Caught Red-Handed At The Whorehouse!

Vandy's Kids are all abuzz! The rumor's goin' round that some of our classmates were actually caught in a Bawdyhouse the other night! Now they can't deny it...
"Reverend Melvin P. Thorpe" forwarded these photos to me as irrefutable evidence!

TD seems a little upset at being caught "Corpus Delecti"... is that the right term PT? Cinders, as usual, seems to be having a better time than her old man!

Hawkeye and Mrs. H.

Why didn't anyone tell me Bo was seeing Clint Eastwood? Ha! Max, thanks for coming.
We all hope you're feeling better by the time you see these photos!

Mark G. and lovely Robin. Mark, ya gotta come to Edinburgh so we can visit more!

Mr. and Mrs. BobWhiteDan.

Folks, these are your hostess and host for next months shindig...
Indy Echo and the lovely (and talented!) Shifty.

Our tablemates/cohorts in crime, JT and DJ.

Greybeard and Sara Jean. Honest folks, I had not been drinking... much!

"The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas"

A Review, By Greybeard-

This story is about a whorehouse!
A whorehouse!

My sensibilities were stretched almost beyond the breaking point!

Well really, I didn't know quite to expect about this play.
Some of the promotional material has one of the primary characters,
Madam Mona saying, "There's nothing really dirty goin' on." So when we were treated to characters simulating sexual intercourse at the sides of the stage, I was mildly surprised....
A whorehouse, mind you!
I had not seen a lot of critical approbation, so I walked in expecting reasonable... not GREAT entertainment. And that is kinda what we got.

The storyline is/was predictable. I suspect much of the talent was local... therefore some of the players were excellent... some were satisfactory. Some were limited by the material given to them by the writers.

But I agree with TwoDogs comment this morning: "It was a little bawdier than I imagined it would be." I'm a prude at heart, and some of the cursing, although probably necessary for the storyline, made me uncomfortable. What made me even more uncomfortable, in these days of Muslim beheadings of innocents, was a line uttered by the Texas Governor character, intended to show irony:
"If only the Jews and Arabs would treat one another like Christians!"
If we are talking about truly bein' Christlike Governor, my only comment is, INDEED.

The food was plentiful, varied, and tasty.
But the highlight of the evening for me was 15 other audience members.
I wish I had looked at my watch so I could accurately report times for ya...
We stood in the foyer talking so long, I began to be uncomfortable about keeping the workers from locking up and goin' home, so I suggested our group step outside to continue our conversations there. Once outside, we spent another... half hour? Forty-five minutes discussing classmates long forgotten, or the time the BoMar kids took up grave robbing as a hobby.
(C'mon Bo... more on that, please!)

I was delighted to meet Mr. BMG and Mrs. Mark G. for the first time. I really think our classmates have done a wonderful job finding 1st class spouses to add to our mix! Delightful.

All in all, a great night, folks. Sara Jean and I sat with DJ and JT, so we smiled most of the evening. DJ and I came to an agreement... Angels have beautiful landing gear!

I'm sorry if you missed this mini. If you did, once again you missed a good time shared with good company. Now, mark your calendars:
20 October, Edinburgh Indiana.
We will have a great time. You don't want to miss it.
More information forthcoming.
Watch this space!

Saturday Open Forum

GB's on a road trip but if he were home, he might post an open forum note.
Got something to share? Take this opportunity.

While you are doing that, I'm going to continue my quest to organize the garage. It's been a mess since we moved in and that’s over 10 years ago! I can't take it anymore!! I've been working on it for the last week and things are much better. Now I have to clear out the attic junk,,, and then the junk in the shed (gawd it just never ends!).

My real goal: if one of us (or both) kick the bucket earlier than planned, whoever has to deal with our stuff will find it all neat and labeled. The junk store will appreciate that ;))) (anyone want to make bets on my success??)

OK the forum is yours!

Eastbound!

Bags are packed. We have a couple errands to run. That's fine, 'cause I don't want to drive five hours, just to end up in my home town during rush hour. The plan is to be on the road about 2 P.M. our time... (is that 3 P.M. Indiana time now? Stupid time changes!) Anyway, we'll be "Back in Indiana" by early evening tonight... first time back since Echo's reunion in October.

We hope to add a couple names to our list of classmates we've seen for the first time since 1965 this trip. More on that when the dust has settled.
We're playin' it by ear. When we've had our second cuppa tomorrow morning, we may just decide to strike out and see if we can get face to face with "the classmate to be named at a later date." Ooooh!

