Mar 31, 2012
In June 2002, my class had a reunion. What really got me thinking about it was a discussion I was having with my brother. I was trying to tell him who someone was, and wanted to reference a relationship to someone I graduated with. I could not — for the life of me — remember the dude’s name. And to be honest, I still can’t. Maybe by the end of this post, if I dig deep enough, I’ll figure it out. In the meantime, allow me to share my treasure trove of 2002 photos of my classmates — even the ones whose names escape me. I am old. Officially. Ancient even.
The top three photos on the left of the graphic above are 3 sets of friends. Back in the day, the pairs of friends went together like peanut butter and jelly. And Shelley and Tammy. And Teresa and Cathy. And Trina and Joyce. And pizza and beer.
Right below that on the left is the group shot — everyone that attended the reunion in 2002. I can even name them (I think)… here goes:
Bottom L to R: Sharon (now goes by Peggy) Barnes Burns, Velvia Brock, Tammy Masters, Cathy Scifres and Mark Hensley.
2nd row L to R: Darla Murphy, Joyce Thompson, Teresa McIntosh, Cheri Morris, Teresa Bowman, Connie Howard, Trina Vail, Tammy Brown, & yours truly.
Back row L to R: Brian Niewedde, NaLona Deputy, Tom Brock, Albert Chapman, Steve Wooten, Gary Rutherford, Mike Brown, Gary Bischoff, Rick Lewis, Bruce Barger and Bill Garrison. (Whew! I knew I could do it!)
Now on the right, the top 2 photos are from the yearbook, and the bottom photos were current… back about 10 years ago they were current. I still remember the guy’s cheer… did we think it was cool? You betcha! It went… “pork chop, pork chop, greasy, greasy, we’re gonna’ beat you, easy, easy.” Seriously. I would not lie to you.
Our class reunion? We even had a brochure. Or a flyer. Because it was nothing close to being a program…
In 2002, we’d lost one classmate that I know of, Debra Chapman. I’m not sure of the current status of a couple classmates — no clue if they are alive or dead. And, it’s surprising how so many of those I graduated with still live relatively close to Ville. Out of the 55 graduates, way more than 1/2 still live within 50 miles. Class motto, “Love will keep us together.” Hmmm… maybe? There’s one chick… only one name, Darlene Perry, that I have no memory of whatsoever. She’s not in the photo scatter (above), so maybe someone just made that name up. I was class secretary all 4 years of high school. I should at least remember everyone!
Just looking at the photos conjure wonderful memories. If you don’t know who any of these strange people are, come back tomorrow for something a bit more traditional. But while you’re waiting… pull out some of YOUR old high school photos and take a trip in the way-back machine. You’ll think of things you forgot. =)
Mar 30, 2012
The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered, “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
I guess I never really thought of being surprised by humanity before. Humans are… well, human. Obviously. But to be quite honest, I see myself in the above. I sit for too many hours behind a computer, and oftentimes miss out on things I want to do because I think I don’t have time, or I’m simply too burnt out at the end of the day to do them. I vow to do better. Tomorrow. It’s always tomorrow. Which then reminds me of a poem that my favorite brother on the planet often quotes:
Tomorrow
He would be all
That a mortal could be…
Tomorrow
No one would be kinder
Or fairer than she…
Tomorrow
Each day he would stack up
The letters he would write…
Tomorrow
She would think of the customers
She would fill with delight…
Tomorrow
But the fact is they died
And faded from view
And all that was left
When living was through
Was the mountain of things
They intended to do…
Tomorrow
–Anonymous
Adapted by Scott McKain
Not sure about you, but it makes me want to begin to do better TODAY!
Mar 29, 2012
I posted the photo on the left to Facebook, but wanted to share it here too. I am amazed at how much Coco looks like her Daddy.
Back in the day we didn’t have a ton of cash to spend doing much of anything. A yearly pass to Indiana parks, gas in the tank, and a picnic lunch and we were good to go. Fall, spring or summer — we found stuff to do. I’m not sure what happened to those days or why I don’t choose to enjoy that type of recreation anymore. Ben was about the same age as Coco is now when the photo was taken, and he sure thought our trips were amazing. Once the weather gets a bit more stable (hard to plan too far in advance when you don’t know if it’s going to be 80 or 45 a week in advance), I’m going to at least suggest it.
I have a ton of photos from about this same time… I had a 35mm camera that I took with me everywhere, and looking through old photo albums, some of the shots are pretty cool. Interesting since now you take a bajillion photos with your digital and pitch what you don’t like. Back in the day, you had a roll of film that allowed for 24 photos, and waited sometimes a week to get them developed. To be honest, those photos took a huge chuck of change from what I had available to spend. Double prints and a roll was around $12 bucks. Now that doesn’t sound like much… but back then, when you spent at least a buck for every decent photo, you had to carefully plan before you snapped. Today, I can pull 72 photos from my photo card and all I’ve photographed is a bar of soap.
At one point, I purchased darkroom equipment — the whole smear. Setting it up in a small, spare bedroom, I went through developer like crazy. But, like all good things, that too came to an end. I had a little boy that cried the second I closed that darkroom door, and I simply couldn’t stand to be in there knowing he was on the other side of it… even though someone else was watching him.
Mar 28, 2012
I read an article several weeks ago about what employees need most. I can’t even remember where I found it or how, but it was basically saying that although pay is important in any job, it only goes so far. I remember the article listed maybe 8 or 10 things that factor into the happiness of employees, but the two I remember are the ones that resonated most with me.
Freedom — that’s a pretty big one in my book. If I don’t have the freedom to work the way I work best, I’m certainly not going to be as productive.
Connections — because I don’t know of anyone that just wants to work for a paycheck. The individual moments are much more important than meetings.
So what’s most important to you?
Coco agrees with the whole freedom thing — she just wants more of it. =)
Mar 27, 2012
Today is a really special day. If YOU don’t know what today is… then it’s absolutely YOUR loss because…
It’s Alisa’s birthday!!
A friend is one that says “hi” occasionally. But a true friend is someone that could completely ignore you on purpose but you know she actually loves you more than anyone could.
