Falsies

When we were in seventh grade, one of our (female, obviously) classmates said:
"When we wear falsies, the guys don't know what they're up against."

That is BRILLIANT in more than a few ways.
(And WAY ahead of the time.)
But who said it?
(I won't say until someone comes up with the correct answer.)

"Ralph" Brewer, 1947- 2013

To our "Remembrance" page, I am today adding the name of James "Ralph" Brewer, class of 1965.

"Red on the Head"...
I'm sorry we didn't do that meeting we talked about and hoped for.
But you sure gave me a lifetime of memories.
Thanks pal.

Straight, No Chaser Again

I'm wondering how many other VK's might be interested in seeing these guys in concert? Guess I better look at their site for a schedule of appearances.

Glen T., a Vandy's Kid

That says a lot, but, there is so much more.  Son, Brother, Husband, Father to his family. To us, he will be remembered as a Friend, Student, Athlete, sometime prankster and fellow Classmate. We will not forget you, Glen.


For more info    http://www.parsonmortuary.com/

WIBC

"You're tuned to WIBCEE,
(for music and news).
Hey, hey, you're tuned to WIBCEE,
(for rhythm and blues).
Hey, hey, twenty-four
hours a day...
Gives you mo-ore,
hours of play!

Ten-seventy here on your dial makes Indianapolis smile!"

Another jingle permanently occupying space in my memory bank,
taking the place of information that could have made me a millionaire.

I guess WIBC no longer exists, right?

"50" Class Reunion

These are some of the posts on facebook.

 

We had a mini 1965 class reunion this past week end and had a fantastic time. We started discussing our "50" class reunion which will be in 2 years. We figured its going to take that long to put it together. So for all you Center Grove 1965 classmates, start planning now for our "50" Don't want any excuses for not attending with a 2 year notice.

David A. Read Alumni banquets are history; temporarily, I hope.
Having Helen and Leroy join us these last years has been a joy.
Having Tug and Marilyn come to Madison just reinforced my thoughts on the subject...
Yeah, "Class of '65" is great.
But CGHS folks are one BIG family.
How 'bout let's make our BIG 50 party an inclusive affair?
Can we invite ALL our friends?

 

Rick L Daniel Both of you need to keep up the chatter. Maybe we can encourage some of the quiet members to participate. I remember alumni from '63 through '69 and would love to see some of them join us.

 

Suzan Hussung Omer Any idea what month this might take place?

 

Carol Crafton I am planning now......can you believe it'll be 50 whoa....

 

Karen Harris Looks like you all had a great time. Sure miss hosting the Harris Mini Reunions every year. Maybe we could plan one down here in FLORIDA. Don't know about a bon-fire but we could have a great time. Miss all of you.

Were You A Fan?

I certainly was.
Based at Ft. Knox, I listened to WAKY Radio out of Louisville every morning on my way to work and marveled at "The GREATEST Crime Fighter the World Has EVER Known..."
Great memories!

Here's the updated list for Madison fun:
Rick and Maggie.
Carol and Tracy.
Steve and Jeanie.
Mark G. and Robin.
Tug and Marilyn.
Steve and Cindy.
T.C. and Sharon.
Leroy and Helen.
Jane and Guy.
Dave J.
Linda (B.) K.
I hear Kathy R. and Max are considering joining us. If you have any sway, call and apply pressure immediately... Rooms are nearly gone.
See ya all in a week-and-a-half!

From Danny K-

Since he told me to "... tell everyone hello", I'm gonna assume it's okay to post Dan's comment to me via email:


Thanks for keeping me in the loop but I'm working that weekend; I still have my "retirement" job with AirTran as a Flight Attendant; we are now AZ residents but keep a small apt in WI for work and visiting the kids and granddaughter; the free flights makes it nice traveling back and forth; I can't believe that in 2 years that it
will be our 50 year high school anniversary!! how did we get that old??
Hope all is well with you and tell everyone "HI" for me!

Dan K******

Madison. AGAIN !

We're gonna do it again:
"The Riverboat Inn" in Madison, Indiana.
The dates- 23 and 24 August.
The phone number: 812 265-2361.
The website for more information: 
http://riverboat-inn.com/

Six rooms are available until 1 August. Tell 'em you're with the CGHS group.