Stay tuned.

I Forgot

Thank God for the internet. All too often I'll forget something and all I have to do is start a search, use the right words here and there, and Voila!... there's my answer.

But this time it didn't work that way.
For some time I had been puzzling over the Drive-In's name. And I'm not talking Drive-In movie now, I'm talkin' Drive-In restaurant.
Just for fun, this post will be one I'll update after someone comes up with the correct answer, and I'll tell you "The rest of the story".

The Drive-In was East of Indianapolis on U.S. Highway 40.
I remember it was far enough out of town that I didn't go often, but it was unique in a couple ways:
They served a Pork Tenderloin sandwich the size of the hubcap off a Buick Electra 225, and-
there was a movie screen on the East side of the lot, where you could watch a movie while you ate your order.

Ever been there? Can ya remember the name of the place?

Update comin' up when we have a correct answer!

Al Green's!
TD is right... (and may be the only other soul awake at this hour!)
You may have noticed "The Whiteland Barn" is now one of our "favorite links". I dropped in on them the other night to check see if anyone else I knew had signed their guest book... done that yet? While pokin' around on the site I noticed they have a blurb about Al Green's there. That made me wonder if it was still in existence. A quick Dogpile search found this link, where it indicates what happened to the place. Go take a look... it's an odd site, comparing Al Green's to "The Parthenon" and other buildings. Is this a student's study for a college course?
No matter what, it's an interesting place to waste time, if you have it to waste.
What do you think of it?

alumni news

Center Grove Alumni Association (CGAA) is moving forward thanks to efforts of many current and past members.

alumni banquet April 26, 2008 Committee formed early to plan a fun event, catered meal, entertainment, photo display of years past and present. Goal set of 400 graduates and friends to attend. Date moved to provide opportunity of soon to be graduates know CGAA is alive and make them welcome sharing memories and friends. New date is also not interfer with graduation parties.

CGAA selling polo and sweatshirts for $20.00 and SS "T" shirts for $15.00.
Real Trojan head with Center Grove and ALumni white lettering on red shirt.
designed by Dan Francis , CGHS 65'. Postage of $3.00 will be added to purchase price.

www.centergrovealumni.org
site developed by John Spurr 68', includes Vandy Photo's, alumni info and space for sharing events such as class gatherings.

CGAA making presence known at football games, booth set up selling shirts and passing out pens with name and web site listed.

help always needed, both physical and monetary, THANKS for consideration.
monthly meetings usually 2nd tuesday of the month. check web site for details.


keep the faith hatchet

Where were you that day?

Change of Face

When GB mentioned putting Vandy's photo in the Blog header, I started poking around inside the template (things are always easier when I haven't a clue what I'm doing)

Anyway, I found a template that lets us add a photo, plus it sort of has CG colors,,,, so I tried it. (The Blog program says we can go back to the old format if we want to.) Also, this template will let us add other things that I'm going to let GB and other smart people figure out.

If there is something you would like to add/change/delete please say so; it might not be possible but your opinion is welcome.

The Royal "We"

"I think we should mow the grass down by the pond."

While she's doin' kitchen chores, Sara Jean likes to look down at the Ducks feeding in the pond, and tall grass at the pond's edge keeps her from seeing their little bottoms bobbing as they feed on the duckweed beneath the surface.

So it's an understandable statement, really a rhetorical comment... a thought just coming off the top of her head, right?

Uhh... nope.

The problem in the statement is the realities of the "Greybeard" world, and the way the word "WE" is used here. I own a big ol' "Zero-turn radius" mower, and an ancient 21-inch push mower. Sara Jean can't/won't operate the "lunar lander"- like big mower, and although she regularly uses the push mower, fear of snakes near the water's edge makes that a "no-mow" zone for her.

So the statement, "We need to mow the grass down by the pond", really means-
"Get off your butt and go mow the grass by the pond!"

When the email came last week from someone who will remain un-named, my vast experience with wife-speak helped me translate it right away...

"We need to add a picture of Vandy to our blog heading."
Ha!
I wrote back, "What a wonderful idea! Go ahead and do that!"
And the person to whom I responded, not knowing "Greybeard-speak", didn't catch the humor in my answer.

