CHS54.NET

LDL TODAY!

2012-02-14T09:07:00.001-05:00

The staff of Jimmies of Mint Hill is waiting for you.......

All you have to do is SHOW UP!

TODAY AT 11:30

La bohème (the young bohemians)

2012-02-11T14:08:00.029-05:00

Remember the story about the man many years ago who became so obsessed with his idea of inventing a new tool of communication that he cut all ties to normal life and became a hermit to work on his invention?

It took him 20 years, but he finally successfully completed his work and rejoined society to show off his invention to the world.

He had reinvented the typewriter.

I feel like that hermit sometimes when I get some great “revelation” that only old age has afforded me the luxury of time to even think about. It turns out that everybody else already knew what I had just discovered.

Take modern music (PLEASE) for example.

The famous English conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham is quoted as saying that the sound of the harpsichord is like “two skeletons making love on a tin roof.”

Mr. Wise, my old violin teacher at Piedmont Junior High said one time that “whoever invented the saxophone should be shot.”

Both men passed away before they had the chance to be assaulted by what pretends to be music today.

Why in the world would anyone in their right mind think that modern rock and roll is anything more than mindless robots banging on pots and pans and who knows what all...as loudly as possible until their adoring fans ears bleed?

The answer is found in the teenage brain. New medical imaging techniques have shown that the teenage brain is truly different. It is not fully developed until usually about the 25th year and explains, for once and for all, the main reason we all think and act differently from the way we did in our teens.

Of course, there ARE exceptions. And you know who they are.

Now as far as music is concerned, it's long been known that as we grow we associate music with what's going on in our lives at the time. Experiments have shown that if classical music, for example, is played on the school PA system during recess and lunch hour during a class of kids' high school years, the majority will graduate preferring that kind of music.

I know first hand that there is a lot of truth to that.

Silent Sam at UNC

When I was a freshman in college, there was a boy from New Jersey who lived right across the hall from me who every morning turned up his HI FI loud enough to listen to while he was showering... half way down the hall.

Everyone on the floor was annoyed by this at first, but nobody had the nerve to complain because the guy (I don't remember his name, so I'll just call him Biff) was the biggest and meanest player on Carolina's football team. A knee injury which kept him off the squad that year, was the reason he had been re-assigned a room in a “normal” people's dorm instead of the athlete's dorm. The music blasted down our hall every morning and began again at only a slightly reduced volume each evening.

I had never really had much exposure before to the music he played, but being 19 years old my brain was wide open for the sounds that accompanied the joy of being an American boy away from home for the first time in the springtime of my youth.

By the end of my freshman year, I was hooked. The seed had been sown and over the years its roots have grown deep. To this day, the music blasting down that dorm hall in Chapel Hill that year still run chills up my spine.

The beautiful operatic arias of Puccini, Verdi, Mozart, Bizet...

Thanks Biff.

-Ed

Do you know what day it will be...

2012-02-09T08:37:00.002-05:00

or not!

Hint: According to Jerry Gaudet, our senior reporter, record keeper, number ONE fan and all round good guy,

" This month's "LDL" (Let's do lunch) will be held on

Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 11:30 AM

at "Jimmies" in Mint Hill.

We hope you'll join us. Our theme? You know what the day is, don't you?

Spread the word! Invite other classmates to come! Even better, bring someone with you! Be sure YOU, come!

For answers to any conceivable lunch questions, please contact Mary (Sue Banks) Burnett, marysburnett@yahoo.com.

Plan to join us...there's plenty of room. And...you'll be glad you did!

Happy VALENTINE'S DAY! "

-Jerry

Oil and Water

2012-02-05T12:52:00.003-05:00

By Warren Sparrow

Sparrow in 1952

In the spring of 1952, those of us in the Central High Class of 1954
were about to complete our sophomore year. I was 15, too young to drive.

There was talk about the Korean War. I paid it no mind. I was working
every Saturday night in The Charlotte Observer mail room, inserting the
comics into the Sunday paper. The hours were bad but the pay was good:
Union scale.

USS Hobson

On April 26, 1952, James Laughter, a 22-year-old Winston-Salem sailor was in his bunk below the main deck of the USS Hobson (DMS-26), a
destroyer-minesweeper.

The Hobson and her sister ship USS Rodman
(DMS-21) were part of a Navy battle group operating near the Azores in the Mid-Atlantic.

USS Wasp

The group’s flagship was the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-18). The
Hobson and Rodman were “plane guards” for the Wasp, assigned the task of
picking up downed pilots around the Wasp. It was around 10:25 p.m. when
Seaman Jim Laughter felt the Hobson take a serious hit.

Fortunately, he had his life preserver close at hand. Instinctively, he
did what he was trained to do: He put on his life preserver. Water began to
rise in the compartment. He and other young shipmates scrambled up the
compartment ladder to escape. They were stopped by a jammed hatch.

They heard cries for help but were powerless to do anything. With
the water rising and the seriousness of the situation frighteningly apparent,
a more experienced and stronger sailor forced his way up the ladder and
cracked the hatch. When the hatch opened, Laughter was catapulted free.

Laughter does not remember anything about those fateful seconds,
only that he was carried up by a great rush of water and found himself
beneath the surface of the ocean. Again, his training served him well. He
made it to the top and some top it was. The Hobson was sinking close by.

There was thick oil in the water. He swam away from the sinking ship as
hard as he could, afraid that he would be sucked under.

The Hobson sank, by some accounts, in four minutes. Somehow,
Jim Laughter was alive, adrift in the cold Atlantic and covered with black
oil from the Hobson’s ruptured tanks. More than 170 of his shipmates
perished that night, including the ship’s captain. Laughter had no idea about
what had happened. He had no idea that he, for the moment, had survived
the worst “peace-time” disaster in the history of the United States Navy.

The aircraft carrier Wasp had T-boned the Hobson directly between the
destroyer’s two smoke stacks.

Oil soaked sailor pulled to safety

Laughter was in the water for about 45 minutes when a life raft
floated near him. He swam to it and climbed aboard. He waited. Other
oil-soaked sailors climbed into the raft. They waited for what seemed an
eternity. Laughter does not remember how long it was until the raft was
alongside the Wasp. The Wasp crew threw a fairly thick rope from its flight
deck which was about 50 feet above the water. Laughter grabbed it and
truly held on “for dear life.”

He tried to pull himself up the rope but believed it was hopeless until
he discovered a knot in the line after a few hand-over-hand pulls. At least
he had something to grip.

Wasp sailors pulled Laughter aboard. He was in one piece, safe at last. It
had been more than two hours since Laughter had been dumped into the dark
Atlantic.

Some of the Hobson survivors were plucked from the Atlantic by the


Rescued Seamen

Rodman and three other destroyers that were escorting the Wasp. They were
the USS Stribling (DD-867), USS O’Hare (DD-849) and USS Corry (DD-
817). Some destroyer men risked their lives by jumping into the ocean to
help the stricken Hobson sailors.

At least one Hobson survivor, according to Seaman Laughter, “did not
get his feet wet.” He was on the bow of the Hobson when the Wasp struck
the Hobson amidships. The force of the hit caused the bow of the Hobson to
heave upward, tossing the Hobson crew member onto the Wasp.

The damaged Wasp

Working from the edge of the flight deck, the
Hobson survivors rode the Wasp back to New York. Speaking
of “back,” the Wasp’s bow was so heavily damaged that the carrier sailed
backwards during its return to the United States. The ship entered a dry
dock in Bayonne, NJ, where the bow of the Wasp was replaced with the
bow from a similar aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet. Laughter and the other
Hobson survivors were given 30 days leave.

Jim Laughter today

The soft spoken Laughter praised the crews of the Rodman and the other three destroyers that took
part in the rescue effort. “They stayed with us,” he said, “and the Wasp crew
threw more than a thousand life jackets into the ocean.” There were also
many small boats and rafts used to pick up survivors.

Today Laughter calls
what happened “a bad deal.”
But, he speaks freely and without bitterness about the fateful night
when he faced death. He blames no one. He married his fiancée Barbara
Jones on May 24, 1952, at Waughtown Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.

In less than four months they will celebrate their 60th anniversary.

About two years ago the U.S.S. Wasp Association decided to honor
the Hobson survivors for the first time by making them lifetime members.

A year ago there was a memorial service held in conjunction with the
Wasp association’s annual meeting. It is important to note that the Wasp
association holds these meeting at various locales throughout the country.
This latest meeting was in Charleston, SC, the Hobson’s home port.

Charleston Monument

Two years after the Hobson went down a monument inscribed with
the names of all who died that awful April night was dedicated at White
Park Gardens in Charleston’s Battery Park. There are 176 names on this
monument. James Laughter’s is not one of them. He is one of the 61 men
who survived the ultimate “peril on the sea.”

“I wish the Wasp had done this reunion sooner because there are not
many of us left,” Laughter said. Indeed, the November 2011 issue of the
U.S.S. Wasp Association newsletter lists the names and addresses of 14
men. “I always wanted to thank somebody for what they did,” Laughter
said.

Author Sparrow and Laughter

With that, he simply added, “Thank you.”

Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And, give for wild confusion peace:
Oh, hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea.

Eternal Father, Strong to Save, 3d v.
Text: William Whiting, 1825-1878
Tune: John B. Dykes, 1823-1876.

-WS

(Editor's Note; Warren Sparrow served as an officer on the USS WASP from 1959 til 1962)

Speakers Circuit

2012-02-02T20:39:00.003-05:00

The more I learn of the many activities that a number of our classmates are involved in on a regular basis it makes me realize that perhaps 75 really is the new 50.

Isn't this the time of our lives when we are supposed to begin "slowing down?"

Frankly, even reading about all of the activities that some of them are involved in causes me to...well...want to take a nap.

Obie Oakley in the 60's

Consider Obie Oakley for example. Obie has become quite the military historian, having published a couple of books on the subject and is in the process of writing another which he has titled The 23rd Engineers, From the Trenches in France to the Desert in Iraq. Obie says that it's about 70 percent done.

" I've enlisted the help of 11 others who served in the unit at different times to give me narratives of things that happened during their tours. One is particularly helpful because he came ashore at Normandy with the 23d in 1944."

Joe Epley

He recently was asked by Amazon to review a newly released book on the battle of Kings Mountain, A Passel of Hate written by Joe Epley founder of Charlotte's Epley Associates and known as the "Godfather of Public Relations in Russia."

Along with his writing, Obie is also in demand as a speaker as you can see by this article in Highlander newspaper.

-Ed

Final Gift

2012-02-01T20:40:00.004-05:00

By Jerry Gaudet

Betty Rose Templeton Palomba reports that.Therese Bartholomew, the daughter of our classmate Betty Pressley Leone, has completed a film documentary depicting the tragic events of her brother's murder.

Watch the trailer HERE:

final gift film trailer from Therese Bartholomew on Vimeo.

Therese Bartholomew

The documentary is titled, Final Gift, and we are all invited to attend a private screening of the film on Friday February 24 at 7:30pm in the McGlohon Theatre

To attend, please RSVP to therese@thefinalgiftfilm.com

-JG

Twilight Time

2012-01-28T13:09:00.009-05:00

During the 60's and 70's I had the good fortune of working for the two largest, most powerful Radio and TV stations in Washington. I'm very proud of that.

Francis Fitzgerld and Ed

I'm also proud of the fact that I worked for two great stations in Charlotte, WGIV and WSOC-TV. Both of my bosses at those stations became my friends. Francis Fitzgerald, the founder of WGIV drove me to Furman (his alma mater) to look over the campus when I was considering which college to attend.

The Johnson Family and Larry Walker on piano

Larry Walker was one of the owners and the “big boss” at WSOC-TV when it first went on the air. I had many conversations with him, and usually wound up talking about his days as a pianist on WBT radio.

But the corporate scene at the stations in Washington was totally different. Perhaps it was because both of those stations also owned newspapers, and they took themselves more seriously. At any rate, I never even met the owners of the two stations I worked for there.

However, I once was summoned to the office of the second in command of the media conglomerate that hired me in 1970.

I had only been at that station for a few weeks, but I knew that it was rare for Mr. NUMBER TWO to communicate directly with a mere employee. His meetings were usually with people who were the “bosses” of people on my level.

My first thought was that I must have done something so awful that it was imperative that I be fired by a top corporate executive instead of a mere TV news or program director. Perhaps, like Sam Donaldson (who, like me, was local at the time) President Johnson didn't like something I had said and wanted me fired.

(Sam had broken the story that Lady Bird Johnson had gained ownership of a very profitable TV station in Dallas via political hanky panky...or something like that. But my old station didn't fire him as the President had requested, because Sam's story turned out to be true.)

However, I didn't think that I had been at my latest station long enough, and wasn't enough of a big fish, to make too many people, especially the President, mad so it must be about something else.

Maybe even some unexpected opportunity or promotion?

I had no clue.

As I waited outside the luxurious fifth floor suite of executive offices, I did my best to mentally prepare myself for whatever was to happen by concentrating on past great personal challenges that I had managed to survive...such as Algebra class at CHS, and the time I had gotten caught participating in a food fight at Elizabeth school and was called into Miss Hattie's office. And then there was the time while hanging election posters when I tried to move the marble bench in the hall just outside of John Otts's office...and had to face his wrath after he heard the crash and stormed out of his office to observe the broken pieces of marble lying in the hall.

I convinced myself that I was a survivor! Surely I would survive whatever was in store for me behind that thick corporate door.

But I was still nervous as I entered his office and took a seat facing “Mr. Big.”

“I want to show you something,” he said, opening the top drawer of his desk,... “for the past three months I've been keeping a record of this....”

At this point, he gestured that I come closer and examine what appeared to be some kind of mathematical chart full of dates followed by numbers and plus and minus symbols.

“I think you'll find this as fascinating as I do. It is an almost unbelievable technological achievement.
I've been keeping a daily record of the accuracy of this wristwatch that I purchased three months ago....and, as you can see, the figures show that it has only lost 18 seconds in all that time.

Amazing, isn't it,” he said.

“It sure is,” I replied.

And with that, I was excused.

I've never told this story before because it defies categorizing, not to mention all the rules of storytelling and common logic. It's just something that “happened.”

I'm a magnet for that kind of stuff.

-Ed

PS......I recently learned about the most recent innovation in accurate wristwatches.

It is always 100% accurate!

Mary Kratt to Speak Saturday at Museum

2012-01-22T19:45:00.006-05:00

Mary Kratt

Our own Mary Kratt will be a featured speaker at the Charlotte Museum of History's latest Lecture Series.
The series of lectures is being offered by the Mecklenburg Historical Association Docents (Docent: German, from Latin docere...meaning "to teach.")

From Wagon Roads to New South City

(A series of lectures offered by the Mecklenburg Historical Asssociation Docents in partnership with the Charlotte Museum of History and the Levine Museum of the New South)

The event is this coming Saturday
January 28: 9:30am-12am

An Overview of Charlotte's History:
Mary Kratt, author of "Charlotte, North Carolina: A Brief History"

A Cultural History of the Catawba Nation:
Dr. Stephen Criswell, Director of Native American Studies, USC Lancaster

REGISTRATION FEE: $10 (includes entire lecture series)

To register, please call us at (704) 568-1774 or email us at programs@charlottemuseum.org
*Registration ends January 22, 2012*

Webmaster's Report

2012-01-19T20:04:00.003-05:00

Just a few "odds and ends" from the CHS54 ACTION CENTRAL WEBSITE HEADQUARTERS:

Our original INTERNET DOMAIN, CHS54.COM has finally gone "dark." It no longer lets people who go to that site know that we've moved to a NEW site.....www.chs54.net. It just no longer exists. (It might return at some point in the future IF someone else buys that domain).

Frankly, DOT. COM domains are preferred over others because they are more common and well known, but in reality are no better than DOT NET....or DOT EDU.....or whatever. They're just easier for most people to remember.

However, your kindly, handsome, and modest webmaster felt strongly that he was getting ripped off paying more than twice the amount for what the DOT NET, etc. domains were going for.

And, being generally "jerked around.'

Other than that, they were very nice people and probably kind to animals.

Life continues to be good...and full of little surprises. I discovered that my picture appears in a new book called SHAGGING IN THE CAROLINAS.

At first, it scared the daylights out of me, until I was told that SHAGGING was a kind of a dance that our generation was doing back in high school.

Whew!

Not being a dancer, I guess I missed that fad. But apparently, that's what high school kids were doing to the kind of music Genial Gene, Chatty Hattie, Pete Toomey and I were playing on WGIV. It was the kind of music that I first heard at Myrtle Beach and in fact, when I was interviewed for the book, I was told that it was about "Beach Music." Beach Music was another name for what was once called "Race Music," then "Rhythm and Blues," and finally settling on the name "Rock and Roll," which was taken from the lyric of the Dominoes' song "Rocket 69:"

"Rockin, Rolling,
All Night Long,
Rocket 69"

The author is a fellow named "Fessa John Hook" who undoubtedly knows more about the origin of Beach Music, Rock and Roll, the history of Beach music and the dance scenes in the Carolinas than anyone in the world.

I hesitate to tell you how to access his website because if you happen to click on one of his stories you may very well become addicted, even if you don't give a Hoot and a Holler about Beach Music.

