02

Today's observance is supposed to repeat here every year. Sometimes it does, and sometimes, it doesn't:

Today is not only Groundhog Day, but another Four-Fer of sorts: Porter Phillips Booker ('57), the late

Thelma Spade Roberts ('57) of VA - 1939 (deceased - 08/26/05), John Patterson ('59) of Northern VA , AND Alan Nesbitt ('64) of NC!

From My Niece, Shari, of VA - 01/31/08 - "*** PLEASE PRAY ***":

I am requesting (my 16-year-old special-needs daughter) Emily be included in your prayers. She has to have surgery next week in Philadelphia. This is a doctor who usually works at Shriner's, but has a private practice at St. Christopher's and that's where she'll have this one, as the waiting period was two months for Shriner's. This is not the extremely serious surgery that will follow, hopefully within a month as her scoliosis has progressed to a dangerous level, yet does carry risks! Anytime it's general anesthesia it's risky.

This is a two day hospital stay, so I'm assuming to be in Philly and some in N.J., for the entire week. She has to be seen Tuesday and it took about eight hours to get there and the tube put in Thursday, then I'm sure they'll like to check the healing of it.

It's always heart breaking to have your child endure pain and with her there are frequently complications. Just the consultation was exhausting, so I can only imagine how hard this will be. I do know prayers are heard and answered. Please forgive me not responding to any e-mails. I've been on the phone with medical people all afternoon and am still waiting on a call.

Thank you!,

Shari

YOWZERONI-RINI!!! Thanks for letting us know, Shari! You'll both certainly be in our thoughts and prayers!

From Phil Hammond ('64) of UT - 01/31/08:

Hi Carol,

Do you have certain criteria for what you post on the website? I would like to once again send pictures, info from Park City, Utah for those who love to ski.

hammondengineering@allwest.net

Ah, Phil, you've caught me! There are several factors at play here.

First of all, when I started the site seven years ago, I didn't know what I was doing - literally. I simply dictated what I wanted to my sons, and they did all the work for me. From time to time I tend to forget that now I often do know what I'm doing if I think hard enough. Certain things still send me off into a panic, and now all my sons are gone, and are no longer at my beck and call.

Secondly, I have a serious case of "youngest child" syndrome - also known as "Big Ol' Baby" or simply "Spoiled Brat". If I can figure out a way to convince someone else into doing something for me, I am quite delighted.

Third, those of you who remember me from high school know full well that if I can weasel out of doing something, I will. That would be the easy way out. Paradoxically, if I actually DO something, I will invariably find the most difficult and complicated path.

And fourth, if time grows short, busy, or if I am feeling otherwise overwhelmed or distracted, I will put off anything which I cannot do at lightening speed in favor of something that I can.

And this time, all of those factors converged, creating the tremendous backlog I'm still facing from December. There you have it - True Confessions!

Okay, I've said it. So now let's take a look.

From Phil Hammond ('64) of UT - 12/23/07 - "A message from Park City, Utah":

Hi Carol,

I read your website letters daily and think you do a fantastic job. Thanks so much. I am not sure how this works but thought it might be nice for folks to see what Park City, Utah is like in the winter and summer. I work at Deer Valley Resort and Sylvia (Hall Hammond - '66) works at Westgate next to the Canyons. We live close by in Deer Mountain. My passion is skiing of course or we would not be living in such cold weather. The summers are awesome, especially if one likes camping in the high Uinta Mountains. Park City is a lovely small town. Our main attractions, besides the beauty of the mountains, are special events such as the Sundance Film Festival, 4^th of July parade on Main Street and opening and closing of the ski season. Trout fishing and golf are a weekly event in the summers. Small towns are great and relatively crime free! I have attached several pictures of the seasons which may be of interest to some. Feel free to contact us for anything from skiing to fishing. I will even try to help those who really want to be ski bums like me but are afraid to go for it.

Let me know if the pictures are not readable. Also, use what you want from the picture file.

By the way I was stationed at Fort Bragg for basic and PCS until I was levied to Viet Nam.

