Successful Class Reunion

We had a great 40th Reunion July 3-5 filled with a lot of activities. We started Friday with a sit down dinner, followed by a dance that broke up at 1:00 AM Saturday (it nearly killed me to stay up so late). There was a Silent Auction where posters and mementos from the the 60s were auctioned and we raised nearly $2,000 for our Memorial Arboretum Project.

On Saturday we had a memorial service in memory of our 14 fallen classmates which touched the hearts of everyone who attended. There was not a dry eye in the place. I heard the service described as the "heart and Soul" of our reunion.

We had lunch at the Princess Cafe in downtown Iowa Falls, took a walking tour from the Old High school to downtown, and toured the new museum housed in the old Carnegie library. We then had a wine and cheese tasting party follwed by viewing the Iowa Falls fireworks from the best place on the river.

Sunday morning we took a cruise on the Iowa River enjoying a great view with perfect weather. After the cruise we had a picnic in Foster Park where again we ate and had a chance to visit with our classmates.

Our next reunion is in 5 years and it will probably take me that long to recover...

40th Reunion

My 40th Class Reunion is coming up this weekend and somewhere between the 35th Reunion and now I managed to find myself on the defacto planning committee. It has been a great experience. The committee has grown close over the last 2 years and while we knew each other in high school, we were not close. We are now close.

During our planning stages what has surprised me the most are the grudges and hidden feelings some of our fellow classmates still carry after 40 years. I've got to say - we are not the same people we were 40 years ago, we have grown, and we have cool stories to tell.

During our planning an idea was floated that we should do something to remember our deceased classmates. The short version is that after discussing and cussing several ideas we ended up arranging a sponsorship of a walking Arboretum at the Calkins Nature Center in Iowa Falls. The Hardin County Conservation people picked out and planted and will care for our trees. It will be designed so that over time all of our 159 classmates will have a memorial tree - a living tribute to the memory of the Iowa Falls Class of 1969.The response from families has been nothing short of amazing and we expect a large attendance on Saturday morning as we remember our classmates. I'll probably be an emotional wreck.

One short story here - we have been soliciting donations from the class and have been successful in raising funds (need to raise more funds so that number 159 has a tree) but people are giving from their heart. One of our classmates who is down on their luck, has been saving money so that they could give. He who had little - gave much -

So, what does that have to do with the photograph? We are staying with one of the committee members in Clear Lake making our final battle plans - and this was the view last night. I'll have additional observations so stayed tuned...

Generations

We went to a picnic a couple of weeks ago and I caught this moment where a Grandpa is explaining the finer points of throwing a football to his Grandson. I'm envious of the moment (from the grandson point of view) because when I was growing up I did not have a Grandpa that was capable of passing along his "secrets". My Grandpa on my Father's side was long gone before I was born and my Mother's father was either unwilling or unable to relate to a child.

I have a few memories of my grandfather - the smell of tobacco from his pipe, the fact that he had lost 2 fingers on the farm - and that he didn't talk much.

Grandmothers on the other hand - taught me alot - not one of them showed me how to throw a football, but if I ever need to darn a sock - I'm there!!!

Ye Olde Drug Store

This building is in Williams, Iowa. Up the street from here is the Methodist church where I attended as a kid. The building is currently a small store, has a few groceries, has a few antiques, plus you can buy ice cream (that much hasn't changed in 40 years).

I have a vivid memory of getting in trouble here when I was 5 or 6. I had been fussy in church and my grandmother brought me here and bought me an ice cream cone. Now, the lesson she taught me was that if I don't want to sit in church, all I have to do is be fussy and I'll get to leave and get a treat. Lesson learned...

The following week I tried out what I had learned from my grandmother on my mother... well, the getting out of church part worked, but as soon as we hit the outdoors - SWAT on my behinder!!! New lesson learned - you can get away with more with grandmothers than mothers...

A Memorable Moment

A friend of mine sent me an email this evening regarding an old Brownie Camera. It seems that the camera was 68 years old and still had film in it which when developed revealed pictures of the attack on Pearl Harbor from 1941. I was interested in both aspects of her email - the Navy history and the fact a Kodak Brownie camera could survive 68 years and still yield photos.

Her email did spark a memory regarding Pearl Harbor. Most of the time I spent in the Navy was in the Continental United States and during the first part of my career on 3 cruises to the Mediterranean. It wasn’t until my last tour when I was serving as the Command Master Chief of a Recruiting Detachment in Alameda did I make a trip to Hawaii.

I was there visiting the recruiters and made it a point to visit the U.S.S. Arizona. A commander I once worked for had an uncle entombed in the Arizona and I promised him I would pay my respects. I went with the local supervisor, a Chief Petty Officer, and we were both in our summer whites (quite a spiffy uniform)... at any rate, as we were getting off the launch after having visited the memorial a young Japanese girl, probably 10 or 12, asked if she could have her picture taken with us. We agreed and she gave her camera to her mother and stood between us and smiled... when they were finished they thanked us by bowing and said something in Japanese that we couldn’t understand, but the smiles told us they were appreciative.

As we started to leave we discovered a line, a very long line, of Japanese tourists who wanted their picture taken with 2 U. S. Sailors. We couldn’t say no to any of them and we stood there for what felt like 2 hours having our picture taken. We didn't leave until the last picture was taken. It was a moving and memorable moment...

Not An Eagle

A hectic day, busy, busy, busy!!! When I got home I was moderatly grouchy, and moody. I could offer excuses, but I won't... I didn't want to sit in the house and re-live the day in my mind so I grabbed my camera and wife (m-m-m-m reverse the order - grabbed my wife and then the camera) and set out on my Eagle Hunt.

