The Times of Our Lives: Fall 2008 ... Turn! Turn! Turn! ... and The Color of Ugly....

Autumn Leaves, painting by John Everett Millais (1856)

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun.

Nicki and I have written recently of the transition of Summer into Fall, our favorite season. It has indeed been a glorious Fall (at least weather-wise) so far ... beautiful, bright cooler days, the beginnings of changes in the color of leaves, the low insistent sense of urgency that things should be completed and brought to order before the onset of cold, dark winter. And I have found myself pondering the meaning and import of those words from Ecclesiastes (set to music by Pete Seeger in the 1950s as the song Turn! Turn! Turn! and made popular by the Byrds in October 1965).

I last published a post on the blog on September 22, at the advent of autumn and amid the building excitement for the Class of 1963 (and All-School) Reunion in Childress October 3-5. Some might think it strange that I've gone so long between scribblings ... see, I do occasionally shut up!!! (grin) ... but various considerations have kept me from writing again until now. So to catch up on some of the events and thoughts which have occurred between that post and this one....

A time to be born and a time to die; ...
a time to kill and a time to heal ...

Not the least of my recent considerations has been Yahn's health, which has not been the best lately, and which of course prevented my attending the much-anticipated reunion. In addition to his problems with breathing ... COPD, asthma, etc. (apparently also suffered by our recently deceased classmate Reed Lockhoof) ... we have been confronted with some loss (we hope temporary) of Yahn's cognitive abilities ... a very scary situation, and one of particular concern for those in our age group.

In addressing these problems, Yahn's doctor first took him off some of his medications which may be causative of memory loss. The first to go was Ambien, prescribed to help him sleep; the second was hydrocodone, a strong pain killer, which helped alleviate his discomfort from arthritis and restless leg syndrome; then Lipitor (as we have learned in our research, all of the statin drugs given to regulate cholesterol can cause cognitive difficulties). And, while I must say that some of his cognition has returned, there are still lapses of memory ... the largest one recently being that he completely forgot our last appointment with his doctor ... had no memory of it at all, even though she took more than an hour with us. This week the doctor has ordered an MRI and an MRA to see if there are indices of (the dreaded word) Alzheimer's, or possibly past mini-strokes, sufficient to disrupt his thought processes but otherwise without outward signs.

I know there are some who fear to have such tests ... or tests for breast or colon or other cancers, or for other potentially life-threatening or -altering conditions ... but I have always believed in the old saying that "forewarned is forearmed." If we find the worst as a result of these tests ... at least we will know and can prepare. There are treatments and therapies which can alleviate or delay the progression of many diseases.

If the tests do not indicate Alzheimer's or mini-strokes, then we can proceed with trying to identify and isolate the cause of the problems ... but we will know that we need not concern ourselves with those particular fears ... at least not at this juncture. And knowledge is among the most important weapons ... if not the most important weapon ... that any of us can possess.

Please ... take care of your health ... physical and mental. See your doctor regularly ... have necessary diagnostic tests ... eat right and exercise ... stay involved in life ... keep reading and learning. Do it for yourselves and for your loved ones. You are important ... and we want to see you at the next reunion!!!

Since I last wrote, Paul Newman, actor and philanthropist, succumbed to cancer at age 83 ... and with his passing we lost another icon of our youth. While it was our dear Joby (JoAnn Neel Lathram) who had the killer crush on Newman when we were at CHS, I daresay most of us (male and female) saw a number (if not all) of Newman's films and were moved by them to one degree or another. Just yesterday, while Turner Classic Movies was doing an all-day tribute to Newman, I watched Exodus (again) ... crying a good deal of the way through it, of course. While it was certainly not Newman's best film (nor was it as good a film as it might have been), the "connection" I have had since high school with the book, the song, the movie is still alive and strong. Newman was not only a true giant of the silver screen, he also stood tall in his personal life, and dedicated a good deal of his time and effort in later years (along with all of his profits from his "Newman's Own" line of products) to charitable endeavors, seeking to make the world a better place. It is a pity there are not more like him.



Falling Autumn Leaves, painting by Vincent Van Gogh (1888)

a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance ...

I was thrilled to see the pictures from the reunion ... thanks to the pooled efforts of Nicki, Driscilla and Clara ... and to read Nicki's posts on both our class dinner at K-Bob's and the All-School Reunion. (If you haven't yet checked out Nicki's slide show on the Show and Tell blog, don't miss it!) I marveled as I saw each different face, and I lingered over the pictures for a long time, savoring memories from CHS, but also recalling the updates Nicki and I have received from so many during this past year.