Regards,

Phil

Oh, yeah - I see the stalling point - it was a zip file! For no reason at all, the very words "zip file" strike terror into my heart. Okay, I opened it (all by myself - YES!), and it is filled with 19 or so breathtaking images of my beloved Utah (Did I ever mention I lived in Salt Lake City from 1Jan to 1 June 1968 - and was married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on 15 Aug 1969? No??).

So here's what I'll do. This one really will take me a little time (I'll spend 10 minutes or so on each image). I'll make a special page for it, give it its own direct link to the Site Map, and have it all done this week - PROMISE!

From Christine Wilson Starkman ('68) of CA - 01/31/08 - "Bored-Tubby-Mild":

I am going to sing this for my Senior American Idol audition.

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-walt-babyboomers-blurb,0,1036393.blurb

HAHAHAHAHA! We wish you well with that, Chris - thanks!

From My Niece, Shari, of VA - 01/31/08 - "The Super Food Bowl and Peanut Butter and Jelly":

http://www.naturalnews.com/022560.html

* Next time you have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich you will reduce your carbon footprint by saving the equivalent of 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over an average animal-based lunch like a hamburger, a tuna sandwich, grilled cheese, or chicken nuggets. That's about forty percent of what you'd save driving around for the day in a hybrid instead of a standard sedan.

* A PB&J will also save water. That's about 280 gallons of water over the hamburger. To put this in perspective, three PB&Js a month instead of hamburgers will save about as much water as switching to a low-flow showerhead.

* A PB&J will save land. Have a PB&J and save 12 to 50 square feet of land from deforestation, over-grazing, and pesticide and fertilizer pollution.

Thanks, Shari!

From Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 01/31/08 - "NNHS Artifacts":

		Carol, Today at our "monthly" NNHS Boys' Lunch, I delivered the attached document into the safekeeping of Fred Mays ('60 - of VA). You're an amazingly generous man, Brown Eyes! Thanks!
June 1938 NNHS Diploma belonging to Mildred Linkous Spriggs

I posted this in chronological order on the Odds and Ends page:

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/SITE-MAP.html

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/oddsends.html

From Domi O'Brien ('64) of NH - 01/31/08:

Stuff they didn't tell us in US history I learned in grad school:

30% of births to Colonial women were to unwed women, usually over 21. Teen births were almost unknown. The average Colonial woman, like her northern/western European cousins, didn't have her first menstrual period until 17 to 22. Because children were so important to agricultural families, most couples slept together with parental permission once engaged; the wedding wasn't usually held until it was sure the bride was pregnant. Since you needed to post intent to marry for 28 days at town hall (New England) or county seat (most of the South) once the pregnancy was confirmed, most Colonial brides, whether married by justice or magistrate (most common) or clergy (less common) gave birth within 5 months of the wedding. (You could get a judicial waiver of the 28 days with cause, usually because you owned land in a remote location you were settling on and winter was approaching). Pregnant women whose fiancés/lovers didn't post intent could and did sue for breach-of-promise, and get monetary damages and support for the child. Teen brides were extremely rare until after 1920, with the lowest ages at first marriage and the highest teen pregnancy rates in the late 1950's and early 60's. (1957 was the peak year for teen pregnancy in the US.)

Church attendance from 1750 to 1850 was about 25%; the Civil War, revivals after the Civil War, and revivals during WWI and WWII raised church attendance for temporary periods to around 50%. On the frontier, shocked traveling ministers wrote in their journals that poor women often arrived at church wearing only a shift (what we would call today a slip or nightgown-like garment, usually of muslin) with nothing under it and no gown over it! While most Americans claim to believe in God and have some sort of generic name for their religion ("Christian" does not tell us which of 8000 Christian denominations they might consider themselves co-believers with) and 50% claim to attend religious services, only about 25% have attended 12 or more services in the last year and less than half have been to any religious service in the last year, with that, sadly, most often a funeral, and next most often Easter and Christmas. Religion is often described as "socially desirable"-- most people in the US think it's good to be religious, but most people don't actually attend any kind of services, read religious books, or follow any particular religious precepts. Religiosity is actually the exception here-- though religion is more common in the US than in most western nations.

