Playing with photos

 

R.M.U.

Vice President Cheney was at Camp Atterbury recently to speak in support of Indiana National Guard families.

I was watching Fox News the other night and caught a glimpse of someone that looked familiar on the video of the event. I found this photo that affirms what I saw.
All I can say is, Attaboy!
You make us all proud!

Yet More Pics....

These are the last of my pictures.
I'm hopeful others will post theirs soon.
Here Jan K, Janet, and Mrs. T. chat with Mr. M., Linda K., and Cynthia in the background.





Back at the kitchen table, Sharon, StraightRickie's better half Maggie, and DJinIndy share a little time.






It was such a beautiful day!
Purple Tomcat and Hot Lips enjoy the deck just outside the kitchen door.






Indy Echo commented on the wonderful food. Here you get a feel for it. Purple Tabby, Cynthia, and Vicki come for dessert.
What a great time!
When's the next mini? I'm ready!

S'more pics:

Well, that took two kinds of forever!
Blogger is acting up tonight. Luckily, the weather is Schmutz.... (look it up), and I have the time to mess with downloading these photos. Here, Hawkeye and Purple Tabby seem oblivious as TwoDogs makes his moves on Indy Echo! (Or is he just thanking her for being such a wonderful hostess? You be the judge!)

Meanwhile, the lovely Cinders waits,
and waits.










Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell make the grand entrance with big smiles, crushing Sara Jean in the rush to join the fun!





Keaney, Tracy, and Carol urge Ginger to make an editorial comment.


Can there yet be more photos?
Yep, if technology will cooperate!

October '06 in Edinburg

(Click photos and they should enlarge.)
Blogger is taking forever to download photos today, so I'm gonna post a few now, then more later, hoping the download speed picks up.
Look closely, and you'll see faces you may not have seen in a long time!
Here we see Indy Echo, Cindy, Hawkeye, and Ginger's John S. chatting in the kitchen.






Ferdy, StraightRickie, and Sharon. Rick sure seems to be enjoying himself!











Mr. C. has FlyGirl's attention......








Jan K. and our guest of honor. The older guys
are sure smooth, aren't they?




More photos on the way soon.

More Edinburg "Stuff"

Have you ever been assaulted with a shovel?
I shudder to have to relate this to you-

No..... I can't bring myself to do it now!
It'll have to wait to be told after I've had a chance to face up to the horror of it!

There are a few loose ends to tie up: Vicki asked that I post and remind those of you that have stories you'd like to relate about either OJ or Vandy to finish writing those and submit them to her so she can compile them in the notebooks she's made for that purpose. This doesn't have to be a big deal by any means....... if either of these guys had a positive effect on your lives, please email or send them to Vicki soon so she can honor Vandy and OJ with them.

And Vicki-
If there are any of them that are poignant, funny, or otherwise of interest to Vandy's Kids, please copy them so we can share them here!

Come on guys...... I know there are more stories to relate out there!

Blogging the Mini

Dateline: Edinburgh, Indiana

Six hours of driving finds us chatting with Vicki I. for the first time in 41 years!
Wonderful.

IE and Shifty, Ferdy, DJinIndy, and Vicki were very obviously enjoying one another's company as we entered the scene. Hawkeye and Hot Lips had departed before our 10:30 P.M. arrival, to return Saturday for preparations for the Mini.
All is well here folks.

Saturday morning here now. Sara Jean found her way to bed at 4 A.M.. She and Vicki were up late plotting the violent overthrow of some Latin American country, I think.
I didn't ask..... my eyes slammed shut an hour before.

It's clear and cool here. The trees are doing their normal late October Indiana thing. Gorgeous.
I have my camera, and will do my best to remember to take it out of it's holster and actually shoot some pictures.

Stay tuned. Back later.
GB

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!

Working nights fits my temperament for a number of reasons.
I have always been a Nightowl, so it's kinda natural for me to work 12 hours from 6:30 P.M. to A.M..

Late night rolls around, and I find myself in front of the computer monitor, getting paid for surfing. I also show myself "online" on MSN Instant messenger, and chat with buddies from near and far.
One that frequently shows up at Midnight or thereabouts is our beloved Golden Horse. Five hours after the sun has set here, it submerges in the Pacific at the Aloha State. GH shows up, and we talk about what you'd imagine....... classmates, happy days, next week and next year.

But there was something else to chat about last night. GH and her Kenman got shaken outta bed this week. They are okay, but inspections are ongoing to see how much damage was done to the infrastructure around them. Damage was greater on the Big Island, but Oahu was pretty well shaken too. GH says they had power off for a while but they seem to be headed back to normalcy around her pretty quickly.