You have been warned: http://www.beachshag.com/

Finally, my old broadcaster friend and I still "play" TV on Fairfax Cable TV here in Virginia and we put these shows up on the internet.

Although, I personally am not crazy about watching video on the internet.I recently did a show about my neighbor friend who, for fun, built a working radio station in his basement. I wrote about that here on the website a few months ago.

You can see it HERE.

-Ed

James O'Neal - Out of the Past - 2012 from Chuck Langdon on Vimeo.

It Wasn't Raining Inside!

2012-01-10T19:03:00.002-05:00

By Jerry Gaudet

CHS’54 brought in the New Year ~~2011~~ 2012 (is that the way you’ve been writing the new near?) with a storm. Well, it wasn’t actually storming, but it was a heavily overcast day…outside, but not inside. Mary Burnett gave us cheerful table decorations in addition to the nice atmosphere provided by Jimmies

Johnny Culp finally brought wife Pat to our 38th “LDL”. It was good to have her in our midst…and Johnny looked better with Pat by his side…

We were concerned for Jackie (Hart) Lookabill who we knew had been scheduled for shoulder surgery yesterday. Mary Burnett called Home Depot* (there’s a story here) and learned that Jackie had done quite well and will begin rehabilitation tomorrow. *Mary called Home Depot about a home matter that had no connection to Jackie’s procedure. A “Danny” answered her call. Danny turned out to be Danny Green, LaGena (Lookabill) Green’s husband. Recognizing the family connection, Mary inquired about Jackie and got the up to the moment information that she shared with us a lunch. (We told you there was a story here).

And then there was something about a book…Apparently looking for something to fill his time (at 93) former Central High faculty member, Mr. Gilbert Balance, has written and published his first book. Mr. Ballance taught many of us in English, Radio Production and Orientation.

Author’s note (in the book)…“Leah’ Journey Home is a work of fiction. However, some of the novel’s characters are inspired by real people. Leah and Cary were patterned after my own mother and father, and their children were patterned after my brothers and sisters. I also did extensive research to discover some of the pressing issues of the day and the personalities behind them. The governor and the state superintendent of public instruction were actual, historical figures of the period”

Our classmate Mary (Rand Norton) Kratt, in her review of the book wrote,

“This uplifting, suspenseful, coastal Carolina tale of young Leah’s dramatic journey from despair to joy is richly told, evoking authentic town and rural life on the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp and in Elizabeth City around 1900. A remarkable story of feminine awakening to love and to backcountry advocacy for schools, birth control, and mentoring, Leah will capture your heart.”

Gil’s example of staying active should spur us to greater participation in life. More of us might even consider participating in “LDLs” as a New Year’s Resolution. Next month (Valentines Day) would be a good start.

-JG

Jackie Up Date

2012-01-10T16:11:00.005-05:00

Jackie's Lookabill's daughter LaGena sends this up-date:

"Dear Friends,Thank you so much for your prayers! Mom got through surgery fine. Her rotator cuff was torn more than the MRI showed (40%), but the doctor felt a full repair would be too long and painful of a recovery, so he just cleaned it up and got rid of the 3 spurs. The real fun begins Thursday with physical therapy. It means so much to have heard from you. Thanks for continued prayers for her recovery. Love, LaGena xoxox"

Jackie Lookabill to Have Shoulder Surgery

2012-01-06T18:46:00.000-05:00

By Jerry Gaudet

LaGena (Lookabill) Green sent me the following thoughtful note:

"My mom, Jackie is having shoulder surgery on the morning of Monday January 9th . The doctor is removing 3 spurs and cleaning up her rotator cuff. Would you pray for a smooth, uncomplicated surgery and a complete recovery. I would so appreciate your prayers for her. Thank you, LaGena"

Jackie's contact information is:
Jackie (and Gene) Lookabill
3601 Mountainbrook Rd.
Charlote NC 28210-4842

email JackieGeneCHS@aol.com

We Meet Again!

2012-01-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

It's 2012! Start the New Year with a CHS'54 Lunch!

By Jerry Gaudet

This month's "LDL" (Let's do lunch) will be held on

Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 11:30 AM

at "Jimmies" in Mint Hill.
We'd like to share this opportunity with YOU in the New Year!

Spread the word! Invite other classmates to come! Even better, bring someone with you! Be sure YOU, come!

This link may help you find your way:

For answers to any conceivable lunch questions, please contact Mary (Sue Banks) Burnett, marysburnett@yahoo.com

Plan to join us...there's plenty of room. And...you'll be glad you did!

Happy New Year!

-JG

‘Woh-who-ey! who-ey! who-eeeeeeeeeey!

2012-01-01T20:40:00.012-05:00

My two oldest grand kids, Frank and Ed (twins) are in high school in Warrenton, VA.....birthplace of Confederate hero John S. Mosby.

The boys are studying the Civil War in their history class this semester and
one of them happened to bring up the subject of the “Rebel Yell.”

He said his teacher told the class that it was a powerful tool of the Confederates in battle, as well as at other times of overwhelming excitement, but no one knows exactly what it sounded like.

(I had the feeling that, without doing the math, he was wondering if perhaps I had been around back then and had heard it....)

I had to bite my tongue.

I didn't say anything, because with many of my stories, my grand kids have a tendency to hear the “headline”.....roll their eyes....and not hang around for the “fine print.”

But the fact is, I did hear it once.

It was about 1946 or so and all I knew about my Cousin Henry was that he was a relative on my mother's side of the family and he was very old, having fought in the Civil War.

And he was coming up from South Carolina to visit with us.

For a week.

Typical "tintype" from 1850's

He was a very nice, but quiet old man who, as I recall, sat around our house and “whittled” all day. He seemed perfectly happy doing this and needless to say I was fascinated watching a small piece of wood morph into.....something..... other than a small scrap of wood. To this day, whittling is known as "the soldier's art."

But my Mom felt that we had to do something special to entertain Cousin Henry. She was sure her prayers had been answered when she saw in the Observer that the ICE CAPADES were in town that week!

Just the thing to make his visit memorable.

It probably did. It was certainly something that my family...and, I venture to say, most of the people in Memorial Stadium that night never forgot.

Now, the show was good, but the memorable part of the evening was Cousin Henry.

Picture the scene:

The stadium lights dimmed........the orchestra began the overture......a few skaters dressed in Tuxedos slid gently onto the ice.........and the spotlight began to shine brightly and focused on about 30 gorgeous young girls in tights sailing in time with the music.............

When suddenly......there erupted the most blood-curdling, animalistic sound that some historians have described as “originating in the depths of Hell” (but which that night actually came from about midway up the stands around the 30 yard line.)

Everyone turned and stared.

It was Cousin Henry.

Sample of "Soldier's Art"

Not everyone appreciated the historical event that had just occurred. My Mom was mortified. Many in the audience thought that it was part of the show.....much like the radio comedy shows of the day that hired professional “laughers” to sit in the audience. In fact, I've often thought that if Cousin Henry hadn't been so busy whittling, he could have picked up some side money by being a professional “Rebel Yell er.”

But that might not have worked, because in addition to probably annihilating every crystal glass within a half mile of Memorial Stadium...........it scared me, and about 10,000 others in the audience that night...half to death.

Which is why I have no doubt that what I heard that night was authentic.

Historian Shelby Foote quotes a number of Yankee soldiers as saying,

..."a peculiar corkscrew sensation would go up your spine when you heard it" along with a claim that
"if you think you heard it and weren't scared ...that means you never heard it".

-Ed

You Saw it Here First

2011-12-30T09:51:00.002-05:00

This has LEGS.....as the old news expression goes. So it will be appearing on your TV and radio soon, but you read it first HERE.
Frankly, it made my day!! Our nanny government has done its best to drive my blood pressure off the roof for the past several years....and the ban on Edison's light bulbs just about did me in!
Finally, an article today in the AMERICAN THINKER washed over me like a warm southern breeze! -Ed

December 30, 2011

Upset about Big Brother's Ban on Incandescent Bulbs? Buy a Heatball!

By Selwyn Duke
This is just too good.

Many of you know that in a few days the federal ban on conventional incandescent light bulbs will go into effect. And while House Republicans included a provision in a recent spending bill that will block funding for the ban's enforcement, it's said that it will have little effect; manufacturers have prepared for the new standards and will no doubt abide by the law. So does this mean we'll be forced to buy more expensive LED (light emitting diode) or CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs, the latter being those squiggly things said to be loaded with mercury? Not if we follow the lead of German businessman Siegfried Rotthaeuser.

After the European Union banned conventional incandescent bulbs, Rotthaeuser's entrepreneurial spirit was sparked. He started selling another product: heatballs.

What's a heatball? According to this Teutonic Knight of Freedom and Light, it is a "small heating device" that compensates for the loss of heat a home experiences when conventional light bulbs are swapped for more energy efficient ones.

At his English-version website, Rotthaeuser points out the convenience of his invention, writing, "A HEATBALL® is not a light bulb, but fits into the same socket!"

He then touts the new product as "The most original invention since the electric light bulb!" and explains, "Although a heatball is technically very similar to a light bulb, it is a heater rather than a source of light." Elaborating, he also states, "By using heatballs, the heating effort of a normal house is effectively assisted. A heatball is a source of heat. Or do you use your toaster as a desk lamp?"

A businessman with a conscience, however, Rotthaeuser also believes in truth in advertising. He thus is forthcoming about a certain unintended byproduct of his heating element, writing, "During its use as a heater, HEATBALLS have an unavoidable emission of light in the visible spectrum." Pity that. But if heatballs are anything at all like incandescent light bulbs, they should be very efficient little space heaters, indeed.

So maybe you believe that the ban on conventional incandescent bulbs is far afield from the government's rightful scope; perhaps you fret about how such a regulation is blatantly unconstitutional when instituted by the feds. If so, I can't help you. But if you have a tropical plant or pet hamster that needs a space heater - or if you simply want to save on oil or gas used for heating during the winter - buy some HEATBALLS®.

And, hey, something just occurred to me. With heatballs' unintended byproduct of light, you just might be able to forego buying those LED and CFL bulbs.

Golden Party!

2011-12-29T09:35:00.001-05:00

Photo by Warren Sparrow

If there had been many more guests at Warren and Becky Sparrow's Golden Anniversary party at North Topsail Beach, NC, the beautiful barrier island might have tilted dangerously at one end.

Party headquarters for the week long celebration was a beautiful ocean-front mansion which was "home" for the 15 special Sparrow guests, who, local residents say, never seemed to rest.

Warren reports that:

"Our daughter Cathy and her husband Alex came from Kansas. Their three daughters were there. Lydia, her oldest, is in the Teach for America program in Washington, DC. Her "boyfriend" Kyle (a Kansas guy) was with us. Melanie, Lydia's younger sister, came from Kansas with her "boyfriend" whose name is also Kyle.

The baby sister of the Kansas gang, Charlotte, came, too. She is a freshman at Kansas State, following her sisters who graduated from K-State. Charlotte is a member of the Classy Cats, one of the 24-member dance team that leads the band onto the field.

We are excited for Charlotte. K-State can be seen on January 6 at the Cotton Bowl in the new Cowboy Stadium. They have sold 100,000 tickets for the K-State v. Arkansas game. Our hope is that the TV folks will show the K-State band at some time during the game."

Long time residents of the island, most famous for it's turtle habitats, all came out to witness Warren and Becky do their polar bear imitations by taking a dip in the December North Carolina ocean....

....Which was quickly followed by a warm belly flop dive into the Mansion's hot tub. (Parental guidance is not needed for this picture, since Warren is still modestly attired in his bathing suit, in spite of the fact that it has a hole in the knee.)

" Finally, I wish you a Happy New Year. Life is quite good for us. May it be the same for you and all our classmates. -Warren"

Anchors Aweigh

2011-12-15T21:30:00.003-05:00

FIFTY YEARS AGO TODAY!

Our own Warren and Becky Sparrow were married!

I searched the archives to learn what other events took place that day, and discovered that other than the Sparrow wedding, December 16th 1961 was arguably the slowest news day in history:

Born: Salatyn Asgarova, Azerbaijani journalist, in Baku (d. 1991); and Bill Hicks, American comedian, in Valdosta, Georgia (d. 1994)
Died: Hans Rebane, 78, Estonian politician

"Dummy Hoy" the most accomplished deaf player in major league history, and who is credited with causing the establishment of signals for safe and out calls had died the night before, but other than that, Warren and Becky's marriage was the only "headline news" of the day that the participants and all their friends will remember about that day.

Warren Sparrow reports:

"This picture was taken in Manchester, New Hampshire, on the 16th of December 1961. At the time Becky was an RN at Boston Floating Hospital, living on Beacon Hill near Ted Kennedy. I was the Photo Officer on the USS Wasp. I called the ship the "Mighty Wasp" because of her World War II record. We fought no wars during my 36 months aboard her. I tell my friends, "We kept the peace," adding, "everyone was afraid of us."

On the 16th of December 1961 in Manchester it was quite cold, about 7 degrees. There was snow on the ground. Many of my shipmates were there. Some were decorated World War II vets. A good time was had by all. We expect more good times at our 50th anniversary celebration even though it will not begin until the 17th.

The lady to the left of Becky is Bridey Maye, Becky's maid of honor. She, too, worked at Boston Floating. A few months after our wedding Bridey married Bill Maye who made the highest score on the Massachusetts CPA exam the year he took the test. We have remained close friends, visiting them at their home in North Andover, MA.

My best man, Pete Travers, is on the far left. I have not seen him since I left the Wasp in June 1962.

-Warren

PS..... Becky and I will celebrate our 50th anniversary on 16 December 2011. We are going to spend a week at North Topsail Beach, NC, with our four children and six grandchildren, beginning 17 December and continuing until the 24th. -WS

Best Christmas Lights Display

2011-12-14T09:53:00.002-05:00

....that's what YouTube calls it.
This is supposedly on a house near Cincinnati where it's causing huge traffic jams.

Whether that's true or not.....
(and I suspect a bit of sleight of hand) it's worth watching.

CLICK HERE

-Ed

'Twas the night before......

2011-12-14T08:16:00.000-05:00

By Jerry Gaudet

..whoa, whoa, here. We’re getting ahead of ourselves.

It was the “LDL” before Christmas and all thru “Jimmies” the Central High School Class of 1954 was filled with Christmas cheer…

Mary Sue (Banks) Burnett had prepared a welcoming arrival for us with help from her three wise men, Husband Clyde and their two grandsons, Anthony and Christopher…

We came prepared to share our good fortune with those less fortunate…

This outpouring of Christmas gifts was for the residents of Avanté at Charlotte, the skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center that cared for our Shirley Maynor until her death, and food and monetary donations for Loaves and Fishes.

First time participants included Becky Beckham and Sue Patton. It was a delight for all of us to meet them…

A good time was had by all as we shared in the joys of this Christmas season. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

-JG

Christmas Lunch TODAY!

2011-12-08T20:24:00.003-05:00

By Jerry Gaudet

See you there!

This month's "LDL" (Let's do lunch) will be held on
Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 11:30 AM
at "Jimmies" in Mint Hill.

We have two Special Projects for December... Mary Sue has again arranged an opportunity for us to honor the memory of Shirley Maynor. Please bring simple Christmas gifts that we can share with residents of Avanté at Charlotte, the skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center that cared for Shirley until her death.

Following is a list of possible items that we can bring. Other items can always be added. The gifts should NOT be wrapped except for maybe a bow or ribbon (the Avante staff would have to unwrap any gifts to know who should receive each gift). We hope everyone will want to participate as a way to honor our friend, Shirley, and to bring a little Christmas cheer to some nursing home residents. As Mary Sue expressed, “at Christmas we always think about children, but we tend to forget about those who are older, ill and alone”.

Here’s are some suggestions:
Candy such as jelly beans, gum drops, mints, chocolates
Christmas decorations for the bedside tables or room bulletin boards
Cookies and other snacks
Crossword puzzle books
Cups
Gloves
Hand lotion
Hats, baseball caps
Pens, pencils, paper
Scarves
Small games
Socks
Stuffed animals
Throws or small blankets
Tissues

Or, instead of, or in addition to, we would like to give support to Loaves and Fishes of Charlotte by bring non-perishable foods (or money donations with which Loaves and Fishes can purchase food more economically than we). Checks can be made to "Loaves and fishes". Or, you can make a donation online at http://www.loavesandfishes.org/make-a-donation.html .

In the meantime, Merry Christmas everyone!

We'd like to share this opportunity with YOU!
Spread the word! Invite other classmates to come! Even better, bring someone with you! Be sure YOU, come!

This link may help you find your way:

For answers to any conceivable lunch questions, please contact Mary Sue Banks Burnett, marysburnett@yahoo.com , or phone.

Plan to join us...there's plenty of room. And...you'll be glad you did!

-JG

Nature's Canvas

2011-11-30T19:40:00.014-05:00

This is a nature story that has nothing to do with bears in the woods.

It happened to our own barrister extraordinaire, Warren Sparrow, one morning last week. He went outside, got in his car and guess what he saw splattered on his windshield?

Nope.

It was, what could best be described as nothing less than a “work of art!” drawn by mother nature herself!