In the Colonial period parental permission or the permission of master (if a servant or apprentice) was required for all persons marrying regardless of age if it was their first marriage. When George Washington filed intent to marry Martha, she didn't need permission (she'd been married and widowed), but he was required to affirm that the reason he, at 27, didn't have parental permission was that his father had been dead 16 years! 21 was established as adulthood for free landowners mainly because so many Americans either had parents in another country or dead. Although less than 20% of US minor children today live with stepparents, from the 1600s to the Civil War almost half of children did, due to high death and remarriage rates.

Ben Franklin, at age 17, forged documents to sell his brother's printing business, claim he was 21, and claim he had completed his apprenticeship and was now a journeyman printer. He absconded with the proceeds from the print shop sale, and is associated with both Boston and Philadelphia because of the move. He had a reputation for sexual exploits with women slave and free, American and European, and a taste for alcohol.

Our Founding Fathers were some pretty remarkable men-- most had little or no formal education, read a lot from the few books and publications available, and really did risk lives, fortunes, and sacred honour in the fight to establish a free nation.

Imperfections and all.

Don't know about you, but I think I like them better as real human beings than as impossible idealists, just full of philosophy and religion and high ideals, and no faults.

Domi

Thanks, Domi! We never stop learning!

From Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 01/31/08 - "The Beginning of a Very Long Trip Down Memory Lane":

OK, all you Social-Security-eligible Typhoons out there .... once again it is time to jump into the "Way-Back Machine" and relive those thrilling days of yesteryear.

A while back I received anonymously in the mail a collection of Beacons spanning 1961 through 1964. So, I will begin scanning what I think are the most interesting articles and photos for publication in the Newsletter. This should provide fodder for much reminiscing and more than a few guffaws.

We begin with the Beacon dated 29 September 1961.


Friday, September 29, 1961 Issue of the Beacon	Friday, September 29, 1961 Issue of the Beacon	Friday, September 29, 1961 Issue of the Beacon	Friday, September 29, 1961 Issue of the Beacon
Mr. Larry Armstrong ('53)	Mrs. Patricia Johnson	FOOTBALL BACKFIELD - Gerald Schweida ('62), Henry Kearney ('62), Fred Anspach ('64), Kenny Bransford ('63) and Marshall Conley ('63)	Mike Artman ('66), Carolin McPherson ('62), Worth Roberts ('66), Tina Burroughs ('62), Rip Collins ('65) and Nancy Horton ('62) doing the Hully Gully

WOWZERONI-RINI!!! Thank you so much, David!

I've posted these treasures in various places within the site:

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/SITE-MAP.html

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/faculty.html

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/teachers.html

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/teach-Armstrong.html

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/teach-Johnson.html

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/FOOTBALL.html

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/FOOT-B-62.html

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/oddsends.html

From Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 02/02/08:

By the time I have scanned many, many Beacon articles over three academic years, they may deserve their own page, rather than consuming the majority of Odds & Ends.

Just a thought.

Once again I am in awe of your vision and foresight, Captain. You are quite correct, of course.

Okay, tune in again next time - I have a plan..... Thanks again!

From Wayne Stokes ('65) of VA - 02/01/08 - "Differences Between Men and Woman":

Hey, don't shoot the messenger! I'm just following orders.

1. NAMES

If Rebecca, Linda, Anna and Jeanne go out for lunch, they will call each other Rebecca, Linda, Anna and Jeanne.

If Mark, Harold, Dave and Rob go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla, Peanut and Scrappy.

2. EATING OUT

When the bill arrives, Mark, Harold, Dave and Rob will each throw in a $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the women get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

3. MONEY

A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need, if it's on sale.

4. BATHROOMS

A man has five items in his bathroom: a toothbrush, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel from the Marriott.

The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify most of these items.

5. ARGUMENTS

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that... is the beginning of a new argument.

