, the planning for the 45th is proceeding apace with offers of help in a variety of areas. Among them is from Ed (Ralph) Branch, out in CA, who has offered to help consolidate accommodations planning to get us some group rates for those of you requiring places to stay while in town. This can mean considerable savings at some of our local hotels convenient to the Westside. Arranging this is somewhat "chicken and egg" since part of doing this involves knowing the who, what, when, and where details of the event, and we all know that none of this is etched in stone except the anchor event on September 8, 2012. All the associated activities we are thinking about are all in some stage of planning but are not nearly firm enough to satisfy all the obsessive compulsives on the committee. I think Linda is planning a committee meet later this month to start divvying up some necessary tasks. Of course, much of the surrounding activities are organized by other groups who have not yet made their own plans public yet.
And like the guy on TV is fond of saying "but there's more!" but that will have to wait till next time.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
An Informal Get together and the Germ of an Idea
Gayle Brown Gurksnis is in town for a week and we got together with her, Nancy Layson Burke, Patty Qualls, and Linda and Terry Gamblin over at Applebee's on the Westside (of course), and had a grand old time. Met Gayles husband Tom Gurksnis for the first time too. They're splitting their time between South Texas and their Class A RV. Turns out she's good friends with Jan Yestingsmeier Clark also in Texas. The net result of all this activity was 5 more condo tickets sold and a CD. Anyway, another example of how a drop of rain turns into a deluge.
Give Linda a little too much time without focussed activity and she starts getting ideas. Pretty soon, it's like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney (My Dad's got a barn, we could put on a show!). Well the idea is this. Sometime in 2012, preferably not in Hurricane season, we get a bunch of classmates together to go on a cruise. We know of at least a half dozen people who expressed interest already. We also know a travel planner who should be able to get a pretty good rate if we can help fill a block of rooms on a class cruise. Hey, one cruise we went on was full of guys entered into the Big Mustache and Beard society. (I don't know what the real name of the organization is, but one of them turns out to be from Evansville!) so stranger things have happened. Linda's just turning the idea over in her head (which probably means that we're going on a cruise next year, one way or another). Personally, I enjoy the cruise ship experience (especially on the smaller ones) and sharing one with a bunch of Reitz folks sounds like it would be a hoot! Now I know that this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but then again, the idea is to keep generating new and different ways to be together doing something class related and keeping the spirit that we regenerated this Spring as an ongoing experience.
We also always invite everyone to throw their ideas in the pot for other ways the class can get together and do something unusual, different or whatever.
Give Linda a little too much time without focussed activity and she starts getting ideas. Pretty soon, it's like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney (My Dad's got a barn, we could put on a show!). Well the idea is this. Sometime in 2012, preferably not in Hurricane season, we get a bunch of classmates together to go on a cruise. We know of at least a half dozen people who expressed interest already. We also know a travel planner who should be able to get a pretty good rate if we can help fill a block of rooms on a class cruise. Hey, one cruise we went on was full of guys entered into the Big Mustache and Beard society. (I don't know what the real name of the organization is, but one of them turns out to be from Evansville!) so stranger things have happened. Linda's just turning the idea over in her head (which probably means that we're going on a cruise next year, one way or another). Personally, I enjoy the cruise ship experience (especially on the smaller ones) and sharing one with a bunch of Reitz folks sounds like it would be a hoot! Now I know that this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but then again, the idea is to keep generating new and different ways to be together doing something class related and keeping the spirit that we regenerated this Spring as an ongoing experience.
We also always invite everyone to throw their ideas in the pot for other ways the class can get together and do something unusual, different or whatever.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A Bigger Condo Window and an Observation
First, Tom Waterman mentioned that one point of sales resistance for Gary Malin's Condo Drawing was that the window to take the vacation was only through the end of the year. Tommy explained that some folks told him that their vacation plans for this year were already set. Would Gary consider broadening the window of time for the vacation. Linda called Gary this evening and explained the problem. Gary said that March 15 through till May was also available for consideration. And he had some flexibility until the true summer season. Similarly, the snowbird season is clearly out of the running since it is prime rental season. But if that has been the issue for you're buying a chance and those additional times work for you, give Linda a call or contact Patty, Nancy, Bob Willis or Tommy Lee Waterman.
I was talking with my classmates about how difficult it is to find people because they move around so much. I commented that previous generations were a lot less portable. My Dad was part of that different generation. He was recruited out of college by American Cyanamid (that's how we ended up in Wayne, NJ actually. I remember standing in the middle of the woods off Berdan Avenue (future home of American Cyanamid back then) and my dad said here's where my office is going to be. I said "Sure, Dad") He was right again, as it turned out. Anyway, he worked for Cyanamid for his entire working life and retired from there, only to watch it get sold, dismantled and sold off piece by piece by American Home Products. He retired at just about the right time. He'd ask me every now and again, "How come you're always changing jobs? You've had so many." And I'd just reply, "Different times, Dad, different times." Thinking back, I'd either move for other reasons than jobs, or I've had a couple of companies with whom I was really happy go belly up. As I got older and more high maintenance because of my work credentials, I got downsized a couple of times. I also got remarried (not my choice) too and that had me on the move again. I don't know whether it was Fate or luck of he draw or sign of the times, but I try to find a logic to the progression of jobs I've held. I'd like to think that there's a cumulative body of knowledge that I've acquired along the way. Thinking back, I know my folks got a lot smarter as I got older. Funny how that seems to work.
I was talking with my classmates about how difficult it is to find people because they move around so much. I commented that previous generations were a lot less portable. My Dad was part of that different generation. He was recruited out of college by American Cyanamid (that's how we ended up in Wayne, NJ actually. I remember standing in the middle of the woods off Berdan Avenue (future home of American Cyanamid back then) and my dad said here's where my office is going to be. I said "Sure, Dad") He was right again, as it turned out. Anyway, he worked for Cyanamid for his entire working life and retired from there, only to watch it get sold, dismantled and sold off piece by piece by American Home Products. He retired at just about the right time. He'd ask me every now and again, "How come you're always changing jobs? You've had so many." And I'd just reply, "Different times, Dad, different times." Thinking back, I'd either move for other reasons than jobs, or I've had a couple of companies with whom I was really happy go belly up. As I got older and more high maintenance because of my work credentials, I got downsized a couple of times. I also got remarried (not my choice) too and that had me on the move again. I don't know whether it was Fate or luck of he draw or sign of the times, but I try to find a logic to the progression of jobs I've held. I'd like to think that there's a cumulative body of knowledge that I've acquired along the way. Thinking back, I know my folks got a lot smarter as I got older. Funny how that seems to work.
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