Now those less sensitive souls, not properly schooled in art appreciation would probably just think it was nothing more than leaves that had fallen overnight on Warren's car. Balderdash!

Warren and the rest of us might have thought the same thing once upon a time when we were young and hungry and climbing ladders.

But as age begins to slow us down, I believe it brings with it an enhanced appreciation of the incredible beauty that has surrounded us all our lives.

Either that, or Warren was hungry that morning.

From: Scientific American Magazine
:
Brain areas such as the anterior insula and orbitofrontal cortex that are activated by pleasant smells or tastes are also the parts of the brain that are active when we are awed by Renaissance paintings or Baroque concertos. There is virtually no evidence that artworks activate emotion areas distinct from those involved in appraising everyday objects important for survival. Hence, the most reasonable evolutionary hypothesis is that the aesthetic system of the brain evolved first for the appraisal of objects of biological importance, including food sources and suitable mates, and was later co-opted for artworks such as paintings and music. As much as philosophers like to believe that our brains contain a specialized system for the appreciation of artworks, research suggests that our brain’s responses to a piece of cake and a piece of music are in fact quite similar.

Nevertheless, Warren, I still like it!
It sure beats what Mother Nature's little feathered painters leave on my windshield every morning!
-Ed

Veterans Day 11/11/11

2011-11-21T08:49:00.002-05:00

Veterans Day in Charlotte was a special day, particularly for a group of men and women from the NC National Guard who left for a tour in Afghanistan.

Our own Obie Oakley can always be counted on to help honor fellow veterans. And this special occasion was no exception. This video is an excellent documentary of what the ceremony was like. Some of the footage was shot at Charlotte's Vietnam Memorial, which was a project that Obie played one of the major roles in building on the old Thompson Orphanage site.

Our classmate, Charles Mateer, the first American soldier killed in Laos, has a special mention on the memorial.

Watching this video reminds us of how much our veterans sacrifice for the rest of us.

They're a special breed!!

A look at Veterans Day 2011 in Charlotte, NC through the eyes of three generations of Veterans: Two men who served their country and another who is still serving, recently back from Afghanistan. These men share what this day means to them, while on that very morning, more men and women left from the NC Air National Guard to serve in the War in Afghanistan.

What if...?

2011-11-19T13:48:00.023-05:00

~~AN AMERICAN DREAM~~

He was an Irish farmer's son with only a 10th grade education, who immigrated to America in 1929 and worked as a chauffeur and later joined the US Navy during World War Two. In 1945 he applied for a job with the government and wound up driving for this country's Presidents beginning with Harry Truman, and ending that day in Dallas in 1963.

I met William Robert Greer in 1964, when, as I understand it, I was the only reporter he had allowed to interview him since that awful day the year before.

Total BS

I could certainly sympathize with Greer's reluctance to talk to the press, which even then was not above twisting stories to fit their own agenda. The latest totally insane conspiracy going around the Internet today is that Greer shot Kennedy.

Satire

I was hoping to do a soft news feature for CBS radio's “Weekend Dimension.”...which broadcast five minute audio vignettes on the half hour throughout the weekend.

Imagine my surprise when Greer agreed to my request. (He told me later that it was his wife, who watched me regularly on local TV, who convinced him to invite me over.)

Norelco cassette recorder 1964

I arrived at his home in nearby suburban Maryland carrying one of the latest (at the time) technological wonders in modern recording devices called a “cassette recorder.” My particular machine was made by Norelco, which allowed radio reporters to record good quality “on the scene” reports without the aid of a engineer and cumbersome recording equipment. This was a major breakthrough.

William Greer

Rare photo of JFK wearing hat

William Greer was very gracious and invited me into his home in suburban Maryland where we talked for about an hour....with my amazing small recorder doing its thing. He seemed to light up when talking about the happy times he spent driving Kennedy from place to place. He was especially pleased on several occasions when the President unexpectedly had him stop in front of a church and ask to borrow his hat before going inside.

Greer was technically a Secret Service Agent. But, realistically, he was what he'd always been; a chauffeur. He was not trained as a “protector” of the President, he was simply a driver. The Secret Service procedures in place at the time did not allow Greer to take action without orders from a senior agent.

Roy Kellerman, was the senior agent who sat to Greer's right that fateful day.

Kenneth O'Donnell (special assistant to Kennedy) who was riding in the motorcade, later wrote: "If the Secret Service men in the front had reacted quicker to the first two shots at the President's car, if the driver had stepped on the gas before instead of after the fatal third shot was fired, would President Kennedy be alive today?"

He also stated that after the death of the president "Greer had been remorseful all day, feeling that he could have saved President Kennedy's life by swerving the car or speeding suddenly after the first shots."

Author William Manchester reported in Death of a President, that at Parkland Hospital,

“Those who had been in the motorcade were racking their brains with... if only this, if only that. One of them, Bill Greer, came to her [Jackie Kennedy] his face streaked with tears, took her head between his hands and squeezed until she thought he was going to squeeze her skull flat. He cried, ‘Oh, Mrs. Kennedy, oh my God, oh my God. I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t hear, I should have swerved the car, I couldn’t help it. Oh, Mrs. Kennedy, as soon as I saw it I swerved. If only I’d seen in time! Oh!’ Then he released her head and put his arms around her and wept on her shoulder.” [Death of a President, p.290]

It was reported that Mrs. Kennedy felt so sorry for Greer that she requested that he drive the naval ambulance containing the casket to the naval hospital.

I believe that Greer admired the young President as much as most Americans did. Perhaps more so.

CBS Radio aired my story, but if my interview were to be graded by any modern journalism professor, it would receive a big fat F. I didn't ask any of the questions that a reporter these days is taught to ask, such as “how did you feel?” “What was it like....., describe the scene.." etc.

But, for what it's worth, I'll tell you how I felt:

To me, William Greer was like the typical kindly uncle; humble, thoughtful, and honest. I could still detect a hint of an Irish accent in his voice. His home was modest and warm, but just below the surface, there was a sadness that was almost palpable. He retired on disability from the Secret Service in 1966 because of a stomach ulcer that rapidly grew worse following the Kennedy Assassination. He died in 1985.

I like to believe that I was able to offer him a few short moments of relief by getting him talking about some of the good times in his American Dream....that so suddenly had turned into a nightmare. -Ed

It's Better in the ...........

2011-11-14T13:04:00.003-05:00

By Don Nance
(via email)

Carnival Cruise Line

Ed,

As you may remember Letty and I were married on June 24,1961. To celebrate our 50th anniversary we took our
children, their spouses, and three of our grandchildren
on a Carnival Cruise Line to the Bahamas.

The picture below is the family on the ship. Start at the top:

Donnie and Ronda, Tommy and Stefanie, Charlotte and Roth is with the children, Patrick and Kim, Letty and Donald, and the three grandsons: Sam, Gabe, and Jackson.

It was wonderful have the family together. Nathan our oldest grandson was working, and Asher our two years old was to young to take on the cruise with us.
Talk with you later,
Don

Back to Kansas

2011-11-07T15:44:00.006-05:00

By Warren Sparrow

Becky and I flew to Kansas City from Raleigh on Friday, 28 October 2011. On Saturday morning we set out from Olathe, KS, the home of our daughter Cathy, for Manhattan, KS, the Little Apple. Manhattan is the home of Kansas State University. Two of our grandchildren graduated from Kansas State. The third one is a freshman there, a member of the KSU Crazy Cats who lead the band onto the field.

Charlotte Peele

Believe it or not, her name is Charlotte. And KSU is the Wildcats! What a hoot, Central fans. We got to the game two hours before kickoff. The lots adjacent to the stadium were full. So we parked in a nearby neighbor's yard for fifteen dollars and walked a few blocks to the stadium parking lot.

Once there we rendezvoused with K-State fans who were friends of our granddaughter. A good time was had by all until the game was half over. Oklahoma blitzed KSU in the second half, winning 58-17 and spoiling KSU's undefeated season.

But, we had a wonderful time. Attached are some photos from our trip.

This is one of the KSU band coming onto the field before the Oklahoma game. Charlotte and her 23 pals are in front.

This one (from left to right) shows Melaine Peele, Charlottes' older sister who is a KSU grad, then Charlotte, then me, then Charlotte's mom, Cathy, and then grandmother Becky in the stadium parking lot after the game.

This is a Decemebr 2009 picture made when Granddaughter Lydia Peele graduated from Kansas State. She lives in Arlington, VA, and teaches in DC as part of the Teach for America program.

And this is the K-State football stadium on Graduation Day. Global warming, anyone?

And this one... well, I am not sure what to make of it. Decide for yourself. -WS

(Warren, I recognized it immediately. It's the plane you flew out of Raliegh on. I once flew on it myself. The stewardesses got prettier and prettier....the higher.....uh..... it went. -Ed)

Monday Report

2011-11-07T10:55:00.002-05:00

Frank Clontz's (CHS class of 55) wife Shirley writes that

"... Frank was released from the hospital (I am sure the nursing staff worked overtime to make him well as he is not the most complacent patient), but he is still very weak. It will just take time to rebuild his stamina. He is hoping to feel well enough to attend his class luncheon on the 15th. He was a very sick fellow, but is on the road to recovery.
Again, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.

Shirley*
....

Mr.Gil Ballance's excellent book, Leah's Journey Home, got a big boost from one of North Carolina's most celebrated academics. The endorsement reads as follows:

"When young, unwed mother-to-be Leah embarks on a May-December arranged marriage with a Civil War veteran thirty years her senior, moving to his circa-1900 farm hard by the Great Dismal Swamp, she does so with the determined soul of a schoolteacher and suffragette.

Gil Ballance's social drama, modeled in part on his own family's history, his precise, good-hearted and uplifting novel is a welcome addition to the literature of Eastern North Carolina."

-Bland Simpson, Kenan Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing Co-Director of the Thomas Wolfe Scholarship, UNC Chapel Hill

Our 92 year old English teacher and founder of one of the first Radio Production Departments in the North Carolina public school system has begun his new career as an author with a "bang!"
-Ed
....

LDL THIS TUESDAY

2011-11-06T20:22:00.000-05:00

Mark it down on your dance card.....for THIS TUESDAY!

Go here for DETAILS

My Visit to an Art Show

2011-11-06T20:07:00.004-05:00

I'll bet you can't wait for this one.

I wasn't expecting much either, but stick with me.

Around 1986 or 87 a friend of mine dragged me to an event at the Virginia Bader Fine Arts Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia for a showing of a new series of Aviation Art.

This particular show was highlighting the airplanes of World War Two.

"Hurricane Scramble" by Robert Taylor

But, I soon realized that the paintings were just part of the show. when I heard the gentleman standing next to a large painting labeled Hurricane Scramble say that he was very familiar with that plane because during the summer and autumn of 1940. he would sometimes spend 4 or 5 hours a day in “one of those.

He introduced himself to me as Peter Brothers, and he said his only form of relaxation during what came to be called "the Battle of Britain," was on returning from combat when he would open the cockpit canopy and light up a cigarette.
Brothers personally shot down a number of German bombers and fighter planes.

Peter Townsend and Virginia Bader

He introduced me to the man standing nearby as a man who "also spent many hours in Hawker Hurricanes..." .and in fact was the pilot who shot the first German plane out of the ski over Britain in 1940. Peter Townsend was his name. (Like most Americans, I remembered his name more for his romantic association with Princess Margaret rather than his daring WW2 heroics.)

It soon became apparent that the many British accented conversations going on around me belonged to some of the best Royal Air Force pilots of World War Two. Men who Winston Churchill called “The FEW.”

(After visiting an RAF Operations Room during a day of watching one of the battles Churchill told Major Major General Hastings Ismay ‘Don’t speak to me, I have never been so moved’. After several minutes of silence he said ‘Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.’ He would later use almost those exact words in one of his most famous speeches to parliament.)

It was truly an evening to tell my grandchildren about.

It wasn't until later that I learned how such an historic gathering of heroes could possibly have been organized for an “art show.”

Virginia Bader (the owner of the gallery) was a cousin of Sir Douglas Bader, the most famous fighter pilot Britain has ever known.

Douglas Bader

“Bader joined the RAF in 1928, and was commissioned in 1930. In December 1931, while attempting some aerobatics, he crashed and lost both his legs. After the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, however, Bader returned to the RAF and was accepted as a pilot.
On September 7 1940 Bader and the pilots of three RAF squadrons engaged the Luftwaffe in battle over London. Twenty German planes were destroyed, 10 by Bader’s squadron.
However in August 1941 his combat days came to an end when he was forced to bail out over northern France and was captured. -Wikipedia”

The fact that Bader had lost his legs in that accident years before actually saved his life, because one of his prosthetic legs had become trapped in his aircraft.....and had been pulled off when his parachute opened...thereby separating Bader from his falling plane.

German forces treated their famous prisoner with great respect. He and General Adolph Galland, Germany's most famous fighter pilot, became friends.
Galland arranged safe passage for the British to air drop a new prosthetic leg for Bader.
He might not have been so gracious had he known that after "Operation Leg Drop," the British plane would continue on to bomb other German installations.

While captive, Bader was a thorn in the side of the Germans. He was a master of what the RAF personnel called "goon-baiting"... considering it his duty to cause as much trouble to the enemy as possible.
He attempted to escape so often that the Germans threatened to take away his artificial legs. Finally, they just sent him to the “escape-proof” Colditz Castle....where he remained until the war's end.
Bader's reputation as the “leader of the few” was enhanced by the 1954 best selling book and film, Reach for the Sky.

After Bader's death in 1982 his family and friends, many of whom had flown with him during the war formed THE DOUGLAS BADER FOUNDATION a charity honoring his contribution and work on behalf of the disabled. The Foundation's motto is, "A person who fights back is not disabled, but inspired."

General Adolph Galland

Surviving airmen from both the British and the German sides are strong supporters of the Bader Foundation. Bader's old friend, General Adolph Galland was in attendance and spoke that evening. He told of the time he had invited Bader to speak at a reunion of his fellow Luftwaffe pilots. He said that Bader looked around the rather crowded room and remarked,

"My God, I didn't realize that we had left so many of you bastards alive."

-Ed

My autographed program from that magic night. -Ed

You Mean It's That Time Again Already?

2011-11-03T09:20:00.002-04:00

Yep!

Jerry Gaudet, our official notifier, reminds us that you should make plans now to attend!

CHS'54, "LDL" (Let's do lunch) will be held on
Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 11:30 AM

at "Jimmies Restaurant"
off Hwy. 51 (in Mint Hill)
7024 Brighton Park Dr.
Mint Hill, NC

704/545-7750

Please share this word with others! Invite other classmates to come!
Even better, bring someone with you!

"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”
-Albert Schweitzer

Class of 55 News

2011-11-02T09:22:00.000-04:00

(News from the Class of '55 Website)

By Joan King Hargett

OCTOBER 28. 2011

OUR CLASSMATE, FRANK CLONTZ, IS IN PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL MAIN (VAIL AVE.) IN CHARLOTTE AND HAS PNEUMONIA IN HIS LEFT LUNG. I SPOKE TO HIS WIFE, SHIRLEY, LAST NIGHT AND SHE SAYS THAT HE IS SLOWLY IMPROVING BUT HAS REALLY HAD A ROUGH TIME. FRANK IS INVALUABLE TO OUR CLASS. IN PARTICULAR, HE IS THE ONE THAT WRITES THE INFORMATIVE AND VERY INTERESTING NEWSLETTER AFTER EACH MONTHLY LUNCHEON.

WE APPRECIATE HIM SO MUCH SO LET’S MAKE SURE HE KNOWS WE ARE CONCERNED. SHIRLEY SAYS HE DOES NOT NEED COMPANY AS YET SO I SUGGEST A CARD TO HIS HOME.

HIS ADDRESS IS FRANK CLONTZ,
1140 SHADY BLUFF DRIVE,
CHARLOTTE,NC 28211. ALSO

SHIRLEY ASKED FOR PRAYERS FOR HIM.

(Frank has also been a good friend of this website, offering news tips and encouragement to this CHS54 site!
Get well soon, Frank!! -Ed)

It Was Only a Game

2011-10-29T20:19:00.006-04:00

McLean halfback gains two yards

But I was expecting much more.

As we approached the ticket window, I could hear the band warming up, and the cheerleaders rehearsing a couple of “YEA HIGHLANDERS!” shouts. I plunked down the money for tickets for my son and his wife their two young sons and Linda and me.

The kid selling the tickets returned my money for two of them saying that “you and Grandma get in free.”

Never the one to miss an opportunity for a smart-alec remark, I commented that the reason for that is because “I'm so good looking, right?”

“No,” he said, “it's because you're so old.”

I went in anyway.

Frankly, I was all prepared to do more than just watch our local high school play football.

I was all primed to strap this old body into the magic time machine in my mind for a sweet journey.... back to some autumn Friday evening in.... 1953.

McLean High received the opening kickoff....and the game was underway. I was expecting to begin my personal blast off any moment. But, before I knew it, the first quarter had ended, and the cheerleaders outfits were still red and white.

I thought they should be Blue and White by now. Besides the team was already down by two touchdowns. It was obvious that Carson, Alton or Jack weren't in the lineup. But, just wait, I said to myself...until they finally shore up that line with Don and Max and give the ball to Johnny or Bobby!