I was glad to chat with her and get that news, and wanted to relay it to all who might be concerned. She'll probably jump into the comments here, but still wishes she were headed Eastbound this weekend. Maybe we'll fire up a computer in Edinburgh at some point and all who want to can fill GH in on what she is missing? That would be fun.
I know we're all glad she and Ken are unhurt.

That Chipley, Florida Gang

(Click photo to enlarge)
A week and a half behind us in Destin, we leave tomorrow, (Sunday) to head back North, knowing next weekend we'll be enjoying visiting with many of you. We're lookin' forward to it!

The last couple times down, we've been in touch with Carol and Harry, trying to get together. We finally pulled it off last night!
Carol and Harry drove down from Chipley and met us at Baytowne Wharf, which is part of a gated community in Sandestin, Florida. Dinner was great. Visiting was better. They both look wonderful....... broad smiles all around.

They're sad not to be able to make it to the mini next weekend- they considered it, but a number of responsibilites will keep them in Chipley. They want everyone to know they'll be thinking of us and wishing they were with us in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Drop 'em a note and encourage them to be sure and make the next one!

Quimby Shirrell

Last week I emailed everyone about a Benefit for Quimby Shirrell. She is at the IU Hospital in the transplant center. You can go onto my Blog and see all the details on her & her sister's surgery Oct. 16th.

This is the flyer we are hoping to put out. We have talked with the American Legion and the VFW. Both said they thought there would be no problem in being the sponsor, but they have to present it at their meeting on Tuesday. If we have anyone here that is in the American Legion and could put in a good word for us, that would help alot. You can call Scott @ the American Legion - 317-881-1752.



Benefit for Quimby Shirrell

Sponsored by:
AMERICAN LEGION & VFW OF GREENWOOD

Spaghetti Dinner
$25 per person
Presale tickets

Presale enters you into raffle for big screen TV

Dinner / Auction / Music / Raffle

Nov. 24th, 2006 Friday
6:00 p.m.
Location: Primo Banquet Hall
I-65 & S. Keystone
For tickets call
352-0389 777-2767 839-9006


We are looking for any help & donations of any kind: monetary, services, auction items, if you have a place of business and could take some of the tickets to sell, etc.
You can contact any of us: Courtney Turner, Nancy Steelman or me - numbers above.

First Priority is to please keep them in your prayers.

Rebel Rouser

Okay schoolmates, I need your help.
Sara Jean and I are on our annual get-away to Destin, Florida. Driving down we frequently listen to "Oldies" stations. One of the songs we heard on the way down was Duane Eddy's "Rebel Rouser", and it set me to thinking. Jane Ann C. and I were both in the band for a long time. I took trumpet lessons with Mr. Kaufman the summer between 4th and 5th grade, and was surprised to find myself in the High School band starting our 5th grade year. I think Jane had the same experience. In band we mostly played classical stuff with a few marches thrown into the mix.
I was surprised to come into band practice one day and find the sheet music to "Rebel Rouser" in the folders on our music stands!

It was as much fun to play as you'd imagine, and when we'd play it at our ballgames, the reaction was predictable.

But it also set me to thinking about another bandmate, and I'm ashamed to say I'm not sure I remember his name correctly. He was our snare drummer. Very talented, I think his name was David Lofton, but here in Florida I don't have yearbooks to lean on to verify that.

I know I heard he had passed away some years ago. (Bad heart?)
Hawkeye, or someone with a yearbook handy...... he was either in the class of '63, or more likely, the class of '64. Please solve my headache of trying to remember his name! And if anyone has particulars on how and when he died, maybe someone other than me would also like to hear that information.

Nellie Update:

Thanks again to those of you that wrote kind words for me and my family concerning my Mom.
We spent Friday with her at the hospital in Pensacola. In good spirits, she was still tired and a little weak from her experience. They worried she was losing blood somehow, and had given her a unit of blood. There was some question she might have had a silent heart attack.
Mommanurse has been guiding much exploration to find the problem, but so far they have turned up nothing........ good news and bad, 'cause we were hoping they'd find a problem and fix it!

Mom is now in a rehab facility. She has been borderline diabetic for years. Now she is gonna have to start taking insulin shots in order to control her blood sugar. At the rehab facility they are giving her diet and exercise tips, and will teach her how to properly administer her shots..... dosage and technique. She should be released from that facility soon...... maybe even before we finish our vacation here, which would be wonderful, because we could help get her settled back in her apartment with her beloved cat!

She comes here to VK to stay current on our posts and comments. If you knew Mom, I know she'd be overjoyed to read your thoughts and supportive comments.
Thanks again to all of you thinking and praying for us!

Vandy's Kids

Suggestion has been presented by alumni member to host a sock hop at BB game between Christmas and New Years. BB game honors former players, coaches and yell leaders. Goal to obtain alumni supporting CGS in house and hopefully get alumni organized so we can support CGS. I would appreciate any comments. BB game last year hosted about 40 alumni players and yell leaders, good evening.