I'd LOVE to have a photo of Vandy in the heading of "Vandy's Kids"! The problem is, I don't have the know-how to do it.
At "Pitchpull", there is place in the profile where it asks if you want a display picture, and I presently have a photo of me in the helicopter displayed. The template for "Vandy's Kids" is totally different, and doesn't give you that option. (There wasn't even a place for the Blogroll you see in the left margin, but I jury-rigged one I stole from my own blog and made it work here.)
I've looked through the html language both at Pitchpull and Vandy's Kids, and I just don't see a place where I can get the job done. It's gonna take someone with more computer knowledge than is contained in this gray headed skull to accomplish it.

But I do have a scanner, and I DO know how to use it. So I searched through our yearbook and found what I consider to be one of the definitive photos... see if you agree:


(It'll enlarge if you click it.)
Can't ya just hear him?

"Peeeeeeeple.... Do I have to be a policeman?

Now it's my turn to use wife-speak:
I would LOVE to have this pic, or something similar, permanently displayed in the heading of the blog.

I think "we" need to do that, don't you?!

For your viewing pleasure.....

I don’t know of anyone, especially women, who haven’t seen the movie “The Notebook”. Ladies, if you have not seen this movie, you must watch it. It is a truly heartfelt love story. My daughter has been telling me to watch it since it came out 3 yrs ago. I finally watched the movie about 6 months ago – three times in one weekend. I had never heard of Ryan Gosling, but I fell in love with this young man immediately. I also went through a LOT of kleenex.

Part of the movie was filmed in Mt. Pleasant, SC. at the Boone Hall Plantation. My daughter lives close by in Charleston and visited Boone Hall this summer. Here are some pictures that were taken - that’s her in the picture:

The picture on the left is the entrance to Boone Hall Plantation. The picture on the right is the lake where all the swans were when the young couple in the movie went for a rowboat ride. (In the movie, most of the swans were digitally enhanced.)

This picture on the left is called the Charleston Battery in Charleston, SC.

On the right is a Live Oak tree with Spanish moss.

These pictures were taken by my daughter, this summer.

For our Mysterious Classmate??

It seems in our midst one of our fellow classmates has a secret she has been keeping for many years.
It seems long ago and far away, she went to a faraway land where no one would know her and she was free to roam the shores.
She was set free and let loose in a most pleasant way. (See story about swimsuit). Or facts similar thereof.
It seems she would like to relive those days of yesteryear again.
I have been told by a reliable scource that she left many broken hearts and no wave was left unrode. She wore a flower behind her ear and...oh wait, that is another story for later, sorry.
I know it is impossible to do anything again. Once it is done, it's done, but you can do something similar.
If you have read her story, it is more than enjoyable.
I think she missed her calling and should have been a writer. She is more than entertaining and a hoot besides.

So without further ado, something to get her started, I present to you:Sitting in Paradise Body Shop Wicked Wahine Cologne Mist

Celebrity Siblings

There are 6 sets of celebrity/show biz siblings (2 per set) I have found, all born in 1940 or before:
3 sets of sisters, 1 set of brothers, and 2 sets with brother/sister.
(I’ll give ya credit(?) if you think of some that I missed)

1. All 12 of these celebrities are still alive except for 2, and those 2 are not related.
2. Of these 6 sets, 3 sets were born in the U.S.; 3 sets were not.
3. These are all well known celebs (at least to our age group)
4. All 3 sets of sisters were NOT born in the U.S. and 1 of the sisters in these 3 sets was
married 9 times.
5. 1 set of brother/sister had a very famous father; the other 10 celebs did not.
Can you guess the 6 sets of siblings - THEY HAVE ALL BEEN GUESSED
ANSWERS:
Olivia de Havilland & Joan Fontain born in Tokyo, Japan
Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor born in Budapest, Hungary
James Arness & Peter Graves born in Minneapolis, MN
Jayne & Audrey Meadows born in Wuchang, China
Shirley MacLaine & Warren Beatty born in Richmond, VA
Jane & Peter Fonda born in NYC

Something to pass the time.

Guessing them is the game.

These 3 should be easy to name.

Everything Old Is Young Again

Passing the "Old Navy" store the other day, I was glad I had my camera at hand.
Can you believe it?
Guys, if you have any of your old shirts, you're right in style again!
Next week:
Madras Shirts, buy two, get one free!

Just Another Pretty Face...

Recognize her?

Don't cheat!

46 DAYS AND COUNTING

Okay, everyone, can you believe it???

ONLY 46 MORE DAYS UNTIL THE OCTOBER MINI.