The cheerleaders were OK, but.....well, let's just say they weren't up to the Jackie, Sarah Lynn, Maxine, or Judy standard. And the guys couldn't match the enthusiasm of Linsy, Dickie, Derek or Ernest!
Looking around the stands I failed to spot any regulars like Shirlene, Sylvia, Ann, Mitzi, Ellouise, Jerry, Obie, Wilson, Pat......or Peggy, Betsy, Barbara, Linda, Mary Sue, Maxcyne.......hey, where is everybody?

Darn! I was still in Virginia. I looked at my watch and saw that it was still 2011!

And that was as far as I went that night. My time machine's fuel tank was empty.

Football Field circa 1953

The machine operates on several different types of rocket fuel and for this particular trip the engine required a fill up of HIGH OCTANE BLUE.....which used to be found at every stadium in the country, but is now almost non-existent. That once ubiquitous blue mist-like haze can now be seen only in old sports photographs.

As you probably know, the sense of smell is the brain's instant re-play button. And without the aid of a good whiff of early 1950 Stadium BLUE my rocket ship to the past just sputtered and died on the launch pad.

Mclean also lost the game, but any night out with a couple of our grand kids is a good night!

Evening in Paris

Besides I'm already planning another trip. This time I'm bringing my own fuel. I discovered a company that re-manufactures products of the past which are not made or sold any more. The company is the Vermont Country Store and my bottle of Evening In Paris rocket fuel should arrive sometime next week. -Ed

Actual X Ray Photograph of Ed's Brain

A smell can bring on a flood of memories, influence people's moods and even affect their work performance. Because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain's limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling it's sometimes called the "emotional brain," smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously.
The olfactory bulb has intimate access to the amygdala, which processes emotion, and the hippocampus, which is responsible for associative learning. Despite the tight wiring, however, smells would not trigger memories if it weren't for conditioned responses. -Wikipedia

We Aren't in Kansas Anymore, Toto

2011-10-24T17:04:00.022-04:00

JFK Bust at Kennedy Center

I'm so grateful that my childhood dreams of becoming famous someday and having my statue in the town square or maybe even the nation's capitol didn't come true.

It would have been just my luck to wind up looking like poor old JFK for the tourists of the future to gaze upon. Every time I pass by that eight foot tall monstrosity that resides in the huge entertainment center that bears his name, I say a little prayer thanking the Lord for leading me on the path to Mr. Averagedom.

Albert Einstein on the Mall

Just look at what the bureaucracy did to Einstein!

and this jolly old fellow..on the right...

This is how Charlotte, NC honors the Queen the city was named after. She looks like she was hit in the stomach with a cannonball!

"Jackalope?" on the Mall

This lovely....whatever it is...on the right...is proudly displayed on Washington's Mall.

Statue at Arlington Cemetery

This whatever adorns Arlington Cemetery.

Horses used to have names like, "Old Paint." I guess this one is called "Old Quilt." (R)

This lovely thing on the left hasn't sunk in quite far enough.

Are there any efforts being made to rid our cities and once beautiful Capitol of some of these monstrosities?

Nope.

The only “clean up” effort I know of is the one that the state of Maryland has made to defile (paint over) one of the cleverest bit of “people's art” I've ever seen. To them, it's “graffitti.”

Hurumph!

Here's the story: Anyone traveling the Washington Beltway...Interstate 495 going west from say College Park, Md past Silver Spring toward Virginia will round a curve and suddenly be confronted with a spectacular view of the brightly lit Mormon Temple...built there in 1974. It's breath taking!

The truckers call it Disneyland. But, whatever it's called, you can't miss it.

Overpass just prior to the Temple exit

Now as far as the “people's art” that the humorless Maryland Department of Highways keeps trying to hide is the message that someone, no one knows who, keeps writing on the railroad overpass that appears just before the exit to the temple that has brought smiles to untold numbers of travelers.

SURRENDER DOROTHY.

I saw it once when it read, TURN BACK DOROTHY.

Nevertheless, as I understand it, the Mormons haven't complained. The only objections were from Maryland State Officials who seem determined to rid the state of anything that reeks of humor and replace it with "art" that average citizens laugh at.

-Ed

Honey Bear Day 1960

2011-10-20T15:49:00.004-04:00

Walter Cronkite and Julian Barber

One of my broadcast “heroes” in the 60 plus years I've been in that business was Julian Barber. I first heard him when he was spinning records and taking requests from teenagers (such as my older sister Kathryn) on WAYS.

After he returned from service in Korea, that station refused to give him his job back, so he applied at WGIV....and became “news director” for them. That's where I first met “Mr. Barber.” (remember, I was at Central High then and we were taught to respect our elders; Julian was at least 23 at the time).

He went on to WSJS-TV in Winston Salem and later to WTOP-TV in Washington, where he became the number one local TV newscaster in the nation's capitol...for the next 10 years.

Julian also was one of the best friends I ever had.

I believe the saddest honor I ever received was being asked to give the eulogy at his funeral almost 10 years ago.

There's a video clip I came across on the Internet that is a good example of Julian's lighthearted wrap-ups of his local newscasts......which made that Charlotte boy, who began his career as a "go-fer" for the Briarhoppers, the king of local TV news......in the news capitol of the country. -Ed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCHVwej3Bgs

Stork Report

2011-10-18T20:57:00.000-04:00

Bob Ellis'Great grand daughter!

By Bob Ellis

I am pleased to announce that a great grand daughter has been added to the Ellis clan. Her name is Charlotte Eloise Swanson. She was 7 lbs 4 oz and 20 inches long. She was a little late as her due date was 10-8-11, but that is O.K. She was born today at 2:55 EST. Her parents are Stephen and Anna Swanson who live in Pennsicola Fla. This is their 3rd daughter. Stephen is a Youth Minister at a local church. Anna is the middle daughter of Jan Weaver who is my oldest daughter. All of our family are so very happy!
I just wanted to share my happiness with all my friends and family. GOD be with all of you......

Bob

(A space is being reserved HERE.....for a picture, Bob. Hurry! -Ed)

Rip, Run and Read

2011-10-18T11:29:00.002-04:00

That's the way it was at local radio stations back when announcers and DJ's also did the newscasts, usually "on the hour, every hour." We would put a record on, go to the AP ticker machine, rip off the latest five minute summary. and run back to the studio in time to read the news.

"This just in....from the WGIV newsroom...."

I always got a smile out of that. The WGIV newsroom consisted of one AP wire machine (ticker) and the only place that it would fit in that station's small building was the men's room.

Those old news tickers became obsolete when computers came along but seeing one of those museum pieces again brought back a lot of memories. Not all of them good. No one who was near one on November 22, 1963 can forget the constant ringing of the “bulletin” bell alerting newsrooms of the tragedy in Dallas.

On a lighter note, we announcers and DJ's had to learn to read our newscasts from copy produced by those machines hourly. In addition to 5 minute newscasts, stock market reports, weather forecasts, farm news and sports scores all were sent via those news tickers.

Some announcers used to pride themselves on their ability to read copy “cold.” In other words...read it like you knew what you were talking about.....without having read it over beforehand. Usually, you had time to pre-read the stories, but occasionally you didn't. However, some announcers got over confidant in their "cold reading" ability and never read the copy before they went on the air. (That was known as the "Real Men Never Read Copy but Once" syndrome.)

Most of the time they got away with it, but inevitably, it would come back to bite them.

Sending news from AP office

The flaw in the system was the fact that if the typist at the AP newsroom on the other end of the wire were to make a mistake...such as a typo or wrong word....the mistake would not be corrected in the copy until the very end of the story.

For example, the copy might say “obsolete”...instead of “absolute,” but any mistakes the typist made would keep repeating themselves throughout the story.... and corrections would only appear at the bottom of the copy..

The correction would say something like, “the word OBSOLETE in the above story should read ABSOLUTE.”

So unless the announcer was paying attention, (which we seldom were,) instead of thinking only of how he sounded.....the listener could be treated to some very strange and puzzling stories

For example a friend of mine was driving to work early one morning listening to the radio and the announcer was reading the farm report.

It was spring and the story was about planting time. He thought he heard the announcer say something about it being a good time to plant cats.

My friend thought that he must have misunderstood the announcer, so he turned up the radio and sure enough, he heard it again several times, “.......many experts say this is the best time of the year to plant your cats.......etc., etc....."

When the report ended.......there was a noticable pause....followed by the announcer saying,

“the word CATS in the above story should read OATS.”

-Ed

Goings On...

2011-10-16T18:15:00.001-04:00

According to the CITIZEN TIMES of Ashville, Holly Jones (daughter of our own Neil Jones) just got an important new position!

ASHEVILLE — Holly Jones, executive director of the YWCA of Asheville, announced Friday that she’s leaving the organization to go to work as regional manager of the YWCA’s Southeastern region.
Jones will be working with 23 local YWCAs in seven southeastern states in her new role.

Holly Jones

“Transition of a long-time executive director is never easy,” Jones said in a written news release. “Yet I believe the organization is poised well for the future and ready for new leadership.”
Nancy Ackermann Cole, the nonprofit’s board chairman, thanked Jones for her years of service.
“Her accomplishments will be vital to the success of the YWCA as we moved forward,” Cole said.

Those accomplishments include improving the agency’s financies, its facilities and its administration, according to the written release. Under Jones’ leadership, the organization completed a $3.9 million capital campaign to pay for the renovation and expansion of the YWCA building on South French Broad Avenue. The organization has seen its annual budget grow from $750,000 to $2.9 million and its staff went from 45 people to more than 100.

Jones, a Buncombe County commissioner and former Asheville City Council member, plans to remain in Asheville.

(Congratulations also to Holly's proud papa!) -Ed

An Oldie, but Goodie

2011-10-15T16:21:00.010-04:00

An otherwise sane friend of mine, who was also a “teen age DJ” invited me over to his house last week to show me the project he just completed.

That's where the otherwise.......part of that sentence comes in.

He built an almost exact replica of the radio station where he once spun Patti Page and Eddie Arnold records...

complete with a working transmitter....in his basement!

This story borders on the unbelievable, especially when you realize that the original station went on the air in 1947 or '48 and almost all of the electronic equipment, which he personally restored, is from that era.

Photo from 1940's newspaper

But, he did it.

I know. I saw it.

The original station was in the midwest, and it's still there,

but my friend's brand new version is at the end of a cul de sac a few blocks from my house in a quiet Virginia neighborhood.

2011 Restored version

Restored Radio Station Clock of the '40's and 50's

Vintage 1940's telephone


Studio B complete with organ


Fully restored AP news ticker

A lot of my retired friends play golf.....

.......but only one, as far as I know, plays "radio station."

I think I'll give Robert Ripley a call.

-Ed

(Note to the FCC. The transmitter works perfectly, but is attached to a "dummy load" preventing it from going out over the airwaves.)

Neither Snow Nor Rain

2011-10-13T07:28:00.002-04:00

By Jerry Gaudet

CHS'54, "LDL" #36, 10/11/11 Report.

…Well, we did cancel “LDL” back in January because of snow, or at least threat of it getting worse. Mike Andrews sent an inquiry…”What is snow?” But, he now lives in Merritt Island, FL. Anyway, today we didn’t let a little rain stop us.

Mary Sue (Banks) Burnett prepared a warm (and dry) welcome for us as we arrived…

The warm Fall colors were indeed welcoming…

…and the promise of a chocolate dessert was a big bonus…

Johnny Culp was the center of attention, and he wasn’t even there. John is laid up at home recovering from yet another knee replacement procedure done about two three weeks ago. He had already tried this a few years back and “swore” he would never go through that again. Now he says, “thank goodness this was my last knee”. Give him a boost, or at least send sympathy to his wife, Pat:

John Culp
10501 South Hall Dr.,
Charlotte, NC 28270-0283
Email jculp71@carolina.rr.com

Harold Cullingford’s wife, Carolyn, brought some of her gorgeous handiwork to show us.

Told you it was gorgeous. Carolyn’s work is available for purchase. Contact her at:

Carolyn Cullingford
1008 Zephyr Cir.
Monroe, NC 28110-8803
Email rollingwiththetide@earthlink.net

And, here we go after a good time together. L to R, Harold Cullingford, Pat Gaudet, Sylvia and Vic Brawley, Ronnie (Rallis) Pourlos, Carolyn Cullingford and Mary Sue (Banks) Burnett.

Come join us sometime, won’t you?.

-JG

Let's Do It Again

2011-10-10T16:40:00.006-04:00

By Jerry Gaudet

Perhaps you've been meaning to attend an LDL lunch for quite some time now, but for some reason or other something keeps getting in the way....and you've never (or seldom) made it.

Well, tomorrow is another opportunity for you to finally take the lovely drive through the beautiful countryside and join your old friends for lunch!

All prior absences will be excused without a note from your parents........there will be no pop quizzes.....only exceptional good food, good companionship and plenty of unsupervised goof off time!

CHS'54, "LDL" (Let's do lunch) will be held on
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011, 11:30 AM

at Jimmies Restaurant

off Hwy. 51 (in Mint Hill)

7024 Brighton Park Dr.

Mint Hill, NC

704/545-7750

You never know who will show up!

Get the word out to others! Invite other classmates to come!

Even better, bring someone with you!

This link may help you find your way:

Leah's Journey off to a Great Start!

2011-10-07T21:01:00.001-04:00

Our talented 92 year old CHS teacher, Mr. Gil Ballance's first book signing was a huge success. Reports from the scene indicate that the entire meeting room at Wilora Lake Lodge was packed....and the overflow crowd extended out into the hall!

Quite an achievment for a first time author. A lot of ex CHS students of Mr. Ballance were present, but there were others who were simply admirers of the author who wrote so movingly of the young unwed mother's struggles in the rural backwoods of North Carolina in the early 1900's.

Copies are still available at Amazon dot Com........at $10 for the paperback.

-Ed

The Home Front

2011-10-07T18:28:00.005-04:00

Around this time of the year in 1944 we were just getting used to being in the 4th grade. Although life was pretty good, there was always the realization that either the Germans or the Japanese could take it all away if we didn't win the war.

Ed guarding Fort 5th Street

We did what we could.....collecting and flattening tin cans, saving “silver paper,” and any metal scraps we could find.......helping turn off all the lights in the house during air raid warnings. (I swear I remember during one of the drills.....an airplane dropped small sandbags which landed nearby our house....although that makes absolutely no sense....and everyone I've ever mentioned that to says I'm crazy. But then, I also remember hiding under my bed when a Nazi airplane “landed in my backyard.”....so...)

Although by today's standards, we would probably be considered poverty stricken, we had it good in those days. The only thing I can ever remember being “deprived” of was Hershey bars and bubble gum. (Once I found out the bubble gum was needed by the war Department for making tires, I lost my appetite for it and never chewed it again.). Most of us were just average kids who didn't have much to begin with, so I guess we were unaware of what we “didn't have.”

Without a doubt, ours was a “blessed” generation, thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of our parents' generation.....known as the “Greatest Generation.”

Albert Macuch first row, second from left

I was reminded of those days a few years ago when an old broadcaster friend of mine was asked to make a copy of a tape recording that a friend's family discovered in their father's belongings after his death. He brought it over to my studio here in the house and once we listened to it.....we both decided that we had to do something with the tape besides “copying” it.

The result was a radio drama in the form that we grew up listening to..........but the difference is ......the narrator is Albert Macuch....the soldier who made the tape shortly before his death.

The Macuch B-17's final resting place

Basically, all we did was add some authentic sound efx (the sounds of B-17s taking off are actual B-17s, etc.) and a few audio clips made at the time by the BBC... and let Albert Macuch tell his own story.

If you have 30 minutes to spare sometime......take a listen. It starts a little slow.....but stick with it. It will be worth it.

The Albert Macuch Story

-Ed

Wisdom from a Giant

2011-10-06T09:29:00.002-04:00

The death of Steve Jobs is all over the news today....and no doubt this great speech will be mentioned many times but in case your grandchildren are too busy to read it......print it and send it to them. -Ed

(This is a prepared text of the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005.)

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

Steve Jobs

Rant

2011-10-04T20:33:00.001-04:00

I'm getting worried about myself.

In my 75th year on this planet, which is teetering on the verge of total insanity, a tiny little bit of my corner of the looney bin is ever so dimly making a certain amount of sense.

Take for example the most successful chain of coffee restaurants in the world; Starbucks.

If a fair “taste test” were taken of all the world's coffees.........Starbuck's coffee would come in dead last. It probably wouldn't even be allowed in the contest because it's burnt! Scorched! Horribly over cooked.

In addition, it's way overpriced.

I'm reminded of the football coach who said of his losing team's half back: “He may be small, but.......he's slow!”

Last time I checked, a cup of Starbuck's coffee was $5.00

Five dollars for a cup of burnt coffee!

And last time I looked, Starbucks was opening a new restaurant somewhere in the world every 5 minutes or so.

Now that's not what is making sense to me. I'm still totally perplexed.

But I read today that a company has just started selling T shirts......with coffee stains on them for $85 each!

Now, who in the world would think of doing such a stupid thing as that.

Suddenly, one of those curly mercury light bulbs went off in my head...........of course.....STARBUCKS!