6. CATS

Women love cats.

Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men will kick cats.

7. FUTURE

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

8. SUCCESS

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

9. MARRIAGE

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change , and she does.

10. DRESSING UP

A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage,answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.

A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

11. NATURAL

Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.

Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

12. OFFSPRING

Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.

A man is vaguely aware of some other people living in the house.

13. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

All married men should forget their mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

GIGGLES! Thanks, Wayne Honey!

From Sarah Puckett Kressaty ('65) of VA - 02/01/08 - "Baptizing":

Baptizing

After a hardy rainstorm filled all the pot-holes in the streets and alleys, a young mother watched her two little boys playing in the puddle through her kitchen window. The older of the two, a five-year-old lad, grabbed his sibling by the back of his head and shoved his face into the water hole.

As the boy recovered and stood laughing and dripping, the mother ran to the yard in a panic.

"Why on earth did you do that to your little brother?!" she asked as she shook the older boy in anger.

"We were just playing 'church', Mommy," he said. "And I was just baptizing him.....in the name of the Father, the Son and in...the hole-he-goes."

GIGGLES! Thanks, Sarah Sugah!

DATES TO REMEMBER:

1. Friday and Saturday, May 16 - 17, 2008 - NNHS CLASS OF 1958

From Jerry Blanchard ('62) of VA - 01/12/08 - "Gas Stations Of Yesteryear-------------------------this IS REAL Americana" (#7 in a Series of 37):

Carol, do not know if you would like to show these or not. Just brings back a lot memories from yesteryear. Hope you like them.

Jerry Blanchard (62) of Va.

Gas Stations Of Yesteryear

Back when life was much simpler and gas was 18-25 cents a gallon!!

(or there about) and as low as 17 cents during gas wars.

		Old American Gas Stations from all around the country Some are abandoned, some are restored and many are still in use.

Yeah . . . I remember!

And with a fill-up you got the gas pumped for you, your windshield cleaned, oil and fluids checked, tires checked,
a free map, if you wanted it, and greeted in ENGLISH !!!

Yeah! I remember!!!

Enjoy Your Days & Love Your Life.... Because...."Life is a journey to be savored."

Thanks, Jerry, I remember them quite fondly, too!

Y'all take care of each other! TYPHOONS FOREVER! We'll Always Have Buckroe!

Animated Tiny Birthday Cake clip art courtesy of Sarah Puckett Kressaty ('65) of VA - 08/31/05
Thanks, Sarah Sugah!

Army Seal clip art courtesy of Al Farber ('64) of GA - 05/24/06
Thanks, Al!

		Standing in the Shadows of Love (The Four Tops) Standing in the shadows of love Waitin' for the heartaches to come Can't you see me standing in the shadows of love I'm getting ready for the heartaches to come I'd run but there's no where to go 'Cause heartaches will follow me I know Without your love, the love I need It's the beginning of the end for me 'Cause you've taken away all me reasons for livin' When you pushed aside all the love I've been giving Now wait a minute Didn't I teach you right, didn't I? Didn't I do the best I could, didn't I? So don't you leave me standin' in the shadow of love I'm gettin' ready for the heartaches to come Don't you see me standing in the shadow of love Just tryin' my best to get ready for the heartaches to come All alone I'll desperately be With misery my only company Come today, in fact come tomorrow Sorrow, I ain't got nothin' but sorrow Don't your conscience bother you How can you watch me cry after all I've done for you Now hold a minute Gave you all the love I had, didn't I? When you needed me I was there, now wasn't I? (Standing in the shadows of love Gettin' ready for the heartaches to come) I've tried not to cry out loud No gal you ain't gonna help me now What did I do to cause all this grief Now what'd I say to make you want to leave Now wait a minute I gave my heart and soul to you, didn't I? Now didn't I always treat you good, didn't I? I'm Standing in the shadows of love I'm gettin' ready for the heartaches to come Hope to see you standing in the shadows of love Tryin' my best to get ready for the heartaches to come Standing in the shadows of... [Fade]