I am going to be sending out invitations in
the next week or so. IF you haven't marked
your calendars now is the time. Graybeard
seems to think that this mini is going to
be the biggest one yet. SURE HOPE HE IS
RIGHT !!!

For those of you who have attended before
I know you are looking forward to coming
again. IF you see or talk to (anyone) who
hasn't made it in the past please be sure
to tell them it is a time they don't want
to miss.

Saw Mary R. at the funeral and she said that
she IS GOING TO BE HERE. HOORAY !!!

I ran across a class mate that we haven't seen
in years and who hasn't attended any of our
regular five year reunions. JUDY KIRK.
Would you belive that she is a neighbor of
mine? She lives in Edinburgh and has for
many years. She works at the Edinburgh
Police Department and has for about 13 years.

David Lutz who is the Johnson County Corner
and also an Edinburgh Policeman is one of my
clients. I went by the police station to see
him. When I went up to the window this woman
said "hey, I know you, we went to school
together". I had no idea who she was. When
she told me she was Judy I couldn't believe it.
She said to tell everyone hello, AND SAID SHE
WOULD LOVE TO COME TO THE MINI. Also wants me
to have Graybeard or Tabby get in touch with
her so she can get on VK. So I have found (MY)
never before attended classmate. HOW ABOUT YOU??

So far here is who has stated that they are for
sure coming.
Greaybeard & Sara Jean
Hawkeye and Hotlips
Bob White and Mrs. Bob White
Two Dogs and Cinders
DJInIndy
Mary R.
Ferdy
Carol & Tracy
Topcat & Sharon

Come on guys add your name to this list.
Once we have the list pretty well down then
we can sign up for what you want to pitch in
for the dinner. Remember, this is important-
We don't want 20 bowls of potato salad.

I will send out directions again with the
invitations. Hopefully this year I will know
my left turns from my right turns. But never
fear there will be signs in case I screw up
again.

As I said there will be the bonfire so be sure
to add lawn chairs to your list of things to
bring. Shifty added to the fire pit over the
week end while working on this honey do list.
THAT'S (THE ONLY THING) HE DIDN'T COMPLAIN
ABOUT ON THE LIST.) Mumble, Mumble, Groan,
Groan.

My email address(s) are:
magadspec@earthlink.net - got it (fixed) so
shouldn't have any problems this year getting
your e-mails. Also kl_harris@yahoo.com. I'm
pretty sure you have my phone numbers. If not
e-mail me and I will send them to you if you
want to give me a call.

Flygirl, haven't heard from you lately so I am
looking forward to your RSVP (early). Don't
know if the old ticker can take another surprise
knock at the door. If you can come a day or two
early I will hold off on the kitchen floor.
HAHAHA

Echo & Shifty

The House of Blue Lights

I wrote this post at "Pitchpull" almost two years ago.
If ya haven't read it you ought to take the time, 'cause I bet it'll bring back memories. There are a couple links in that post that have interesting information about the bridge.

Pokin' around on the 'net to find stuff about the haunted bridge led me to a couple other interesting sites-

With all the notoriety about The House of Blue Lights while we were growing up, I'm surprised Hawkeye and I never launched an up-close CGHS probe of the place! I think the night we drove by to take a look at the house we were a little spooked by stories we had heard. We did see what we thought was a detached head peeking out from the front window of the house. That alone would not normally have stopped us from leaving the car for a close recon, so I can only imagine we had more important things to do that evening, and put it off for a later date. (No way we'd have been frightened, so that had to be the case!)

Here's another site with haunted/paranormal locations in Indiana.
And this is a site with detailed information about many haunted Hoosier places. It's interesting to note how many of the stories have similar themes...
babies crying, or people moaning/calling out in the night.

Ever been to any of these places? C'mon, share your stories.
Halloween is just around the corner!

Drag Racing

When I first met my husband in 1967 he was driving a (’66 or ’67) Chevy Chevelle SS 396. Meant nothing to me, at the time, except it was a nice new red shiny fast car. Some of the first dates we went on were to drag strips, where he raced his Chevelle. I had never been to a drag strip and this was exciting and different, especially since he won almost every time he raced. That Chevelle was hard to beat in its class. We went to several different drag strips over the years, with Muncie and Indpls Raceway Park being our favorites. Muncie was always at night and we’d get home in the wee hours of the morning. He raced that Chevelle for a couple of years and him and his buddy invested in a trailer to haul it around. To say that those 2 men lived and breathed cars is an understatement. We drove all the way to Chicago once and went to where “THE" Carroll Shelby, himself, had his business located and my husband had the nerve to ask if Mr. Shelby was there – he wasn’t. We spent almost every weekend at a drag strip for many years. It got monotonous at times, but mostly it was a lot of fun. We even flew to Gainesville, FL one year to watch the Spring Nationals in the early 70’s.