Who else! Makes perfect sense to me. -Ed

Grapevine

2011-10-03T19:48:00.003-04:00

I hear that Linda Huggins looked great at a reunion type event at her church last week, greeting old friends with her usual verve and bouncy spirit......

Johnny Culp is recovering from his recent knee replacement....but not "bouncing around" yet. Still uncomfortable....but....well, knee replacements aren't for sissies!....

Mr. Ballance's book signing Friday was a big success! Room was FULL ....lots of ex students attending. I hear he's shaved off that beard too! Good riddance!....

WBT radio comes in strong here in Northern Virginia late at night and early in the morning. I tune in often to get my dose of Charlotte news. This morning, they led off with a story about both our old Central (Garringer) AND Harding high schools. Seems that there were SHOOTINGS at both over the weekend!

It's rumored that our honorary classmate and best selling author Jan Karon is starting work on a new book. That is going to make her millions of fans very happy. This will be her 23rd novel! I wrote Coach Edelman about my recent visit with Jan....and he responded that once his housekeeper and a few other friends of his learned that Jan was once a student of his.....he is enjoying a minor celebrity status of his own!

He spoiled his nice letter by thanking me for the picture of Jan and me that I published on the website.....and added that I had gotten much too fat.

He's right.......but........never mind.

-Ed

The Sky is Falling Again

2011-10-03T09:30:00.004-04:00

Don't put your tin foil hats away just yet.

Another satellite is going to be falling to earth this month. This time it's a German made telescope named ROSAT whose useful life is over and expected to crash to earth sometime this month.

The BBC has offered it listeners some advice concerning how to avoid being hit:

"Potentially, you could get out of the way," says Richard Crowther of the UK Space Agency, which is a member of a global network of agencies that monitors space debris.

"But if you're going to spend all the time looking up then you're at greater risk of an accident bumping into something than something coming down on you."

You could dodge a fragment if it's daytime, you get a clear view and you see it in time
But some pieces will travel at high speeds
And experts will only know where the debris will land minutes beforehand

Equally, if you want to avoid the risk of being hit completely, he says, then you need to go beyond 57 degrees latitude north (Scotland or Quebec) or south (further south than the southern tip of Argentina).

"But travelling there will involve a greater risk than the risk of being hit by this."

Some advice! Hurumphhh!

My advice?

Put on your tin foil hat again and just wait for the danger to pass. It worked last time, didn't it!
-Ed

Book Signing Friday

2011-09-27T10:18:00.003-04:00

Gil Ballance

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was.

After all, the author is 92 years old and it's his first book.
Plus, he spent all his working life teaching high school kids with "skulls full of mush," as Rush Limbaugh would say.

But, our loveable old CHS teacher, Gil Ballance has written a heck of a novel called, "Leah's Journey Home"

Leah's Journey Home takes place near Elizabeth City, a coastal town in North Carolina on the edge of the Dismal Swamp. It's about a poor but ambitious young girl whose prospects for a meaningful life and career suddenly become dismal as well when she discovers that she is pregnant with her dead boyfriend's child.

Her options were few and the one she chose was to marry a widower she barely knew who was 30 years her senior. It was to be a marriage in name only, since all he was looking for was a housekeeper.
That difficult decision transported a bright, young, literate city girl into the world of an illiterate farmer's “wife” in the rural South.

As I wrote in my "review" that I posted on the Amazon dot Com site (where you should go to buy the book..the paperback is only $10)

"You won't be disappointed if you ride along with Leah on her journey. It's a suspenseful and heartwarming story that you will long remember. It's a great read!"

Our own Mary Kratt's praise is printed on the back cover of the book.

Feel free to add your own review on the Amazon site to let others know what you thought of it.

Wilora Lake Lodge

Mr. Ballance is having a BOOK SIGNING this Friday at 2pm at Wilora Lake Lodge in Charlotte.

Even though you won't have time to read the book by then, be sure to go to the signing anyway, otherwise after you've read it, you'll kick yourself for not having gone! -Ed

Bits and Pieces

2011-09-25T19:40:00.006-04:00

CHS54ers continue to amaze me with their wanderlust adventures. For example, I understand that Don and Letty Nance have to consult a map whenever they return for a short visit their home in Wythville, Va.

Don tells me that they just came back from Myrtle Beach where they

Tommy West, Don and Letty Nance

"visited with Tommy West and met Randy, one of Tommy's sons.

As we were driving on Main Street ( in what in the old days we called Ocean Drive) I saw a Henry J. It reminded me of the one you used to have.

The Henry J Memorial Statue

We are happy to be back in the mountains again where the leaves are beginning to change colors. It is going to be a beautiful fall in the mountains. -Don"

Your webmaster responds:

Dear Don,

I never did tell you what finally happened to my old Henry J, did I?
It finally broke down one summer while I was soaking up the sun in Myrtle Beach. "Broke down" as in dead as a doornail.

It was impossible get it started again, so I just abandoned it and left it where it was parked on Ocean Drive....nobody ever moved it because I guess they thought I would eventually come a get it, but I didn't, Finally, after a number of years, they decided to take it to the junk yard, but they couldn't move it because apparently it had fossilized....By the time they decided to bring in a wreaking ball and destroy it, that particular section of town had been declared a National Historical site.......and legally they weren't allowed to move it. So the town council decided to pretend that it was put there on purpose as a monument to the "kids of the '50's".
In recent years it has become Myrtle Beach's major tourist attraction. -Ed

Speaking of Old Cars

Look at how Don's sons are coming along with the restoration of Don's old 1951 Pontiac!
Amazing!

The Sparrows don't spend a lot of time in their nest either

"Thanks for the outstanding things you post on CHS54.NET. Becky and I are "steaming as before," a term used in ship's logs. Hope all is well. We are looking forward to another Kansas trip at the end of October. If all goes well, we will be at the Oklahoma v. Kansas State football game in Manhattan, KS.

Here are some photos from the Winston-Salem Open, a tennis tournament played one week prior to the US Open. A good time was had by all, especially the guys who sold Modelo. It was Eight Dollars a clip. This one needs no explanation.

The second one is a picture of a jazzy sports car filled with tennis balls. The car's alarm system kept going off. The system could not differentiate between a car thief and a pile of tennis balls.

The third picture is my lame attempt to create something unusual. In the foreground is a fan which was distributed by one of the tournament sponsors: South African Airways.. Hiding behind the lion-on-the-fan is, well, a tennis fan. The cap is a gift from one of my clients.-WS"

Up Date

2011-09-21T13:08:00.000-04:00

Bob Ellis reports that Johnny Culp had knee replacement surgery today and is doing as well as can be expected. I am sure he and Pat would welcome all prayers and thoughts at this time. He had his other knee replacement surgery about 6 years ago, so he knows what is needed. REHAB, REHAB, AND MORE REHAB. Bob says the "Hopefully he will be back on the golf course in no time. Will keep you posted. -BE"

97th Birthday!

2011-09-20T17:34:00.001-04:00

By Jerry Gaudet

Dickson Gault 1951

Many CHS'54 classmates came through Piedmont JHS when Mr. Dickson Gault was principal.

Dick and his wife, Ruth, have lived at Wilora Lake lodge for about twenty years now. Dick says "old age is catching up to them...if not passing them by".

Recently, Dick had to move to the Healthcare Center at Wilora Lake because of failing ability to take care of himself. He's mostly confined to his bed and when up he's in a wheelchair. Except for a little failing memory now and then, he is still a pretty sharp fellow who just had his 97th birthday on Saturday, September 17, 2010. It's not too late to celebrate his birthday. What's a few days in 97 years?

Ruth is "legally blind", suffering vision loss because of macular degeneration, but is still able to live in their apartment. Ruth and Dick say they are "doing the best they can, under their circumstances". Amen to that. We should all do as much.

An encouraging card would be gratefully received...
Mr. and Mrs. Dick Gault
6053 Wilora Lake Rd., Apt# 136
Charlotte, NC 28212

***

Heads Up

2011-09-17T21:08:00.009-04:00

By now you've no doubt heard that a “bus sized” dead NASA satellite named UARS is scheduled to come crashing down to earth as early as next Sunday.

NASA says it won't know for sure where it will hit until just before it enters the atmosphere, moving at a speed of 18,000 mph- too fast to give anybody time to get out of the way.

According to the press release, the possible target range is "basically everywhere people live, between 57 degrees north, and 57 degrees south."

NASA says most of the satellite will burn up as it re-enters the atmosphere, but that 26 pieces, totaling more than 1,000 pounds, will make it to the ground somewhere.

The chances of a person getting hit?
"Is on the order of one in 3,200," said a NASA spokesperson.

The consensus among the staff and me here at CHS54 dot com headquarters is that, “them odds ain't good enough.”

So, we're taking a page from the Hale Bop Comet survival manual and are recommending that our readers wear “tin foil hats” until the danger has passed.

The history of wearing tin foil hats was begun around 1920 when it was discovered that they protected the citizens from the government's secret electronic propaganda waves aimed at unsuspecting American brains.

The government discontinued this practice around 1948, when they learned that Television did the same thing, but much better.

The “tin foil hat solution” was revived in 1997 when it was realized that the odds of the Hale Bop comet crashing down on someones head decreased dramatically when the odds makers added the line, “while wearing a tin foil hat,” to the equation.

The same mathematical formula applies to this latest threat from outer space.

According to this website's calculations, it brings down your odds of being hit by UARS to 1 in a little over 2 trillion.

Ignore this advice at your own risk. -Ed

September 10. 2008

2011-09-15T08:38:00.003-04:00

By Bob Ellis
(9/10/11)

Today was an absolute beautiful day, the same as it was on this day in 2008, when I lost my best friend. As you get older, you think that you can handle about anything that is thrown in your direction. I was not ready for that day.

I was in his hospital room by myself when he drew his last breath. My world as I knew hit a serious bump. I will NEVER forget the look on his face. Folks, don't ever take life as a given. Love your family and friends each day. There might not be a tomorrow. Thanks for your ear on this hard day of remembrance.

Love to all,

Bob

(My brother was a retired Captain with the Charlotte Fire Department after 25 years of service. Prior to his illness with cancer Jim was a picture of good health. He was 6'2" and 210 lbs of muscles. He lived in Huntersville,N.C. and also had a 50 acre Christmas tree farm in southern Virginia that he tended by himself. He seemed to be making great strides after his radiation and chemo treatments. On Labor Day weekend 2007 he was admitted to the hospital and passed away on Wednesday 9-10-07 at 11:00 a.m.
.
Ever Sept. 10th, I mourn for my brother; and then the next day, for our nation...

Thanks, Bob)

LDL #35

2011-09-14T21:12:00.000-04:00

By Jerry Gaudet

It was a perfectly nice day for a lunch gathering and CHS’54 did just that with “LDL” # 35. Mary Sue (Banks) Burnett, with portage help from husband Clyde, did us proud with floral table decoration that enhanced the already pleasant surroundings of Jimmies Restaurant.

*

Letty and Don Nance came “down” to be with us while on the way to take care of lesser important business…at least that’s the way we’ll look at it.

Ronnie (Rallis) Pourlos (Mrs. Jimmie) encouraged friend Miriam (Boger) Burlos, to lunch with us. Miriam came to Central by way of Tech HS and graduated from Central and is a member of CHS’55. Miriam and Sandra (Lineberger) Patterson enjoyed catching up on their friendship.

Shirley Burns came with her friend, our classmate Gene Moore, who came “up” from Melbourne, FL. Gene came north to help Carolina get by Rutgers last week and stayed on because he recognizes a good thing when he sees it.

And, Frank Stack, Myers Park class of ’54, sought us out to catch up on friendships from Dilworth Elementary, AG JHS and Myers Park. Frank worked in Washington DC, until retiring and returning to Charlotte.

We would like it if many more of your sought us out. We have lots of space so that we have plenty of room for additional classmates and guests. Come give it a try. We think you’ll be glad you did.

-JG

LDL This Tuesday!

2011-09-09T17:17:00.003-04:00

By Jerry Gaudet

CHS'54, "LDL" (Let's do lunch) will be held on
Tuesday, September 13, 2011, 11:30 AM

"You won't know who's
there unless you go there."

at Jimmies Restaurant

off Hwy. 51 (in Mint Hill)

7024 Brighton Park Dr.

Mint Hill, NC

704/545-7750

Get the word out to others! Invite other classmates to come!

Even better, bring someone with you!

This link may help you find your way:

Happy 90th

2011-09-07T20:33:00.007-04:00

Buddy Belote at his 90th

I went to my friend, Buddy Belote's 90th birthday party last Sunday. How rare an event like that would have been considered only a decade or so ago. It's still very special when a person reaches that milestone in reasonably good health and is honored by his family and friends.

But in Buddy's case, longevity was the least of his many accomplishments. I first met him in 1961 when he was assigned as the engineer on my first radio show at WTOP in Washington.

Unlike most engineers, whose talents are generally limited to technical matters with usually very little interest in music and the arts, Buddy was an accomplished musician as well as one of the foremost amateur photographers in Washington. I think he had even composed a couple of symphonies.

It was no surprise that all of us who did music shows on the station at the time wanted Buddy to produce our shows.

Through no effort of his own, other than his quiet competence, he became the unofficial leader of all the announcers and engineers at the station. If you had a problem and needed advice, he was the one you just naturally went to. I heard him referred to one time as the WTOP staff's “mother.”

Buddy's and my work schedules were such that for several years our coffee breaks occurred at the same time each morning. Since he could converse on so many different subjects, that was usually one of the highlights of my workday.

I say usually.

Ed and Buddy speaking to a Washington Radio Club

Because there came a time when he became focused almost totally on the sport of swimming. A sport that tended to make my eyes glaze over. Now there was a perfectly logical reason for this since his three young daughters had all shown an interest as well as more than a little talent in the sport.

Buddy was the informal “mother” of the WTOP staff, but at home he was the official father....and whatever his daughters were interested in, he and his wife Florence were interested in.......finding the best pool with the best equipment and the best coach in the area.

I went to work for a competing station in late 1969 and I remember the last time I had coffee with him in the station cafeteria. We reminisced about those shows we did together in in the early 60's and the many changes we had seen since then.........

and “by the way,” he said, “you should have seen my little one, Melissa, swimming the other night.....she was spectacular.”

I didn't see Buddy for a couple of years after that, but I did hear more about Melissa......on TV and the newspapers.

She became America's sweetheart , who at 15 years of age, won three Gold Medals at the 1972 Olympic Games.

-Ed

Linsy and Vivian

2011-09-04T17:14:00.000-04:00

I received a lot of emails "seconding" the annonymous letter to Linsy Faris (see below).
I thought you like to read Linsy's reaction:

Dear Ed, I don't tear up much, but this sure came close. I can't thank you enough and whoever wrote this letter. God is truly watching over us all. I am truly blessed.

I'm attaching a piece that one of my patients, a poet, sent to me.

(Click on poem to enlarge)

Open letter to a classmate

2011-09-03T08:55:00.000-04:00

(This letter arrived at the CHS54 complex unsigned and without a return address)

Dear Linsy,

I think my feelings reflect those other members of the Central High School Class of 1954 as I send this along to you.

First, as Jerry said in his email responding to the sad news of the passing of your soul mate, Vivian. It was obvious you had such a positive and wonderful relationship and I know you will miss her terribly.

Linsy and Vivian Farris

Your comments about how fortunate you are to have had the experiences shared during your days at Central are so typical of your attitude throughout your life; one of feeling blessed by others, receiving gifts and an expression of gratitude for what life has given you.

If I may, I would like to turn that around a bit and say how fortunate we, your classmates, and the many friends you’ve made over the years are to have benefitted from gifts you give.

I’ll name a few. Of the many areas of the country you could have chosen to practice your profession of medicine, you selected a hospital in Harlem. I dare say that thousands of patients you have seen over the years have received superior attention from someone highly regarded in their field in a loving and caring way. What a wonderful gift you have given.

The Farris team at work

What about the thousands of senior citizens and shut-ins who have had their day brightened through your musical talents? What a wonderful gift you have given. It is so apparent that your Christian faith is at the center of your life. Your witness and offerings of time, resources and talent have touched the lives of countless others. What a wonderful gift you have given.

I am also sure that if I were to ask your family, they would respond with words of praise and what a great husband and father you have been to them. What a wonderful gift you have given. So you see Linsy, all those many things you feel thankful for are really blessings to those who have been fortunate enough to be blessed with the friendship of Linsy.

What a wonderful gift you have given us!

-Anonymous CHS 54 Classmate

Leah

2011-09-01T10:12:00.000-04:00

According to Amazon dot Com, there's a new novel out titled LEAH'S JOURNEY HOME that's getting some great reviews, many of which mention the impressive "authenticity of the historical events and issues of the early 1900's that Leah confronts: women's rights to run a business, to practice birth control, even to vote and make decisions on her own."

Another reviewer mentions how riviting it is to read " how people lived and talked on the outer banks in 1899."

My copy of the book won't arrive for a couple of days, but I already know the secret of it's realistic insight into that era of American life.

The author is 90 years old. He was there.

Plus, we all know him.

Gil Ballance circa 1954

Gil Ballance taught English and Radio Production at good old CHS when we were there. His new career is writing books, the first of which is LEAH'S JOURNEY HOME.....available in paper back from Amazon dot Com.