Come. We had a BALL last time!

For DJ-

DJ and I were discussing a diet TwoDogs recommended to me some time ago.
Sara Jean and I used it a week ago. In that week I lost 10 pounds, she lost seven. We both lost weight on "The Atkins Diet" too, but while we were on that diet I had horrible cravings for mashed potatoes. Our experience on "The Sacred Heart Soup Diet" was different in that we had NO cravings at all.
We'll start it again tomorrow and I'll fill you in here on our results.
Want quick weight loss?
Ask Two Dogs, then click the link.
This one works.

H. Weir Cook

Betcha don't know much of this man's story.

Neva, Queen of the Valley

Have ya ever had someone prey on your mind, seemingly for no reason at all?
It happens frequently to me.
This morning I started thinking about her. She was a unique individual, unafraid to speak her mind, and willing to defend her thoughts if you disagreed with her.
Neva B., Mother of my good friend Steve and his older brother, Cecil.

She was married to Raymond.
Raymond was a man of few words.
I was never witness to a discussion between Raymond and Neva, but got the impression Raymond was happy with Neva running the show because she did it well.
I saw this family go through the stresses in life and stick together... like FAMILY.

When you'd walk into the room Neva would give you the once over...
She'd make comments on your shoes. Your hair. Where she had seen you earlier.
"I made my Red Velvet cake. Would you like some?"
(Her cake was moist, WONDERFUL. DON'T EVEN THINK about asking for the recipe!)

We've often discussed here how "The Valley" was extended family for many of us.
That certainly applied to Neva.
If you screwed up, Neva wasn't afraid to step up and let you know your behavior needed changing. And you knew you'd better show an attitude change quickly, 'cause Neva was also like a dog on a bone...
She was relentless.
Give up early and save yourself the harrassment, because she'd win in the long run, guaranteed.

She was irritating.
And we knew she loved us... all of us.

(I just remembered... she drove a stick-shift automobile, and went directly from 1st gear to 3rd, skipping 2nd EVERY TIME.)

Tell me Neva...
Why are you occupying my mind today?

And the beat goes on !

This little beauty is our new grandchild.  Samantha Lynn greeted us at 5:49 pm on Feb 17, 2013.  She weighed in at 8lbs. 5oz. and is 21.5 inches long.  Mother and Daughter are doing well.  Mother and Father are in awe of her and both are very excited to be first time parents.  For us, the joy of having a Grandchild is just beginning. 

Brahm's Lullaby!

We have a new member of the VK clan.
Eight pounds, 5 ounces.
Twenty one and a half inches.
Her name is Samantha.
Mom, baby, Dad, and Grandparents are all thrilled.

TwoDogs can fill you in with more info.

The 2 A.M. Crave

We stopped off and got a bunch of "Krystals" on the way to take Mom back to Pensacola last night. "Krystal" is the South's version of "White Castle", but I actually like 'em better...
The burgers are a little bigger, the taste is slightly milder, and the buns are like cake. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
But EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to either White Castle or Krystal the memory returns...

Fifty years ago or so, we got a crave in the wee hours of the morning. I've found ya either love 'em or hate 'em...
Sliders, belly bombers, Whitey one bites, call 'em what you want, who hasn't had a contest to see who could eat the most of 'em?
My memory is the restaurant was on Madison Avenue. TPO, Hawkeye, Bones, and me joined the line of cravers waiting to order burgers.
I was first in line. The pleasantly inebriated black man next to me turned, nodded and smiled.

"Can I take your order?"
She was probably 27 or so... an older(!), but attractive woman.
Her name tag said "Betty", and on the tag beneath her name it said "Manager".
"Betty Manager, meet TPO" I said with a smile, gesturing to my friend next in line behind me.
Betty manager had heard it all...
Drunks, stupid, testosterone-packed near-teens... Nothing fazed her at 2 A.M..
She smiled, looked deep into my eyes and said something romantic like, "$2.75 please."
But my new, lubricated black friend had enjoyed my joke, and felt that kinship with the rest of us you often feel while standing in line at White Castle. He turned to me, smiling, and broke into song...
"La dee dah dah dee. La dee dah dah die."
Then he said, "I wrote that, ya know?
"Oh, REALLY?" I responded.
"Yeah, they were having trouble finding words to fill space in the song so they called me. I wrote that part."