Then we invested in a 1969 or 1970 Mustang Mach 1, went straight to the dealer and ordered it special. I have no idea how big the engine was or any other details, that was my husband’s field of expertise. All I know is it was yellow with a wide black strip on each side and it was fast. Now that car could run! It was unbeatable in its class and we took it all over the Midwest. I don’t think we ever lost a race with that mustang. When we weren’t racing that mustang, I was driving it as my “regular” car. I even drove it to work and the grocery!!! I had never driven a car so powerful….keeping in mind I went from driving a corvair to this Mach 1 Mustang! Everyday when I got home, I would back the mustang into our garage, ever so slowly. Just touching the gas and letting the clutch slip a little would jump the car several feet. I ripped off the frame around the garage door – twice! I went through the drywall in the garage into the kitchen – once! I was kind of glad when we sold the mustang, although I sure did get a lot of attention when I drove it (big smile). We sold that car to another interested drag racer, and then bought a Camaro Z-28 the first year they came out. That car was a dog! Drove it to FL once, then sold it.

note: the pictures here are only similar to the cars I owned.

The reason I’m giving you this little excerpt from my life is because I now live close to Avon about 5 miles south of Indpls. Raceway Park – now called O’Reilly Raceway Park – and this is a BIG weekend for them. This is the NHRA Drag Racing Championship event of the year, held right here in Clermont, IN. For 2 days now, I have been listening to those cars, with 2 more days to go. Yes, I can hear them from my house and the weather has been perfect, so I’ve had my windows open. I really wish I were there. Hearing those big engines make me long for the good ole days, and a fast car!

Yesterday I received the following letter written to the community by Bill Vandermeer that was read by Gene Rund at Vandy's funeral. He said I could post it on the blog.
Hawkeye



Preamble

This speech was written by an engineer. English teachers, including Diana: please be gentle.


Amble

The Vandermeer family is appreciative, humbled and in awe of the response from the community to the passing of my father: the countless best wishes; the school allowing us to use their property for the visitation; this church allowing us to have this service; and the list goes on.

The response of the community during life was also phenomenal: the naming of the physical education center; the countless friends who took him shopping, to the bank, to the doctor, to games etc; played cards with him; looked after him when he was sick; made sure he was eating when he did not feel like eating (he could be a bear in those circumstances); and the list goes on.

I would like to name names, but the list is too long and I would surely omit many, either inadvertently or in ignorance.

To the family, he is a brother, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin or whatever. We see him in that light with good points and a couple not so good points. The role, if you’ll allow me to be presumptuous, of a community icon is somewhat beyond our collective vision.

I feel that the success he had was due in large part to strong values which were the underpinnings of this community. A triumvirate of strengths is necessary for a school to be successful: good teachers; good parents and good students.

The students were, of course, outstanding.

We had the best teachers: Sloop, Tumey, Clements, Clements, et. al.

And we had great parents. One of my dad’s favorite stories concerns a boy we will call Joe. Joe was high spirited and would occasionally get into trouble. One time Joe went beyond his normal transgressions. In addition to the normal punishment, which isn’t so normal today, my dad informed Joe’s father. Joe’s father assured my father that henceforth, Joe would not be a problem. For several days following the incident, Joe ignored my father. Finally my father cornered Joe and asked him why the cold shoulder. After all Joe had been in trouble before, but the two remained friends afterwards. Joe’s response: “You didn’t have to tell my father!” That says it all: You didn’t have to tell my father.

Of late my father has said on numerous occasions that he had the best job in the world: good teachers, good parents and good students.

The Vandermeer family thanks the Center Grove community for the outpouring of love and compassion both during my father’s life and after his passing.


Bill Vandermeer
26-August-2007

Something to Cheer About

I saw on the late news last night and also in this mornings paper that our Football Team beat Carmel inDOUBLE OVERTIME last night! The score was 32-31; we ran in a two-point conversion to win the game. Carmel was ranked No. 1 in Class 5A; Center Grove was ranked No. 10.

I do believe that Mr. V may have had a hand in that! They are singing "Onward Trojans" in heaven!