There will be a book signing on Friday September 30th at 2pm at:

Wilora Lake Lodge
6053 Wilora Lake Road
Charlotte, NC

What other reviewers are saying:

"This was a real page-turner, both for the romance and the history."

"It held my interest and I was quickly drawn into the characters lives and wanted to know what happened next. I wish the book had kept going so that I would know more about their later years together. Excellent book "

"I loved how Leah's character evolved in the book from a young woman not knowing what to do, to a mature lady who stands up for what she knows is right. A great read!"

-Ed

You know you're getting old when.......

2011-08-30T09:53:00.003-04:00

By Bob Ellis

I would like to inform all my family and friends concerning my grand-daughter"s engagement.

Lindsay Ellis Weaver ( notice her middle name ) is engaged to Colin Stayton, originally from Philadelphia, Pa. Colin and Lindsay both graduated from Covenant College located at Lookout Mt., Tenn.

After their October 29 th wedding, the couple will live in Chattanooga, Tenn. where he is a researcher and copywriter for True North Custom Publishing and she is a licensed massage therapist.
This is my daughter Jan's youngest. Boy am I getting OLD......

(Congratulations Bob! However, I must correct you on that "getting old" comment. Obviously, you haven't seen the latest statistics from the government showing that 2 million new jobs have been created and our economy has never been better. Also, their latest figures reveal that 75 is the new 30! -Ed)

All HYPE, no cattle

2011-08-29T19:03:00.004-04:00

Tucker Barnes Washington Reporter for FOX

I think the old cowboy cliche (with a few letters changed) is appropriate to describe Hurricane Irene that came limping into our area over the weekend. There was significant damage in a few areas of the country, but nothing that justified the wall to wall, minute to minute coverage of the national news media.

The silver lining, in my opinion, is that it may have caused the boob tube addicted segment of our citizens to begin to wake up from their long video induced sleep and realize that they've got to start "thinking for themselves"....like we used to do.

I believe that a significant number of those Americans who have been depending on the people who majored in the "easiest" crypt courses our colleges had to offer (Journalism, Radio, TV), to do their thinking for them, just might rise from their slumber and decide to get their own brains back in gear, and realize how dangerously close we've come to losing this greatest country ever devised by man. -Ed

Earthquake

2011-08-24T08:29:00.001-04:00

Yep.

I understand that it was felt in Charlotte too. But here in Falls Church, just outside Washington, DC, it wasn't something we just felt.....it was something we experienced.

Washington, DC after 5.9 Earthquake

Our house was shaking. I don't mean shaking like you do on a chilly winter day when you wake up and find that you've kicked the covers off your bed.

I mean shaking as if a giant monster has grabbed the house with both hands.....and treating it like he was trying to get ketchup out of a stubborn bottle.

Our instincts were to get out of the house....and we did, but it was like walking on a small boat in a storm,

It continued for 30 to 45 seconds.

Downtown Washinton DC after quake

Only damage to our house (I think) was pictures down, items on shelves now on the floor, and one water pipe leaking.

And a terrified cat.

They say it was a "once in a lifetime" event in our area.

I hope they're right.

-Ed

Amelia

2011-08-21T08:16:00.005-04:00

Amelia Earhart

Way back in May I mentioned a TV show that I was working on for Cable TV up here in Fairfax, Virginia about one of America's best known unsolved mysteries: What happened to Amelia Earhart?

We've finished the editing and now the show is ready for airing in September.

Amelia and her co-pilot Fred Noonan disappeared in 1937, while attempting a round the world flight..

Tom King

I believe the mystery is about to finally be solved by a group of highly qualified experts called TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery)

I think you will agree after you see this interview with Dr. Tom King, TIGHAR's leading archaeologist.

CLICK HERE to see Part One of the two part series.

CLICK HERE to watch Part Two.

(The shows are 30 minutes in length. Part TWO should be completed in a few days, and I'll also post it here.)

-Ed

A Lost Art

2011-08-17T07:38:00.017-04:00

John Wayne

I liked all those “shoot 'em ups” that the Visualite and Carolina Theaters featured on a regular basis back in the '40's but I was also crazy about the musicals. There are still images of some of the big band movies featuring Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey etc etched in my brain.

Benny Goodman Band

One scene in particular always puzzled me. Each of those bands had a guitar player strumming along...just going to town in rhythm to the music, but you never heard him. The horns and the drums drowned him completely out. In one of the Benny Goodman movies, I remember the camera moving in on the guitarist as Benny was finishing a solo, and you could almost hear a couple of chords he was playing before the horns started up again. But that's as close as I ever remember seeing them come to letting us hear a little bit of the guitar.

Years later, long after the big band era of popular music was over, the guitar got amplified and became more popular than ever. I thought back to those poor old acoustic guitar players. What a shame. Now that the guitar could be heard on an equal footing with the other instruments, the era of the big bands was over.

When they disappeared, so did the art of the rhythm guitar, the style of playing that had been adopted especially for the big bands, i.e., strumming complimentary and often extremely complicated chords in rhythm with the band. (Mainly, it was said, for the band members themselves to hear and better feel the "pulse" of the music.)

Now why in the world as an adult I let my brain still be cluttered with thoughts of old movies and guitar players, I'll never know. There was a lot going on in my personal life back then in the early 60's.

I was trying to establish a career in a new city and I was also courting my wife to be. As I mentioned before, that was during the time when I was driving that 12 year old Dodge and still making payments on my stolen TR-3. That was one reason I wasn't able to take Linda on many expensive dates.

M Street and Wisconsin Ave

The Carriage House main dining room

Luckily, we had discovered a restaurant in the Georgetown section of the city called “The Carriage House.” You could spend a lot of money eating in the main dining room, but in one of the back rooms, called “The Snuggery,” you could order a sandwich and nurse a couple of drinks for several hours without spending much money at all. Plus, there was a piano bar there that featured, in my opinion, one of the finest pianists this side of George Shearing named Mel Clement, who, in fact, had studied with Shearing.

George Shearing

I think he knew every popular song ever written. And as far as Linda and I were concerned, there was no entertainment south of New York City, better than sitting around Mel's piano a couple of nights a week listening to this exceptional musician.

It was truly a magical place...and a magical time for us.

Carriage house menu

But as they say, “nothing is so good, that the government can't screw it up.” Well, one night I was afraid that was going to happen to the “Snuggery.” But the government had nothing to do with it. It was a customer who walked in with a guitar case without saying anything to anyone, and sat down next to Mel at the piano. He opened the case and began tuning his guitar.

Mel seemed to either know him, or was too nice to object to the intrusion. But those of us around the piano were not pleased.....at whatever was going to happen. I think we were all on the verge of letting the “interloper” know that this was Mel's piano bar, not a Karaoke bar, in fact that word hadn't even been coined at that time.

But, before any of us could say anything, the stranger introduced himself as Steve and said he was going to sing a song even though he admitted that he was a terrible singer.

He did, and he was.

But, with Mel accompanying him, his raspy singing was soon overshadowed by a series of exotic chord progressions on his guitar in rhythm with the tune.

All conversations in the room stopped as it became obvious that we were witnessing something very special.

Steve Jordon

I whispered to Linda, “I think that's the guy in the movie!”

She didn't know what the heck I was talking about.

But, it could have been. He was strumming along just like those guitar players in the big band movies, only this time I could hear what he was playing.

And it was spellbinding.

Steve turned out to be Steve Jordon, one of the last, and best, of the acoustic rhythm guitarists who in the 1940's had been with Artie Shaw, Jimmy Dorsey, Stan Kenton and, yes, Benny Goodman.

He lived in DC and was temporarily between “gigs,” which was performing with small combos in Jazz Clubs in Washington and New York.

He joined us at the Snuggery just about every night for the next three weeks or so....and never again had to pay for another drink.

If you'd like to hear what it sounded like on those magical evenings in the "Snuggery" and listen to a style of acoustic guitar accompaniment that you'll probably never hear again ...

CLICK HERE

-Ed

(The late Steve Jordon made only one solo record album as far as I know. He thought his singing voice was awful, but frankly I thought it fit nicely with the kind of dusty old songs he performed. It has a sincerity about it that singers with more polished voices can't achieve.

A few CD's of his record album are still available on Amazon.com. as well as his book, Rhythm Man, Fifty years in Jazz.)

"...he who waits."

2011-08-11T10:55:00.003-04:00

Coach Edelman's homeroom at Piedmont Junior High School (Janice Wilson far right second row)

It took long enough, but I finally got what I had wished for that first day that I sat down in Coach Edelman's 9th grade homeroom:

Janice (Wilson) Karon

That the beautiful girl sitting in the second row would notice me and maybe even someday invite me over to her house for tea and cobbler.

I'm pleased to report that's exactly what I did this week to celebrate my 75th birthday!

Thanks to this website I was able to re-introduce myself to the now prolific national best selling author Jan Karon. I found that she still has fond memories of many of her Piedmont classmates, particularly Shirley McClanahan and Carolyn Brakefield to name just two.

Jan's family moved from Charlotte after her 9th grade, depriving us from having her as an official member of our CHS class of 54. But, as you know, we voted unanimously to make her an honorary member!

In one of my emails to Jan, I happened to mention that my wife Linda and I would be visiting in her part of Virginia on business....and lo and behold before I knew it, Jan had invited the two of us to drop by her house and say “Hey!”

It was a dream come true for both of us. Linda was a long time fan of Jan's Mitford series of books, even before she learned that Jan and I were once in school together. I broke my long time habit of only reading non fiction books and started reading one of the Mitford books just so I'd know what Linda and Jan's millions of other readers were raving about!

So now, there were TWO big fans about to visit the charming mythical town of Mitford....herself.

That sentence may look a little strange, but it is correct. Mitford exists only in Jan Karon's fertile imagination.

Jan's real life story reads like an imaginary novel itself. At age 50 she gave up a successful career in advertising, sold her big car and other trappings of the “good life”.....and moved to Blowing Rock, NC where she was determined to become what she had always wanted to be; a writer.

As Linda and I drove through the gate and about a hundred and fifty yards up the gravel driveway leading to her Virginia country mansion, which sits on a hill overlooking over 100 acres of land containing at least 10 buildings, the thought occurred to me that maybe I was imagining things.

Jan and Ed

But there at the front door was Jan, who warmly welcomed us to her home as only true Southerners can.

Linda and Jan

It's impossible to describe her house in this limited space, in fact, mere words won't do it justice. It has to be seen to get it's full impact. But basically, it's an historic house, built in 1816 which Jan completely restored to it's original condition; almost exactly the way many of the same workmen who built Monticello had constructed it.

In my opinion, if Jan ever decides to switch careers again, God forbid, she could start out at the top of the ladder in the historical restoration industry.

How she was able to oversee every detail of the four years of restoration and write books at the same time is a tribute to her dedication and determination.

Perhaps as her character in the book At Home in Mitford said,

“The firefly only shines when on the wing, So it is with us--when we stop, we darken."

...which seems to sum up Jan's own philosophy.

Jan Karon

As we finished our delicious home-made cobbler and sweet iced tea, I checked off another item on “little Eddie Myer's” ancient wish list.

What a day!

-Ed

LDL #34

2011-08-10T08:57:00.001-04:00

By Jerry Gaudet

“LDL” # 34 went off without a hitch. Even though recent rains brought the temperatures down a little, “WEATHER and HEAT” were prominent in our conversations…Especially from our “Mountain Man” Obie Oakley who comes “down” from cool places to be with us. Obie said he could really tell the difference, but not inside Jimmies

Speaking of coming “down”, one of the first to arrive was Jennie Margaret Meador Forehand who was down from Maryland for a visit. Jennie had dropped husband Bill (CHS’52) off at his class lunch and was a wonderful “greeter” to those arriving from our “LDL”.

And, Ann Rich Hobson came to be with us even though Bonson couldn’t. He was excused for being off doing a good deed for someone.

We lingered long enough to see Bill Forehand as he arrived with Glen Nanny, who had given Bill a ride over from the CHS’52 lunch.

Many thanks to our Lunch Maven, Mary Sue Banks Burnett, who goes to thoughtful lengths in “setting the scene” for our gatherings. Jimmies is a perfectly nice restaurant, but Mary Sue’s efforts make it especially tailored for us…and those table mints were good!

Jimmies Restaurant gives us lots of space so that we have plenty of room for additional classmates and guest. Come give it a try. We think you’ll be glad you did.

-JG

Linsy Farris' wife Vivian Passes

2011-08-09T20:18:00.002-04:00

By Jerry Gaudet

With great sadness we received the news that Linsy Farris' WIFE, VIVIAN, has passed away. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Linsy as he writes:

..."I'm very sorry to have to let you and others know that my wife, Vivian, passed on June 19. We had an 18 month battle with triple negative breast cancer, a very aggresive form that responded poorly to surgery and chemotherapy.

She passed rather quickly, about 12 hours, in her second bout of liver failure from the metastases, I'm very fortunate to have a very supporting family and friends. After attending a bereavement meeting last week, I realize just how fortunate I am with a daughter and her family living close by in Tenafly, N.J. and my work at Harlem Hospital as Director of the Department of Ophthalmology, not to speak of my continued active interest in music, playing in jazz combos.

My life at Central High School was such a significant shaping factor in my life with opportunities and scholarships that have shaped my life every since. Mr Paul Neal helping me get scholoarships and Mr Jack Stern providing me the oportunity to develop my musical interests, not to mention the leadership training present in, yes, Cheerleading, all have made me who I am.

These experiences and my strong Christian faith continue to keep me hopeful for the days ahead and eternity. My life with Vivian for 51 years plus was truly a gift from God. I am sorry to inject this sad note but felt that I needed to let my friends know. I'm attaching Vivian's obituitary and Funeral Service. Incidentally, our grandaughter, Nora Nuse, my daughter Karen's daughter is playing at a Flute Festival in Charlotte on Aug 14th at the Convention Center as part of her teacher's group, epluribus flutum. Wish I could be there to hear her. Perhaps some of you can.

Linsy Farris"

Obituary Published in The Record and Herald News on June 21, 2011

FARRIS Vivian (nee Welk), 76, of Tenafly passed away on Sunday, June 19, 2011. Beloved wife of R. Linsy for 51 years and devoted mother of Karen Neus of Tenafly, Alan Farris of Indian Trail, NC and Andrew Farris of Olney, MD, proud grandmother of Nora, C.J., Jack, Shayna, Phoebe, Owen and Audrey. Also survived by brothers and sisters Lois, John, Charles and Ruth, son-in-law Michael, daughters-in-law Kristin and Stacey, and many nieces and nephews. Vivian was born on June 18, 1935 in Nazareth, PA to the late Lawrence and Anna Welk.

Vivian was a Registered Dietician and a retired member of the American Diabetic Association. She was a graduate of Alabama College (now University of Montevallo), and completed her internship at Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC, where she met her husband while he was a medical student. After his internship in Philadelphia, they served their military obligation on Indian reservations in Eagle Butte and Wagner, SD after which they located to Englewood, NJ and later Tenafly where her husband completed his training as an ophthalmologist and became a member of the faculty of Columbia University Medical School. She was his assistant and office manager for more than 30 years.

Vivian was a longtime and devoted member of the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, where she was most recently Clerk of Session. For many years, she was a member of the Englewood Woman's Club and Chairman of the Scholarship Committee, where she oversaw the process of awarding college scholarships to young women of Englewood, maintaining connections with these recipients over two decades. Her chief interests were homemaking and gardening, particularly the cultivation of irises. Above all, her family, her faith, and her community were most important.

Visiting hours will be held Friday, June 24, 6-9 PM at the Barrett Funeral Home, 148 Dean Drive, Tenafly, NJ. Funeral services will be on Saturday, June 25 at 2 PM at the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, 150 East Palisade Avenue, Englewood, NJ 07631. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to either the Farris Family Scholarship Fund by making checks payable to "Englewood Woman's Club of Englewood" c/o Susan Eastham, 84 Lydecker Street, Englewood, NJ 07631 or the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood.

We have the following contact information for Linsy:
Linsy Farris, MD
17 Winthrop Court
Tenafly, NJ 07670
Email linsy@msn.com
***

"What I Did Last Summer"

2011-08-04T20:11:00.009-04:00

An essay like that used to be a standard back to school homework ritual.

I don't remember what I wrote for the summer between the 5th and 6th grades; probably something like “a week at Myrtle Beach....

Municipal Swimming Pool

...as many bus trips to Municipal Swimming Pool as my parents could afford"...and I might have thrown in a mention of a couple of books I checked out of the library. (I didn't read them, of course, but figured that checking them out should count for something.)

But what I, and my gang of buddies, mostly did for the greater part of those long days that summer was to try and solve this puzzle:

Pastry Driver Puzzle

Pastry Delivery Van

It was presented to us by a pastry delivery truck driver, who decided to make friends with our ragtag bunch. (In fact, it might have been his company's policy for delivery men to get on the good side of hungry kids who hung around places where their deliveries were left outside unattended for short periods of time.)

Anyway, he said that if any of us could draw the above diagram......WITHOUT lifting our pencil (or pen) AND WITHOUT drawing OVER any lines........then he would give us a large cake....that we could divide up among ourselves.