I have been privileged to see some of those who attended the reunion "up close and personal" in recent years ... dear Joe Don (at the Wimberley Weekend in October 2001, and twice in 2002), Jack Petty (the last time I saw Jack, in May 2002, we engaged in an a capella impromptu duet of our "official" class song Sooner or Later), Mike Spradley (and his sweet wife Ada, also at Wimberley, and since), Doug Greer (at the time of Paula's funeral in May 2002), Jim/Willie, Don Meek (Class of 1960) ... of course my beloved sister-women Raenell and Joby and Shirley and Nicki and Clara.

The pictures of those I haven't seen in many years were true revelations and delights. Don Morgan and Kay Eatherly Whitten seem definitely deserving of the appellation "Forever Young" ... and how wonderful to see Sharon Molloy Kelley and her Ray (Class of 1961), and Driscilla, and Bettye Shahan Bagley and Max McClendon.

I got such a rush of wonderful memories thinking about how Max's mother "Sis" and my grandmother were BFFs ... on the golf course and around the bridge table and at church. Jettie Hicks Huff and Bobby still make a great looking couple ... and I couldn't help but remember how Jettie was one of my mother's favorite students when mother taught at the Community Center school for a while. It was also great to see John Steed, my old Sunday School buddy, and J.R. Bell and his talented wife Jan, and Beth McKee Gore and Gayle Whitten.

Even though they didn't attend the reunion in Childress, I want to acknowledge that I have been immeasurably blessed over the years with continuing contacts with so many friends like Linda Kay and Lynn and Pat and Linda Sally and Sheila. And the mini-reunion with Phil Tutor and Joe Warren (who did make it to Childress) and others in April was delightful.

Nicki tells me that she's had e-mails from some who did not attend this reunion, indicating that they are definitely interested in attending the next reunion ... oy vey! Folks, I think Nicki and I, and Joe, are all willing ... but if we are to plan such a thing (possibly for our 50th?) we would certainly like some input from as many of you as possible as to when, where, etc., which we would anticipate might ensure a better turn-out. It occurs that perhaps a reunion not in conjunction with the All-School Reunion in Childress might be better for planning time for all of us to visit with each other. We've also speculated that it might be nice to hold a reunion somewhere other than Childress ... someplace in Texas (home to most of us, I believe) like Dallas, or Austin, or San Antonio, or even Amarillo or Lubbock. Of course, right now all of this is in the realm of conjecture ... but we are still interested in any thoughts you may have on the subject ... and volunteers to work on a future reunion are sought and gratefully accepted.



Leaves in autumn

a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.

The past few weeks since my last post have also witnessed some scary history in the making for ourselves and our country ... the roller-coaster of the financial markets, the largest plunge in stocks since the Great Depression, the heart-breaking foreclosures, the Presidential campaign which looms so large amid all the trauma and tribulation and fear. Whoever is chosen by we the people to lead our country in the next few years must bear a great burden in trying to get our society, with all its diverse population, back to times of prosperity and hope for the future ... with a shared sense that we are all in this together and that we will likely accomplish more by working together, rather than dividing into armed camps.

It seems that for the past few election cycles there has been talk of that particular election being the most important in years ... but I feel that it may actually be true in this instance. I so hope you have all registered to vote ... and that you will exercise your right and obligation to do so on or before November 4. This is no time for fence-sitters ... nor for people who in a fit of pique choose to "throw away" (yes, I said "throw away" for that is what it amounts to) their votes on some specious, questionable, inarguably doomed third-party candidate.

But when you vote ... however you vote ... please make certain that your vote is based on actual issues, not fear or hate-mongering or mindless bigotry. Frankly we should all be waaay more concerned by the poisonous color of "ugly" than by any other "colorful" considerations....

Fall is assuredly a time for recollection and reflection ... the season to take stock of the things we have done, the things we should have done, and the things we wish we had done ... to plan and dream and hope for the future. And yes, the future still beckons. Abraham Lincoln said "The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time." There is a lot of life and living in the days (each and every one of them) ahead for the Class of 1963 ... and it is up to each of us to determine how we will live those days ... whether we will look back on them fondly and cherish the memories ... or view them with telescopic regret at lost opportunities and dreams denied.

It is in our power to determine whether we will inhabit a feral, darkling tangled garden haunted by shades and shadows and sorrow's sighs, or whether we choose to walk in light and love and eager anticipation of the days that remain to us. For me, the choice is easy ... and clear. I hope it is for all of you.

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