Friday, March 25, 2011

Classmates.com

"Greybeard, 15 people visited your guestbook. Click here to see who's searching for you!"
And when I click the tab I'm transported to a site asking for my credit card number.
Although I really don't want to 'cause I HAVE gotten in touch with a couple folks through Classmates.com, I think I'm gonna have to block 'em. They're beginning to be a nuisance, and I get FAR more valuable information through Facebook and Vandy's Kids...
FREE!

Classmates.com...
You need a new business model.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Hanna-Barbera




"The Flintstones" came first.
Yogi Bear, Quickdraw McGraw, and others soon followed.
Several of our classmates assumed Hanna-Barbera identities...
TopCat and Snaggletooth are two that come to mind, (although Snaggletooth didn't much care for his moniker).
Were there others?

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Benny

So many years have passed, it's tough to remember...
I went to my first CG Alumni Banquet in either '81 or '82. I bought tickets for the dinner and the after dinner get-together. The dinner was early... I remember it was still light outside when I sat down to eat... alone. I was maybe halfway through my meal when he approached and asked if he could sit with me...
"Hi, remember me?!! I'm Benny!"
How could anyone forget Benny?
Short in stature, huge in personality and presence, Benny.

I was glad not to be alone.
As you might imagine, Benny did most of the talking, but he wasn't inconsiderate...
He listened too.
I mentioned my Viet Nam service and the fact I was still in the ARMY Reserve.
That gave Benny the chance to brag about his NAVY service, and he had good reason to brag...
He had been selected to serve on "Old Ironsides"...
The U.S.S. Constitution, the museum and oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy. That was a prime job... a job the NAVY would not have given to just anyone. His obituary says everyone who attended Benny's tours of the ship said he was exceptional.
I have no doubt that is true.

I didn't know Benny well. I worked with his sister Julene at the Frostop and loved her, and through that association knew the rest of her family well enough to smile and wave.
I knew Benny well enough to know I liked him.
And I'm sad to know he's gone.

So many posts in a row dedicated to sadness...
And our country and the world in a mess...
We need a collective pick-me-up, don't we?