Wow! Who could resist such a simple challenge as that?!

And who would have thought that four boys could spend the better part of three months trying to solve an impossible puzzle? It almost drove us nuts.

Actually, it wasn't impossible. At the end of August of that year, our pastry delivery man explained that if you FOLDED the paper a certain way....it could be done.

Darn! It was a trick!

He gave us the cake anyway. It was probably pretty good, but more importantly was the lesson I learned from that experience:

“NEVER PLAY A LOUSY TRICK ON GULLIBLE YOUNG KIDS, BECAUSE ONE OF THEM MIGHT HOLD IT AGAINST YOU FOR A LONG, LONG TIME!"

-Ed

LDL This Tuesday

2011-08-03T08:20:00.003-04:00

By Jerry Gaudet

Wow, It's HOT outside, but not where we're gathering!

Just kidding

"LDL" (Let's do lunch) will be held on
Tuesday, August 9, 2011, 11:30 AM

at "Jimmies Restaurant" off Hwy. 51 (in Mint Hill) 7024 Brighton Park Drive, Mint Hill, NC 28227-7971 (704) 545-7750

Word has it that Jennie Margaret and Bill will be coming. Maybe we can get her to sing The National Anthem for us, you think?

This link may help you find your way:

....

Updates

Another Boffo performance by Ellouise!

Get a load of this great review of her FINDING GUS performance at the FRINGE in the Washington City Paper.

By the way, she tells me that she was thrilled that Jerry and Pat Gaudet came to see her show at the Toe River Storytelling festival in Spruce Pine, NC.

Is there anyone more supportive and loyal to our class than Jerry and Pat?

Nope! -Ed

Unsolved Mystery

2011-07-30T19:49:00.005-04:00

I want to thank all of you readers who reacted to my "Paratrooper Pin" story Forgive and Forget


Elizabeth School

In an ongoing case reminiscent of the the greatest of the Franklin W. Dixon mysteries, several of my Elizabeth School super sleuths have come forward with clues and speculation as to who the slick master criminal was who stole my paratrooper pin that day in Miss Chalk's first grade class. But no one remembers his name!

However, a photograph of the alleged thief has surfaced and I must admit that the circumstantial evidence makes one think.

4th Grade Class at Elizabeth School

The photo has been posted on this site before, It shows the fourth grade (I think) class. If you look closely at the kid in the top left corner of the picture, I think you'll agree that he does look guilty. Or, should I say, acts guilty.
He obviously was being groomed for a political future.

Suspected perp (top left)

The only problem with this otherwise logical hypothesis is that I am almost certain that the sticky fingered cat burglar was only at Elizabeth school for one year. And, as I mentioned, this picture is of either the third or fourth grade class.

However, the case may be cold, but it's still open.........and not seen in the above photo at the top of this page....just to the left of the Elizabeth auditorium, was a grassy knoll ...........Stay tuned.

Happy Ending

Nevertheless, the story had a happy ending this week!

The mail brought a small package from one of our CHS54 classmates.....and inside it was........
a genuine paratrooper pin......just like the one given to little Eddie Myers by that kind WW2 paratrooper.

It wasn't a reproduction.

It was genuine just like the original one, and it was given to me by a real paratrooper!

My inner 6 year old boy is still jumping with joy.

Captain Obie Oakley, Special Forces

Thank you Obie!

-Ed

Mailbag

2011-07-27T09:27:00.009-04:00

New 1951 Pontiac...work in progress

Don Nance reports that his son Tommy has almost finished the paint job on the old 1951 Pontiac that his sons are restoring for him.

It looks great! Won't be long now before his boys will have completed the restoration and Don will be driving it around listening to Kilgo's Korner on the radio and eating greasy french fries from the Town House or the Boar's Head.

....

My article about Daytona Beach got Warren Sparrow thinking about another site famous for Nascar racing; Darlington!

Nascar Fans

Boogity, Boogity

By Warren Sparrow

I went to the Darlington 500 on Labor Day 1954. It was the first time I saw water being "sold." Nobody paid for water, thought I. Water was a gift from heaven. Not that hot September day, I learned.

What I remember of that day may be wrong. I remember it was hot. There was no shade in the infield where I spent the day. The noise was more than I had ever heard. The cars were true stock cars, cars you could buy from the dealers. They had a few decals but nothing like those on today's cars. I could not tell who was winning. What I did notice was the rookie driver in the Cadillac Coup de Ville. It looked like he was going faster than anyone. Unfortunately, he had to stop to change tires more frequently than anyone else. He did not win.

Herb Thomas (left)

The winner was Herb Thomas in a Hudson Hornet. Curtis Turner was second in an Olds Rocket 88, I think.

Perhaps a good time was had by all, especially the women who passed out in the infield. So, there were two things I saw for the first time on Labor Day 1954: (1)Folks buying water and (2) Women flat on their backs, unable to cope with the heat and the boredom of a 500-mile race where no one knew who was leading.

Hudson Hornet

I have not returned to a super speedway race in the ensuing 57 years. Gone are the Hudson Hornets. Gone are the cars folks could buy. The cookie-cutter NASCAR-approved machines do not interest me. It is all about safety, I am told. I wonder. One thing has remained: Folks who go to these races are nuts. Today's fans are no smarter than the ones I saw passed out in the Darlington infield in September 1954. The cars are still turning left. Round and round they go, burning up great gobs of money in cars that look the same.

Oh, how I long for those show-room cars adorned with simply a number on the door.... "Boogity, boogity," my (foot).

Junior Johnson 1954

By the way, Junior Johnson was driving the Cadillac in 1954. It was his rookie season.

-WS

....

Pastor Joe Helms

I'm sure by now you've seen the video of the pre-race prayer at the Nascar Nationwide series race in Nashville TN July 23, 2011.

If not, here it is.

Paster Joe Helms's prayer

(WARNING: This is not the kind of prayer most of us are used to and is considered in bad taste by many, so you may want to skip this.)

PS.....Boogity., boogity, boogity is term used by Darral Waltrip, NASCAR announcer, at the beginning of each race to tell the drivers to get a move on...
"Boogity, boogity, boogity boys! Let's go racing'"

The term itself is an onomatopoetic expression of running or other hurried activity, characteristic of traditional African and African American narration. -Ed

(Aren't the internet and I smart!)

"What it was, was......".

2011-07-22T11:44:00.008-04:00

....the summer of 1955.

It was late July of that year, when some family friends invited me to vacation with them in Florida.

One week is not nearly enough time to even touch the surface of the many unique and amazing features of the land the Spanish conquistador Ponce de Leon named La Florida (land of the flowers). It was the first part of what is now the continental United States to be visited by Europeans. That happened in April of 1513.

Daytona Beach 1957

Seeing that wonderful state for the first time caused this 19 year old boy's eyes to become about as wide as the famous Daytona beach.....with cars driving on it!

Andy Griffith 1955

But what sticks in my mind most about that trip were the sights I saw there that only a relatively few other people ever saw.

And I didn't even know what I had seen.....until years later.

It was a Hillbilly show we attended one night that featured several musicians such as Ferlin Husky, Tommy Collins, and somebody named Glenn Reeves and a couple of others. Its main attraction was a little known country bumpkin-type comedian named Andy Griffith, whose only claim to fame at that time was a record called, “What it was, was football.”

Griffith's Broadway hit, “No Time for Sergeants ” was still one year away. His movie, A Face in the Crowd was two years away, and the TV show Mayberry wouldn't even be thought of for another five years.

So, realistically, Griffith was pretty much of a “little known” headlining a show of “unknowns.”

But it was an entertaining evening. Andy did reasonably well in the role of a “loveable, dumb hillbilly.” But he was no “Gomer Pyle.” (Gomer wouldn't be either....for another 7 years).

The local newspaper's review of the show was luke warm. In fact, it suggested that the show wasn't very good, in spite of the fact that the audience loved it because, “fans come out for these shows simply because they love hillbilly music.”

However, the writer did acknowledge that "Ferlin Huskey was real sharp singing that ditty about living fast, loving hard, dying young and leaving a beautiful memory, and added that the performer who stole the show was an unknown 20 year old kid wearing an orange suit who he called "... not much more than a hootchy-cootchy dancer. “

A year later, that same kid would appear on the Ed Sullivan TV show and, in the words of New York columnist, David Hinckley, would “toss a cherry bomb through America's living room window.”

I was there in 1955, when, as Hinckley wrote, “the fuse was lit and burning.”

Rest in peace, Elvis.

-Ed

Elvis in Florida 1955

Frank Busby Passes

2011-07-19T15:25:00.001-04:00

Published in Charlotte Observer on July 18, 2011

Frank Busby, Jr

Mr. Busby, 75, of Matthews, passed away on July 15, 2011 at Presbyterian Hospital. A native Charlottean, Frank was born on December 23, 1935 to the late Frank and Elizabeth (McAllister) Busby. Drafted in 1957, Mr. Busby served with the US Army during the Post-Korean War Era. Prior to retiring in 2000, Frank worked as a self-employed Blacksmith and Farrier. He had been a member of the American Farrier's Association and the American Dove Association.

In addition to his parents, Mr. Busby was preceded in death by his sister, Sharon Busby.
Frank is survived by his 2 sons Mark (Luci) Busby of Indian Trail, and Michael (Allison) Busby of Pageland; brothers Reggie and Jerry Busby and sister Marceil Mauney, all of Charlotte; grandchildren Taylor, Brendan, Landen and Elizabeth; former wife Kay Busby.

A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, July 19, 2011, 11:30 a.m. at the Evergreen City Cemetery. Online condolences can be given at www.carolinafuneral.com. Carolina Funeral Service & Cremation Center is entrusted with the arrangements.

Perhaps the family could be reached at Frank's home contact information:
Family of Frank Busby
240 Springhill Dr.
Matthews, NC 28105

***

Mailbag

2011-07-15T10:09:00.004-04:00

Reminder:

Always check your "junk mail" and "spam" files before you delete them. Those email "filters" are mindless, and even though they do a pretty good job separating the wheat from the chaff, once in a while you'll find important emails have been dumped into the "junk" bin.

That's happened to me on several occasions. For example, here are two I saved from eternal destruction just this week:

FROM HERB JACOBOWITZ in Maryland:

Barbara and I are staying cool. We are in Oregon for 9 days. We went to Crater Lake, where only part of the road is open. Part is closed due to snow. The part that is OPEN has 15 foot snowbanks. Barbara and I still hope to eventually make it to LDL some day. Barbara is retiring on Oct. 3rd.
Herb

And this one from OBIE OAKLEY:

Ed,
Was sorry to read of Cal's (Reneau) passing. Here is a little military human interest story the class might appreciate.
As the obituary reported, Cal did two tours as a Marine infantryman. He was often in the thick of things and during one such situation his unit was being attacked on all side by the North Vietnamese. Things were not looking good when they called for air strikes by Marine close air support. The jets responded, did their job and the North Vietnamese were repulsed.
It was not until later that Cal learned that the leader of the Marine air attack was his high school classmate, Pat Faulkner.
True story!

Thanks Obie, that is a great story!

I sure am glad I saved it from the "spam" file.

Incidentally, speaking of "separating the wheat from the chaff" That is a Bible quote that has been used so often that it is now considered nothing more than a cliche. But how many people know exactly what chaff is?

I didn't.

Wheat Chaff

Chaff ( /ˈtʃɑːf/^[1] or /ˈtʃæf/) is the dry, scaly protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain, or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material such as scaly parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff is inedible for humans, but livestock can eat it and in agriculture it is used as livestock fodder, or is a waste material ploughed into the soil or burnt.

When I was a boy, we didn't have a washing machine or a dryer, so Mom would hang our clothes and sheets on the clothesline in the back yard to dry. Often, she would call my sister and me from her work and tell us that it looked like a storm was coming up....so we would need to bring in the sheets.

For years I thought the name of that song we sang at St. John's church almost every Sunday was "Bringing in the Sheets." -Ed


Sheaf

A sheaf is one of the large bundles in which cereal plants are bound after reaping. (Plural is sheaves)

LDL 33 Report

2011-07-12T15:46:00.001-04:00

By Jerry Gaudet

Summertime is taking a toll on our lunch participation.

We were warned as the newspaper carried a “Heat Advisory” in effect for today because of an expected high temperature of 99, which would be bad enough, but the heat index – the combined impact of air temperature and humidity – will climb to between 105 to 110.

Kind of makes an Air Conditioned restaurant like Jimmies sound good, huh?

Gail Barrier Austin enjoys cool desert

Gail Barrier Austin had her own idea of how to “beat the heat”....

In spite of the heat, enough showed up to enjoy good company and good food.

We Pledged Allegiance…

We gave thanks…

Tom Harvey Honorary Classmate

We celebrated Clay Eubanks' friend, Tom Harvey, who has located ten of our “lost classmates” for us, earning him the title of “Honorary Classmate”. “WE VOTED IT SO”.

And we behaved as good citizens are expected and supposed to do…and still had a very pleasant luncheon.

We have plenty of room for additional classmates and guests. Come give it a try. "LDL" is always on the second Tuesday of each and every month...the next "LDL" being Tuesday, August 9, 11:30 at JIMMIES.

***End of “LDL” #33 report***

Forgive and Forget

2011-07-11T07:30:00.009-04:00

The forgive part was easy. After all, it happened when I was in the second grade.

But here I am seventy years later writing about it. So much for the “forget” part of that tried and true advice.

It was 1942 and like all other cities in America, uptown Charlotte was full of soldiers, particularly when a trainload of troops would stop in our town overnight on their way to who knows where. The few Hotels back then were quickly booked up so citizens would volunteer to take in as many soldiers as they could accommodate. My Mom and Dad would always invite 2 or 3 of the men to sleep overnight in our living room.

What a thrill is was to not only meet some of my heroes but to have them spend the night at our house! I have no doubt that they would have preferred a home that didn't have a nosy kid pestering them with a hundred questions, but to a man, they were very kind and tolerant toward me.

WW2 Paratroopers

My favorite of all the branches of service were the paratroopers. There were two things about them that completely captured my imagination: the boots they wore....with the pants legs tucked in the tops, and the pin they wore on their uniforms; the one featuring two wings with a parachute between them.

Two symbols of their strength and courage.

I got to see those impressive icons close up one evening when two of those brave men slept over in our living room.

As usual, they were peppered with question after question from the bothersome kid of the house until well past his bedtime......probably as late as 9:15.

One of the men seemed to actually enjoy my company and as I recall said he had a son “back home” who was almost my age.

By the time I got up the next day, my Mom had already served the soldiers breakfast and my Dad had driven them to the train station. Mom said that one of them had left something for me on the table by the lamp. He said it was a gift for me.

WW2 Paratrooper Pin

Sure enough, there it was. Sitting beside the lamp.

His paratrooper pin!

Never had I received a gift like that!

I'll have to think long and hard about whether in all 75 years of my life I've ever been more thrilled about a gift as I was that morning!

Ed Myers 4th grade

The only thing I can think of that comes close is the sailor cap my uncle, who was in the Navy, sent me shortly after that, which I wore for the entire duration of the war.

My Mom pinned the paratrooper wings on my jacket and off to school I went, proud as a peacock. I think most of my classmates were mildly impressed but there was one kid who seemed as thrilled about it as I was. As I think back on it, his enthusiasm seemed a little bit over the top, but at the time I was pleased that he apparently was sharing in my joy.

The school day seemed to drag on forever. All I could think about was walking home proudly wearing my paratrooper pin!

Finally, the bell rang and I raced to the cloakroom (located behind the classroom) and grabbed my jacket. I immediately saw that the pin was no longer attached to my coat. I searched frantically thinking that it must somehow have fallen off.

Paratroopers jumping on D-Day

I was still searching after all the other kids had left. The teacher was surprised that I was still there and helped me look for my lost treasure. She thought it strange that something pinned to a jacket would fall off by itself, and told me that I should have said something to her about it before all the other kids had left.

She knew that the medal had been stolen. So did my parents.

But I continued to be in denial, and searched that cloakroom everyday for the rest of the year.

Of course I never saw my prized possession again

It had been mine for less than eight hours.

I saw a replica of that pin advertised on the Internet the other day so I bought it in case I ever tell that story to my grand kids I'll be able to show them what it looked like.

Also, the next time I go down to Charlotte, I'm going to contact Elizabeth School and see if they'll let me search that cloakroom one more time. -Ed

The Boys of Summer

2011-07-09T17:46:00.002-04:00

(Jane Thornhill Cobb calls our attention to the recent issue of Charlotte Magazine in which an article by Ken Garfield quotes our own Vic Brawley.)

By Ken Garfield

Each Tuesday night this summer at Park Road Park, 232 older guys strap on knee braces and stop the clock. Left behind are the bills at home and bull at work. Black, white, banker, blue collar, lanky and large – for one hour, all of us become one in that most joyful of escapes…

Vic Brawley (L)

Senior Softball.

Charlotte Senior Sports offers men 45 and up the chance to play slow-pitch softball – to be kids again! – 32 weeks a year. Yes, that’s the game played by thousands in every corner of the Carolinas, where the pitcher throws moonballs and the hitters armed with aluminum bats send it screaming into the night. We are given brightly colored team jerseys and divided into teams with names like Gene’s Golden Oldies and Like Fine Wine. There are a few special rules for old guys: Two home plates – one for the catcher and the other for the runner – to avoid collisions. And pinch runners for those who can’t take another step. For a $40 entry fee, we get to hit, field, get dirt all over ourselves and then limp home until the next Tuesday.

