Worldwide News

By Warren Sparrow

Your international correspondent did make it to Manhattan, KS, for the December 2009 graduation of our granddaughter Lydia Peele from Kansas State U. A good time was had by all. Graduation was held in what ESPN is now calling the Octagon of Doom. We were proud of Lydia who was a speaker at the graduation. If you have not seen your grandchild on a jumbotron, you have not lived.





The first attachment is a photo of Lydia (whom we call Little Lydia) and her grandfather and grandmother (Big Lydia)in the concourse of the Octagon of Doom shortly after graduation.






The second photo is our gang at the entrance to KSU.

Finally, we have a Kansas windmill. This is an appropriate photo. Windmills are associated with the Dutch. Little Lydia's great, great grandfather is Willem de Sitter, a Dutch astronomer. He toured the US with Einstein, taught Old Albert the universe was expanding. Look it up. You might be surprised.



Wow!  I did look it up...and I'm impressed. Willem de Sitter came from a long line of Sitters going all the way back to the invention of the wooden shoe. 

 Smart alec remarks aside, Willem was a remarkable man:   -Ed

Willem de Sitter (6 May 1872 – 20 November 1934) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer.
Born in Sneek, De Sitter studied mathematics at the University of Groningen and then joined the Groningen astronomical laboratory. He worked at the Cape Observatory in South Africa (1897-1899). Then, in 1908, de Sitter was appointed to the chair of astronomy at Leiden University. He was director of the Leiden Observatory from 1919 until his death.
De Sitter made major contributions to the field of physical cosmology. He co-authored a paper with Albert Einstein in 1932 in which they argued that there might be large amounts of matter which do not emit light, now commonly referred to as dark matter. He also came up with the concept of the de Sitter space and de Sitter universe, a solution for Einstein's general relativity in which there is no matter and a positive cosmological constant. This results in an exponentially expanding, empty universe. De Sitter was also famous for his research on the planet Jupiter.

The One Thousand Nine Hundreds?

It appears that not much has been happening with the CHS54 folks so far in this new year. At least it's been awfully quiet here in the action central newsroom.

One positive note: I've finally starting writing the correct year on my checks. But I'm still not sure if we're supposed to pronounce the year......"TWENTY TEN"   or "TWO THOUSAND TEN."




My guess is that we should call it TWENTY TEN, since we never called the nineteen hundreds the ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDREDS.

And remember, we're still looking for "stories" from you....if you have any you'd like to share.
Just email them to me.

-Ed

Tips for Guest Bloggers

I hope some of you are considering being a "Guest Blogger" on our CHS54 site. I think you'll enjoy sharing a "story" or two....and I know all of us will enjoy reading them. We're not looking for a new "Gone With The Wind" epic......just the kind of story you pass on to your children and grandchildren, OR the kind that your spouse doesn't want you to pass on to tender young minds, but that we, your fellow seniors, would enjoy. (Such as my "Clorox is not for report cards" story.)


Our professional storyteller, Ellouise, has checked in with some good advice:



"Ed, asking for stories is a great idea. I cannot wait to hear them. Saying those sweet things about me - makes me feel good - but guys - this is my job - I work at it all the time - and I have heard plenty of stories from lots of you that I envied and wished I had told or could tell. Lets have a go at it.


The trick in writing a story is to throw out some prompts - start the thinking going - you know just like sitting around laughing together - How about your first day at Central. I don't remember a darn thing about that except that I was petrified. I was in Miss Clegg's home room, was anybody else in there? I remember her because she had taught my mother.


Ellouise"


(That reminds me of my first day at Elizabeth School. My Mom walked with me up those stairs on the side that leads to the auditorium......and the first thing I saw upon entering..... was that classic "Discus Thrower" statue....decorating the lobby. Now it seems to me that a sure fire way to scare the Hell out of a first grader......is to make the first thing he sees when he walks into this new adventure called school....is a statue of a naked man about to throw a plate of some kind.


I never liked school after that. -Ed)

Guest Bloggers

I got the idea from watching Ellouise tell some of her great stories on her website.

As that old TV series NAKED CITY(1858-63) said a long time ago, "There are a million stories....in the naked city."

All of us have stories. Maybe not as good, or funny or whatever as Ellouise tells, but we all have stories.

So I think a great way to celebrate 2010 is to share some of our stories with what's left of the CHS Class of 1954 and at the same time post them on this electronic miracle called the internet for all to read...who knows for how long.

We're not expecting anything too deep. Just stories that you pass along to your children and grandchildren....or maybe ones that you might NOT want to pass along to young minds, like the time I tried to erase a bad grade written in INK on my report card by bleaching it out  with a drop of Clorox.........and burned a hole in card. Stuff like that.

Anything goes. (Although the editorial staff and official censors maintain the right to edit the stories.)

I'll create a special section...for these stories........and there will be a "link" to them....as they come it.

I hope yaw'll like the idea as much as I do!


Email your story to me   

Pictures are welcome too....

Thanks,

-Ed

A Story a Week

Our premier storyteller, Ellouise (Diggle) Schoettler is starting off the new year with..........what else....STORIES!

These are not all NEW ones, but if you haven't seen Ellouise tell them before, you're in for a real treat.

"...Happy New Year everybody!  For three years my stories - folktales and personal stories - have been taped for a weekly local access television show. After they are aired they gather dust on the shelf. Now what good is that?


Stories are meant to be shared. So - -


Starting January 1, 2010 a new video story will be posted on my blog every week.


On Friday I will post a new video. Each story will be alive for two weeks and then will be turned off and replaced.


Right now Handmade, a story that celebrates "can do" women will be available until January 15 HERE.


Air Vigilante was posted today HERE
and will be available until 01/21/10.


You're invited to stop by and I hope you'll enjoy the stories and come back often.


Best wishes,


Ellouise"

Up Date

Bob Ellis sends us a great big "Thanks" for all the prayers on behalf of his grandaughter Courtney.
The doctor's report said the the intense pain in her leg was NOT the big C.......but a rare condition called Meralgia Paresthetica.

According to the Doctor, bottom line is....it's very painful (Courtney already knew that) BUT treatable!

Whew, that's a relief!

-Ed

Up Date

We got a note from our friend Bobby Greg's wife Elaine:


"... The Alzheimer's is rapidly taking its toll on Bob. He no longer speaks. But, he smiles a lot and can still walk (though very, very slowly). He seems happy and the ladies sure do love him. He no longer remembers my name, but seems to remember I'm someone in his life -- he still likes to kiss me, which is nice.


This is a terrible disease. But, the blessing is that he doesn't know it and his health is relatively good under the circumstances. He is in a good place and they take very good care of him. He's always clean and shaven each day. I do miss our life and will probably think about selling our house this year. It's way too much for me to take care of and it's time to start thinking of a life outside of Edgewater (MD, their home). I continue to commute to my D.C. office which is at least an hour or better each way.


Keep in touch and I'll keep you posted as well...Elaine."

Another Award for Our President

...no, not Barack;

but Obie Oakley, the president of our reunion committee.

He's undoubtedly CHS54's most decorated "mover and shaker."

This time, the award was the SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION'S Silver Citizenship Medal which was "in recognition of notable services in behalf of our American principles."

This picture was taken at a Sons of the American Revolution awards banquet in November. The lovely young lady at Obie's side is his daughter Wendy.

Obie's wife Frances was overheard telling friends that if her husband doesn't stop getting all these awards they will have to build an extra room onto the house to store them all.


-Ed