Thursday, May 26, 2016

Jay's Last Ride

The only time I ever
saw a picture of Jay in a tie
We said goodbye to our friend Jay Ayers yesterday. We only heard of his passing on Friday. We had every expectation that we'd see him on his bike just like we see Bob Willis every now and again. It seemed like only yesterday that we were sitting outside the Bishea building at Burdette Park for the Pig in the Park, and now he's gone and we had to share our deepest sympathies to Jan. We got to Alexander East a little later than I wanted, but I had to teach and I had to get back from Mount Vernon before we could head out. When we got there, we were greatly comforted to know that so many of our classmates took the time to do the same for Jay to help send him on his last ride.

I will miss seeing him sporting one of his special reunion shirts joking with Barry Weissmann and John Reynolds and Gene Hollencamp. At almost the same time I found out from one of my Wayne Valley High School friends that one of my classmates who had been "missing" had passed away suddenly in 2014.

Considering how many Reitz classmates we've lost in a very short time, (Janet Frohbeiter Cox, Tom Wright, Bill Wimberley, Jan Yestigsmeier, Steve Jarboe) I realized that for some of us, this upcoming reunion might be the last time we get to see old friends in this lifetime, and so I urge you all who live in those far flung places to try and make plans to join us on October 7 of 2017 just before Fall Festival for the 50th Reunion of the FJ Reitz Class of 1967 at the St. Phillips Conservation Club.

In writing for the Wayne Valley blog, I composed a statement that I repeat here:
"Time cares not where you went to school, but only how long are spun the threads of Fate, a longer length for which mere mortals can only hope."

It may be sad but it is true. There is no guarantee for tomorrow. Don't pass up the opportunity to see your friends before they are taking that last ride with Jay.

Jay's Last Ride
It's the last day of school for the Mount Vernon School District and I should be a lot happier than I am, ready to celebrate a glorious summer after 5 months of teaching English for the sixth grade. Maybe teaching is for the young and patient, not for old curmudgeons like me, but although physically taxing, it was a worthwhile experience. While I sometimes feared for the future of our nation, some of the kiddos really renewed my faith in the youth of America. Little do they know; little do they realize yet that Time is relentless and unforgiving and it is calling them as surely as it calls to us. To both young and old, the message is the same. Time is fleeting; do not waste it.