Charles Curry, 63, who’s been playing softball for 42 years, organizes the league – overseeing a web site (www.charlotteseniorsports.com), dividing players into teams and operating two seasons a year. When the current Spring/Summer season ends in mid-July, the Fall season starts up in August.

There are still a bunch of 47-year-olds in the league whose knees don’t ache yet. But the soul of Tuesday night belongs to the nearly 80 guys age 60 and over, the ones for whom playing softball means more than we know.

Don Patenaude, a retired college professor who turns 70 in November, is a cancer survivor. “This is the place to come on Tuesday night and get my reprieve.”…

Vic Brawley, retired from the Air National Guard, has been playing softball since he’s 16. Now 75, he admits it pretty much hurts everywhere. Still, he says, “It beats watching television.”

Four years after breaking both ankles and suffering assorted other injuries in a wreck, Tommy Johnson, 66, is back roaming the outfield for the Golden Nuggets. It’s simple. “I like to play.”

Retired toolmaker Herman Horne, 74, has been playing senior softball for 24 years. These days he mostly plays catcher and first base. His back’s been giving him trouble. But his wife, Gladys, died last December, and the house can get awfully quiet now in the evening.

The first year I discovered this fountain of youth about a mile from my house in south Charlotte, Jorge Cowley, 62, was my coach. Actually, he was my third coach after the first two quit. Don’t ask. I see Jorge on game nights now and he waves as he rushes to the field carrying his scorebook and smiling like he’s 12 years old. Lawyer by day. Softball player by night. “We’re kids again on Tuesday nights,” he says.

Ken Garfield, 58, is director of communications at Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte. In addition to Senior Softball, he pitches in a church league and still coaches his former Charlotte Observer colleagues in the Media League.

LDL THIS TUESDAY

2011-07-09T17:24:00.001-04:00

We'll be looking for you !

Jerry Gaudet reminds us that
"LDL" (Let's do lunch) will be held on
Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 11:30 AM
at Jimmies Restaurant

off Hwy. 51 (in Mint Hill)
7024 Brighton Park Dr.
Mint Hill, NC
704/545-7750

THIS LINK may help you find your way:
Tell everybody! Invite other classmates to come!
Even better, bring someone with you! But, be sure YOU come!

"Consarn it!"

2011-07-08T10:07:00.005-04:00

Gabby Hayes

It hit me like a brick the other day!

Here I am, according to the Carolina Theater School of knowledge, in the Gabby Hayes phase of my life with 5 wonderful grandchildren all living nearby........and as far as I know they've never heard me say anything memorable that they can pass on to their children and grandchildren.

You know, things they can interject someday into a conversation with their kids, like “Well, as my old grand pappy used to say...........”(Fill in the blank.)”

That's because I don't think I've ever said anything particularly pithy or colorful enough to be worth passing on.

Unless you can count “What's for dinner?” or “For crying out loud, hold the noise down!”

I even turned to a famous quotation book looking for some things I could start dropping into my conversations with the grand kids....things like,

“Never say whoa in a mud hole”.
“If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
“Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.”

Naw, that won't work.

My next thought was to sprinkle around advice that I got from my dear parents and grandparents, like,

“Never go out in the rain without your galoshes.”
“Always carry a nickle in your pocket in case you need to make a phone call.
“Margerine is a lot better for your health than butter.”
“Sound as a dollar.”

Gabby Hayes and Roy Rogers

That won't work either.

Finally, Jumping Jehosaphats!, it dawned on me that the answer had been staring me in the face all along; the secret was to take the Gabby Hayes approach!

He never gave advice that could become outdated, never disagreed with Roy or Gene or anyone else....and his Hayesisms were always appropriate!

I can almost hear it now.......one of these days as I'm sitting on a cloud playing my harp (hopefully) I come to the end of a heavenly adagio....and hear one of my grand kids way down on earth talking to his lovable goldurned whippersnappers .

”...that's my advice to you kids and that's what you're going to do from now on, right? And as my old Grand pappy used to say, “Yer Durn Tootin!”

Thanks Gabby.

-Ed

The Shadow Knows

2011-07-07T15:47:00.013-04:00

I opened the CHS54 email this morning and lo and behold there were the addresses and phone numbers of two of our missing classmates....courtesy of a mysterious stranger!

We've been looking for these people for a long time now and out of the blue comes information that has eluded us....thanks to an unknown super sleuth.

Tom Harvey

My first guess was it had to be the work of the SHADOW. However, he signed his name Tom Harvey....and I remembered that the SHADOW'S real name was Lamont Cranston.

So, I did some sleuthing of my own (I emailed him back), and discovered that his name really is Tom Harvey:

Hi Ed,

Clay Eubanks

I'm not connected in any way to Central High School. I have a friend, Clay Eubanks, who was in your class. He asked me to help locate a classmate a while ago, which led me to your website. Finding classmates is just a pastime of mine.

I'm a retired pharmacist living in Alpharetta, GA. I got interested in finding classmates several years ago, and sort of got hooked on it. Yes, it's amazing, and rather sad, how many people have no interest in re-connecting with their old friends and classmates. I graduated from Glynn Academy, Brunswick, GA - class of '61. We're having our 50th coming up in October, and I'm excited.

Regards,
Tom

Tom also turned up some bad news concerning one of our classmates, Fred Howard:

Fred Howard

Mr. Frederick Earl Howard 52, of Edisto Island, S.C.,formerly of Charlotte, died Nov. 21, 1989, at Colleton Regional Hospital in Walterboro, S.C. Funeral is private. Herndon & Sons Funeral Home of Walterboro is in charge.

Mr. Howard, a Charlotte native, was a retired Duke Power Co. draftsman and an Army veteran.
Survivors are his wife, Yvonne; daughter, Mrs. Ginger McCraken; mother, Mrs. Birge Howard of West Jefferson.

(NOTE: Regarding our two "found" classmates, Jerry is checking them out to make sure that they WANT to be found....and if so I'll let you know who they are.

PS....Thanks Tom! and Thanks Clay! -Ed)

....

Also in today's CHS54 news, Ellousie got a “boffo” review in the Washington Examiner of her new show which opens at the FRINGE Theatre in Washington tomorrow night!

"A professional storyteller for almost twenty years, Ellouise will take her Capital Fringe listeners by the hand as she has done at the Jonesboro Storytelling Festival, the Rogue Festival in Fresno as well as countless schools and universities.

Finding Gus was no easy task as she and her mother had minimal contact with Gus's family for decades. He died when Ellouise's mother was only 15 months old and her grandmother just couldn't talk about him.

Gus Keasler

Listen to her dig a memory trail which winds through years of personal research; cemeteries; DAR genealogy books; census records itemizing animals and millinery supplies at her great grandfather's family farm; and last, but far from least, the personal memories of her outspoken and compassionate great aunt Annie Laurie. Intriguing details about Gus's football career at Clemson at the turn of the beginning of the 20th century as well as life on a hardscrabble farm transport listeners to a time and place otherwise difficult if not impossible to experience as intimately.

This is a fully crafted story of love and loss and finding.
Invite your friends and then make a dinner or drinks date afterward so that you can share your stories that bubble to the surface. You're guaranteed a full night of "ha ha!" and "ah ha!" and "aaaaah!"

Location: Goethe Institute Mainstage, 812 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
Dates and Times: Friday, July 8 at 6 pm; Sat, July 9 at 2:15 pm; Wed July 20 at 6 pm; Friday, July 22 at 6 pm; Sunday, July 24 at 4 pm.

Tickets: www.CapitalFringe.org or 866-811-4111
....

Dog Days

2011-07-06T08:09:00.001-04:00

I heard someone say one time that “...there were times in my life when I would have paid $100 an hour for some boredom.”

I think that probably applies to all of us, it certainly does to me.

The “Dog Days of Summer,” which have just begun (early July through early September) is the perfect time for most of us to take a mental vacation and enjoy a good hearty dose of boredom.

I'm going to do my best to mentally “return to those (less than) exciting days of yesteryear” (Thank you Lone Ranger) and try and recreate some of those endless days of summer growing up in Charlotte.

I figure I'd better do this now, before the time comes again when I'll have to shell out those !00 dollar bills.

PS.....if you've ever wondered why they're called “Dog Days,” go HERE

-Ed

America the Beautiful

2011-07-01T09:20:00.001-04:00

Ellouise to perform at Spruce Pine, NC

2011-06-28T11:59:00.003-04:00

I got this email from Ellouise informing us that she'll be returning to her roots (well, close) on July 16th.

It's a fairly short jaunt in the cool, beautiful mountains of North Carolina.

Can you think of a better way to spend a summer weekend?

Me neither.

-Ed

Hey, want yal to know. I will be telling stories in NC - on home ground - in the octave of my 75th B-day. July 16 at the Toe River Storytelling Festival, Spruce Pine, NC.
Please let folks know - maybe somebody close by would wander over! Yal come!!!

Ellouise

The 13th annual Toe River Storytelling Festival will take place on Saturday July 16 just across from downtown Spruce Pine at Riverside Park starting at 10a.m and going until 4 p.m. There will be a diverse and dynamic line-up of storytellers to delight young and old listener’s alike.

Google and Me

2011-06-27T12:28:00.009-04:00

I don't know if it has happened to you or not....but it's happening more and more. One of my email accounts edmyers@gmail.com got hacked by the Chinese last week.

As a result, I think you all received a phony email from someone ...pretending to be me...telling you that I was recommending that you buy a particular Iphone.

The message that was sent under my name said something like....”I just purchased an Iphone......etc...and love it....You ought to buy one too. -Ed”

Google, which runs the site, notified me that the hacker came from China.

It could have been worse. It could have been a virus. But as far as I can determine it was only an advertisement.

Misery loves company, so my embarrassment was lessened a little bit when I read about how many important VIPs also had their gmail accounts compromised.

Hillary Clinton says FBI will investigate Gmail hacking; China denies involvement

Hillary Clinton

Hackers in China launched a phishing campaign that obtained access to the personal Gmail accounts of hundreds of people, including U.S. government officials, Google said in a blog post on Wednesday.

The Internet company said it was able to "disrupt" the scam but believes the hackers were able to monitor the accounts of Chinese political activists, officials from several Asian countries, journalists, military personal and U.S. government officials. The hackers were able to obtain passwords to Gmail accounts and change settings to have the accounts grant access to other users or have emails forwarded to another account.

To my Chinese hacker I'd like to say,

廉颇蔺相如列传照片 And that goes for your mother too!

But, there's more. File this under, "Your Government at Work."

U.S. enables Chinese hacking of Google

Google made headlines when it went public with the fact that Chinese hackers had penetrated some of its services, such as Gmail, in a politically motivated attempt at intelligence gathering. The news here isn't that Chinese hackers engage in these activities or that their attempts are technically sophisticated -- we knew that already -- it's that the U.S. government inadvertently aided the hackers.

In order to comply with government search warrants on user data, Google created a backdoor access system into Gmail accounts. This feature is what the Chinese hackers exploited to gain access.

(Source: CNN January 23, 2010)

-Ed

Cal Reneau Passes

2011-06-23T09:52:00.003-04:00

Cal Reneau

RENEAU, Capt. Calix Lee, retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, passed away peacefully at his home June 20, 2011.

"Cal" was born November 25, 1936, in Duluth, Minn., son of Rose Blahowski Reneau and Calix Elzier Reneau. Cal graduated from Central High School, Charlotte, N.C., and then received his degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University Raleigh. He was a veteran, having honorably served 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps during which time he served two tours in Vietnam. Cal was active in Boy Scouting. He was one of the youngest scouts (at the time) to be made an Eagle Scout in

Duluth. While serving as Post Commander at American Legion Post 147, Tampa, the post started sponsoring a Scout troop of which he was very proud. Cal worked for Coty Cosmetics in Sanford, N.C., for 20 years where he held various managerial positions. While living in Fredericksburg, Va., Cal served as junior warden at St. George's Episcopal Church, where he and his wife, Tomi, were members for the 10 years they lived there.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Tomi; his daughter, Lisa Lynn Reneau of Fredericksburg, Va.; hisson, Calix Lewis Reneau of Los Angeles, Calif.; his grandchildren, Brenna Pare of Virginia, Calix Josiah Reneau of California, Alexandra "Sasha" Reneau of California and Jennifer Almendarez of Texas; and great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations canbe made to American Legion Post 147 in Tampa or Lifepath Hospice in Tampa. A memorial service will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday at St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Visit www.gonzalezfuneral.com for more information.

(Thanks to my Piedmont friend Richard Ratcliffe for spotting this in the Tampa Tribune -Ed)

Great News About Linda Garmon Huggins

2011-06-21T08:45:00.001-04:00

By Frank Clontz

I got a phone call from Ross, Linda's Better Half, as they were driving back to Florence, SC from the Doctors office in Columbia. He sounded very excited as he told me that all the body scans, lung biopsies, and pet scans indicated that she is now Cancer Free. One thing though, she developed "Shingles" over the weekend before their drive to Columbia and was in some extreme pain from that. Ross told me that she didn't care about the Shingles because they would go away but was very thankful to God, all the prayers of her friends and family asking God to heal her body and free it from any Cancer. All the Prayers for her healing were answered.

Whew! Thanks so much for the report, Frank We love good news like that!!

(As most of you know, Frank Clontz, is our official full time ambassador/reporter from the CHS class of 55. -Ed

Mailbag

2011-06-16T19:41:00.002-04:00

Remember the story we featured back in 2006 about the big CHS54 themed party that Herb Jacobowitz's wife Barbara threw for him for his 70th birthday?

Well, Jerry Gaudet got a nice note from Herb indicating that he and Barbara might be making a trip all the way from Maryland down to Charlotte before long and fully intend to be there for one of our LDL lunches.

....

Letty Nance dropped me a line to add a personal story to my TR3 saga:

"In 1959, when Don was trying to impress me on our first date, he borrowed your TR3. In the mean time, Mother had made me a lovely new pink sunback dress to wear. It was before the days of polyester, so I sat on a stool with the dress draped over the back in order to keep it from wrinkling while I waited for my date.

Then Don drove up in the TR3. Because of its size,I had to wad up my perfectly ironed dress and my torso in order to cram into THE car for the most uncomfortable ride in my life. (I think I heard my mother moan when she saw me crawl in.)

My children are glad I gave Don another chance. The next time he came to get me, it was in his Dad's '55 aqua and white Crown Victoria. Now that was a CAR. As we know, he was a poor seminary student who couldn't afford a car of any kind but drove his sister's '50 Ford.

So, I agree, you sold the wrong car.....And I have another theory about why the thief left the car parked not so far away. It was not because of the low fuel, it was because it rattled his brains.

Sorry to burst your bubble about the TR3, but I'm glad you got your Doris Day.

Have a good day,
Letty Nance"
....

TRIUMPH TR3

As I told Don back then, "...the TR3 will be a good test of whether your date is a future winner....or loser.
If, after one date in that thing, she still wants to go out with you..........then she's a good woman, worth pursuing!"

After Don told me that you had passed the TR3 test I had a feeling that one of these days, I'd get a notice about the two of you celebrating your 50th Anniversary! -Ed

Where Did Everybody Go?

2011-06-15T08:49:00.029-04:00

By Jerry Gaudet

Was it something we said?

Nobody came “UP” from anywhere distant.

Nobody came “DOWN” from anywhere afar.

Obie Oakley did come “OVER and DOWN” from Highlands, but he does that a lot…still appreciated.
A few were ill or accounted for, but “summer” must have gotten the best of a lot of us.

Even the camera battery “pooped out” allowing us but one picture. All of the others would have been glorious! But were not to be.

Here’s the #1 and only…a portion of those attending…

L to R, Pat Hill, Jimmie Pourlos, Ronnie Rallis Pourlos (hiding behind Jimmie), Gayle Barrier Austin, Sylvia Brawley, Charlie Willis, Obie Oakley, Johnny Culp and Martin Hill.

With the camera having problems, Jimmie Pourlos suggested we just use a big black square to indicate that our numbers were sparce.

Well, there was no scarcity of good times. We considered classmates that were ill or just missing from our gathering. We were grateful of the anticipated food. We were appreciative of our freedoms and acknowledged our country’s flag on National Flag Day…and then we told stories. Lots and lots of stories…some of them true.

Come see for yourself next month, July 12, 2011, 11:30 AM at Jimmies in Mint Hill. You’ll be glad you did.

-JG

Don and Letty: 50 Years and Counting.....

2011-06-14T20:05:00.002-04:00

The mailbag brought in news about another lucky CHS54 couple about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary!

Don and Letty Nance were married on June 24th 1961!

The announcement was made by their children who suggested that it would be a very kind and worthwhile gesture if their many friends who want to honor them would direct their gifts and well wishes into a donation to

The Presbyterian "Childrens' Home of the Highlands"
425 Grayson Road
Wytheville, VA 24382

Don and Letty's address is:
600 Wytheview Drive
Wytheville, VA 24382