I have been obsessed the last several months with getting a picture of an eagle and I learned recently that there may be some eagles hanging out at the Cedar Falls power plant. So off we went - When we got to the power plant I was almost "giddy" because as I looked up I saw what I thought were eagles just hanging out, sitting on a rail and visiting..., but when I zoomed in I noticed red on their heads and kind of a crooked neck - they're not eagles. I believe they are a turkey vulture of some sort...

damn... the hunt continues... As I was recovering from the disappointment of not finding an eagle I noticed the sun was setting and decided to chase it (is that like chasing windmills?). I caught up to it at a bend in the Cedar River in Cedar Falls and as it was setting the colors were gorgeous. After shooting 82 pictures (I always take a lot) we just sat and watched as the sun went down. It was relaxing and the perfect end to a day. I'll look for the eagles tomorrow...

A beautiful sky...

No Parking

We attended our granddaughter's Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony this afternoon. There were brownies, girl scouts, Moms and Dads, Grandpas and Grandmas (probably a niece and nephew or two) all over the place. Just as the ceremonies were to begin two police officers came up and announced they had had a complaint that some cars were parked in a no parking zone and that if the cars were not moved he would have to write a ticket.

There were moans, groans and protests and commments like, "Somebody doesn't have anything to do so they rat out the girl scouts." "Who would rat out a brownie for a parking violation?" "The nerve of some people..."

The police officers were less than enthusiastic about having to enforce this (these) parking violations, but one of the officers noted, "I have no choice since a complaint was filed."

Then with a grin and a smile he mentioned, "I don't see a no parking sign on the other side of the street. So, if you parked there I couldn't write a ticket."

So, whoever complained about the cars being illegally parked across from their house simply got them moved closer to their house when everyone moved their cars... I just love a policeman with a sense of humor.

PS The Bridging Ceremony then went off without a hitch...

Music Teacher

I often wonder if educators understand just how long of an effect they can have on a student?

Tonight I went to my grand daughter Ania's concert at her middle school. It was an excellent middle school concert. There was one young lady who had a solo and it was one of those moments that when she opened her mouth - it made you sit up, listen closer and ask yourself, "... did that come out of her?" An excellent voice - she will be a singer one day. I digress - educators.

I had a high school music teacher, Mr. Eugene Havercamp who not only taught music but gave private lessons as well. I was in both his choir and took voice lessons. As I was watching the young kids tonight I could hear his voice in my head, "You can't sing with your mouth closed. Open up!!"

I can hear his voice to this day and have thought of him frequently during the last 40 some years whenever I observed someone trying to sing with their mouth closed. When I was singing in church or in a choir I could hear him tell me, "...breath from your diaphram...let it out slow." 40 years and I still follow his directions

Mr Havercamp was killed in an auto accident several years ago and I regret not having had the opportunity to have told him he helped me to sing a good song (with my mouth open).

My 40th class reunion is coming up in July and I'm sorta on the committee. We have been inviting all of the teachers we can find to attend as our guest. Why? So we can share our successes and lessons learned and to say thanks... except for that one time...

This May Be Silly - But...

I want to be cremated when it is my time to pass from this earth. Now, I don't dwell on the subject, but on occasion the thought does cross my mind. The first time I remember thinking about cremation was from a Hill Street Blues Episode when a retired cop had died, was cremated and wanted to be part of "something". Andy, one of the lead characters, brought his ashes into the building one night as the locker room was being re-done and mixed him in with the cement. He was part of the building forever...

The next time I thought about being cremated was when I had heard a story about retired sailors having their ashes put into a keel of a ship as it was being built. So - the idea formed in my head... I want to be part of something. But, what?

For a while I thought I'd be a brick. Yes, a brick. There is a Veteran's Memorial in Waterloo where you can have your name and rank engraved on a brick and have the brick placed as part of the monument. Now I will admit there is no mention of actually becoming the brick - but I have often wondered was it possible....

Last week my brother-in-law passed and was cremated and his ashes placed in a gorgeous urn. It did get me thinking again about being cremated... So, I thought a frog... frogs are cute, and they do make frog urns (pictured above). And, no, I don't know why I thought of a frog...

I was thinking about that during the service for my brother-in-law and had to suppress a smile as I could envision at my memorial service a pair of frog's feet sticking out from the covered urn... This is a work in progress and I believe I will take many, many, many years to figure it out.

Bye Bob

My brother-in-law, Robert J. Houk, Jr. passed away last Saturday from complications of diabetes. Bob was born March 3, 1943 in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of Robert J and Christine Houk. During his life time he was involved with airplanes and boats and sold yachts in Florida.

Bob was married to my sister-in-law Carol - in what we all affectionally refer to as the "scrambled limb" of the family tree. My step-daughter Andrea married Robert's son, Robert and it was at that wedding that Carol met the older Robert. They hit it off, fell in love and were married on St. patrick's Day in 1992 in Miami, Flordia. At times it has been confusing.... Carol is not only Andrea's Aunt, but also her mother-in-law, and step-mother. Her husband Robert is also her step-brother and 1st cousin - my gawd it gets confusing... Adding to the confusion at family gathering is the fact that I am also Robert, and I have another son-in-law who is also Robert. We have all become known as, "Helen's Robert", "Andrea's Robert", "Carol's Robert", and "Jennifer's Robert."

We will miss "Carol's Robert."