Brilliant.
It works perfectly there.
So remember whenever you hear that song, a guy in Indianapolis played an integral part in its success.
And never ignore those standing next to you in line at White Castle or Krystal...
It's entirely possible you're standing next to genius.

Patsy's Mom-

I'm hearing Patsy's Mother is ill.
I'll try to get others to come and comment.
Stand by.

"The Morris Plan"

Did I pay more attention to TV advertising than most?
Maybe.
Because today I was thinking of 
"The Morris Plan". I mistakenly thought it was a now-defunct old Savings and Loan. (Does "Railroadmen's Federal Savings and Loan" still exist in any form?)

But "The Morris Plan" is a bank, and it's still in business.
Based in Terre Haute, it was founded by an attorney who was truly trying to help the little guy gain access to loan money.

Good for him. I'm glad the company is still in business.
You can read a little of their history here.

The Birthday of Christ

I am a geographical bachelor.
I intentionally fashioned my schedule for these last three months before retirement so we could race to Destin once each month. With a two-week-on, two-week-off schedule we are making only one round-trip per month, reducing dollars spent on fuel and wear and tear on the car. It provided an additional benefit we hadn't thought about before:
We don't have to pack the car. We'll need our stuff when we return. So we lock the condo door behind us and smile.
It's a great convenience.

But I have known for some months now I would be working Christmas Eve and Christmas night.
Since I work 12 hours, when I get home at 8 A.M. or so I can be pretty worn out depending on what sort of night I have flown. Christmas for our family has always been odd...
Big Bubba and Sara Jean wide awake, waiting for me to come through the door so we can open presents, and me so tired I just want to get 'em all opened and get to bed.
It's been especially tough on my son and I respect him for putting up with it for so many years.

But since I'd be working this last Christmas of my EMS career, we made plans months ago for Sara Jean to fly West to spend Christmas with Big Bubba. Neither of us has been with him in months, so we've begun to yearn for face-to-face time.
I obviously can't go, but she CAN. And since I'm working anyway, what better time?

So she flew to Mesa last week and left me alone for the holidays. We both know it's best. But there's still something melancholy about being alone on Christmas day. 
Opening our presents "together" via a SKYPE video call tomorrow will be an interesting experience, and will certainly be better than years past when a short telephone call would have to suffice.
New technology has spoiled us so.

I hope everyone reading my words finds themselves surrounded by loved ones this day. I hope you eat too much, laugh too much, and go to bed exhausted from "Too much fun".
I hope you all travel safely so you and yours will have nothing but good memories of Christmas 2012.
And I hope you know I look forward to seeing you all soon, whenever that may be.

Be safe and well, everyone. I think you may soon be hearing wonderful news from our VK family.


Happy Birthday Lord.
Bless us all, please.

1960's "Wonderland" !

Before we came down to Destin this time we bought a "Sirius/XM" portable player. We later bought a dock to put it in so we could listen to it in the car AND in the condo.

This afternoon we were sitting out on the balcony watching "Lake Destin" gently lap against the shore, the sun warming us as we watched the world go by, and this tune played on "60's on 6".
I suspect it's been 40 years since I've heard the tune, maybe more.
Growing up, we had a radio-record player combination. I don't know exactly what transpired to make it happen... maybe my folks got a better piece of equipment, but they handed down that original machine to me. In my bedroom, I would turn it on as I was down for sleep and listen to either 1070 WIBC, (or if it was a late weekend, 890 WLS out of Chicago) until I fell asleep, and when I woke I'd find either Mom or Dad had turned it off. This tune is one of those I remember hearing come out of that box.

It played this afternoon and brought back memories from when we '65-er's were about 13 years old. I had to share it with you.
It may not have impacted you as it did me, but I'm sure you remember it...
Don't you?

Second Gen. "Good Vibrations" !