Center Grove Education Foundation has created a CGS / WRT fact sheet with local info. i will provide copies to JT and Barb for Oct gathering if i can not attend.

alumni banquet set for first saturday in june at CGHS cafeteria

vandy's kids if being read by many and enjoyed at CGS.

alumni will soon have a link to CGS web page, will keep you posted.

hatchet

"Dewey Beats Truman!"

I have a cruel, twisted sense of humor sometimes.
My first title for this post was gonna be "Mini-Reunion Cancelled!"
Please, know up front that title is just as wrong as the one above.

I've had emails and calls inquiring about the mini-re.
Some were confused that the posts about who was coming and what to bring were taken down. Others apparently emailed IE about something reunion related and had gotten no response.
Don't despair folks, the sky is not falling!

We will meet.
We will have fun.
You will take home memories you'll never forget.
You will be glad you came.

I'll bet a couple things:
Indy Echo is probably up to her butt in alligators...... by that I mean that on a couple occasions she has let me know that her personal business has been keeping her more than a little busy lately. She just got back from vacation, and I suspect she is pulling her hair out trying to catch up on her backload.
Seems to me I also heard something a few weeks ago about her computer going on a work stoppage, or something to that effect. If you've written her via email and have had no response, it might be that IE's "Mr. Dell" is just being an obnoxious electronic jerk and has not been doing his job properly.

But just to reassure you-
We will have a meeting, somewhere.
Brown County, McCormick's Creek, the Teacher's Parking Lot at Center Grove High School-
what do we really need in the way of a place to meet?

I personally heard from IE a couple weeks ago. I've also recently heard from Ferdy and PT. I have no reason to believe that we are not "all systems go, A-OK for launch" of the mini-re!

I bet we'll be in Edinburgh around a fire smiling at one another on the evening of October 21st.
But if not there, there was a nice fire at Purple Tabby's Mom's house in Nashville, and I have it on good faith the welcome mat is out there too.

And all who were there left with warm hearts and smiling faces!
Be of good cheer, folks. See ya in a couple weeks!

Autumn Leaves

"And the days dwindle down,
to a precious few....
September,
November."

Ya know, I probably write too much about stuff that makes me introspective and melancholy. When we started "Vandy's Kids", PT posted, with the best of intentions, the list of schoolmates that had passed on, and we included the cause of their passing. We took the memorial down and stored it because the list began to be pretty long, and we were depressed by the loss of youth, promise, talent, vigor, and so many other things it represented.
Now comes the news about Jerry Mullinix and Mickey Kincaid. It's a little easier for me to rationalize the loss of these guys....... they didn't die painfully young- they had a chance to live and make a mark to remember them by.

Pretty early in childhood you realize the normal progression of things. As youngsters we watched as Great-Grandparents died, then Grandparents. We knew that if things unfolded normally, our Parents would be next to go.
Along the way now and then came the shockers-
Friends and loved ones dying much too young due to accidents or horrible disease..... so hard to accept because we're not prepared for it.

I can hardly believe I'm rapidly approaching 60 years of age. And 60 for me is a kind of breaking point- still too young to die, but people who reach 60 have had time to experience much in life, and it's not such a tragedy as dying sooner.

My job has shown me that people of all ages can die of things you don't expect. I regularly see folks under thirty with serious heart attacks. I once transported a 4 year old who had suffered a stroke. Cancer is another disease that can strike at any age.

But now we are entering the 7th decade of our lives.
In "Chico and the Man", Ed Brown, played by Jack Albertson, checked the obituaries in his newspaper to see if his name was there.
Funny bit........
but more and more our contemporaries names will be listed there, and although we may not be comfortable with it, it's a natural thing isn't it?

That's why I believe our memorial to schoolmates will probably remain dormant.
It's also why these mini-reunions are such a wonderful thing, and why it's important you come share fellowship with us if you can.

I hope to see you on October 21st!


Update, 1927 hours:
Home from work this morning, Sara Jean said I needed to call Mommanurse right away- my Mother is in the hospital.
Mom is 81. She has been borderline diabetic for some time now, but the condition has gradually worsened. She is now taking insulin and they are having trouble controlling the dosage and getting her sugar level stabilized. This morning the visiting Nurse couldn't get her to come to the door, and when she investigated, she found Mother confused. She called Mommanurse. MN made the decision to take her to the hospital (where Mommanurse is on staff). There they decided to keep Mom at least overnight to observe and investigate her situation further.
I thought it odd, and sort of premonition-ish that this would happen after publishing this post late last night.
Your prayers and kind thoughts for Mom would be appreciated.
GB