The Winds of Change Are Blowing

All around us we are getting messages of change and reminders that things don’t always stay the same. The time is changing (don’t forget to fall back on November 2!); the weather is changing to a winter chill; the leaves on the trees are changing to bright fall colors and will soon change to winter brown; the season will change to winter followed quickly by spring and summer. The political candidates propose endless changes, and indeed we will have a change in the presidency on January 20. However, most importantly, the Reflections blog for the CHS Class of 1963 is changing. (Just kidding about the most important part!) Seriously, we are making changes in our blog. For 14 months we have loved writing posts to share with you. Initially the blog was created as a means for reuniting the classmates in our graduating class—sort of a where is everyone now type of thing. The vision was that we could, through the blog, enjoy a virtual reunion of getting re-acquainted by posting, commenting, and emailing. Later the blog served as a vehicle for planning a real face to face reunion. Of course, like “true love” everything didn’t go as smoothly as one would have liked, but happily we did finally meet for a wonderful reunion in Childress. I would like to think that the seeds have been planted for future meetings, reunions, and above all, staying in contact with one another. Believe me when I say that for those of you who did not appear on the blog or come to the reunion, each of you were missed.

However, as I said above, changes are a’coming and this decision for change has not been an easy one. While we absolutely love the blog, the time has come to say that in its present format and purpose, Reflections has run its course. Our goals for reconnecting have been met and that is a very satisfying feeling. At this point we believe that we should give the blog and ourselves a rest. When I say “rest”, I mean that for the foreseeable future we will not be adding new posts or comments. It is our desire that the blog will stand as a testament to the way we were and to the “we” that we are today.

I have recently spent time rereading every post and comment and they were even better the second or third or fourth time around. The blog will stay on the web as it is with only minor changes which you will see over the next week. We have gone public by making the posts available to search engines on the web. I have added defining labels to all posts which will make them easier to find by subject. After all, this is our “history” and we want to share our stories now and in the future. There will never be another Childress High School Class of 1963 and we still have much to offer.

I do want to assure you that over time if we receive important or notable news concerning our classmates we will post this information. Our history isn’t over. Should anyone plan another reunion or get together, we could reopen the blog for this purpose.

For now, I encourage each of you to stay in touch with old friends and newly discovered friends. I also encourage you to make it a point to notify us or someone else when you move or get a new email address. Now that we have found each other, let’s not allow anyone to get lost again! Friends are forever and we need you!

As I have stated many times, the blog would not have been as successful or as much fun without help from all of you who contributed in one way or another—addresses, posts, comments, photos, information and most of all your support in reading the blog. Jennifer knows how I feel about her and I hope each person recognizes that she was indeed a driving force behind what we have done and enjoyed. Immediately below this post, Jennifer has published a wonderful post of farewell. I am so proud for what we all together have been able to accomplish!

Comments to these posts will not be possible so we encourage you to email or contact Jennifer or myself (Nicki) if you have questions or comments. We will always be happy to hear from each one of you.

For now, as of Friday, October 31, 2008, Reflections on the Way We Were: The Childress High School Class of 1963 blog is at rest.

May you all have a wonderful holiday season and a safe, healthy, and happy 2009.

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.

)O(

Reed Lockhoof

It is with much sadness that we have learned of the death of our friend and former classmate Reed Lockhoof. The wonderful obituary that follows is taken from the
Austin American-Statesman where you can go to View/Sign Guest Book .

W. Reed Lockhoof
W. Reed Lockhoof W. Reed Lockhoof, born October 3, 1945, passed away suddenly Saturday, September 27, 2008. He loved life and all it had to offer. His philosophy of life was based on the simple golden rule: "treat others as you would like to be treated" and put your family above and before all else. That will make you a winner in God's eyes. Reed was the absolute best friend of and for his wife, Nancy, and son, Flip. He was best man at his son's wedding and best 'Reed' for his grandchildren. We will intensely miss him until we reunite again. Only time, friends and God can help them survive the pain. Reed was an avid golfer, and in his younger, healthier days, there was never a day too cold or too hot, too windy or too still for golf. Golf and its required tenacity were his mistresses... and often those golfing days were spent with family, friends, and/or associates. Reed and his son became partners and played as golf partners in over a 150 golf tournaments throughout the state. Nancy would generally go along, walk every step of the way and have her walk with nature and communion with God along with husband, Reed and son, Flip. Reed's love for the law was second only to his love for golf and his family. Reed and Nancy shared endless love for each other and their family. His devotion and dedication to his wife, son and daughter-in-law, and grandchildren made him the most wonderful and caring husband, father and grandfather that this world has known. All who knew Reed will remember him for this... and his hearty laughter. Reed was preceded in death by his parents Walter and Darlein Lockhoof of Childress, TX. He is survived by one son, Filip Reed Lockhoof; daughter-in-law, Michelle Felger Lockhoof and granddaughter, Taylor Lockhoof; and grandson, Shane Lockhoof. Reed was an only child; his mother was an only child, and her mother was an only child. Although Nancy has already lost her mother and father, older brother and older sister, her one remaining sister, Diane Harris, from Scottsdale, brother Spencer and his wife, Sharon Ford from Hamlin, TX, Milton and Jodi Reed from Lubbock, along with aunts and uncles are helping her and Flip survive the immediate pain. Reed graduated from Childress High, Childress, TX. He received his BS from the University of North Texas and his J.D. from Texas Tech University. As an attorney he was always on the side of the law, from the District Attorney's office to the Attorney General's office. Being one of the best trial lawyers in the state, the courtroom became his friend, and the judge and jury became his audience. Flip, his only son, once heard his mother say that Reed is the most ethical lawyer she has ever known. Reed's life was cut short by his chronic asthma, COPD, and disabling arthritis. Memorial services will be held at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 3525 Bee Cave Rd., Thursday, October 2, at 1:30 p.m. with family visitation and reception following the services. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Lung Association, 'First Tee of Greater Austin' or charity of your choice. "Treating others as you want to be treated" was truly his golden rule.


Published in the Austin American-Statesman on 09/30/2008

Long Year's Journey to Reunion ... Regrets (I've Had a Few) ... and 千里之行，始于足下 ...

Prom memories (from the movie Carrie, reproduced here citing "fair use" provisions of U.S. copyright law)

... or as my old friend Laozi said, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (to borrow a title which I liked from the original Las Vegas reunion blog). Actually, a more correct translation from the original Chinese would be "The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." Unfortunately, my Chinese is not sufficient to add (in brush-stroked characters) that any journey actually begins with the desire to embark upon it.... What comes after that goes under the heading of "means to end"....

[Sidebar: There are some who credit the "journey of a thousand miles" quote to Laozi's contemporary Confucius; however, my research seems to point indeed toward Laozi, a/k/a Lao Tzu, the "Old Master" instrumental in the establishment of, and revered by, the Taoist religion. But I digress....]

In two weeks a number (literally) of the Class of 1963 will gather again in Childress for its 45th reunion. At last headcount, there were approximately 20-25 of our classmates (our actual classmates ... not counting spouses and/or significant others who will accompany them) who indicated that either they will be there or might be there ... a little exercise in legal terminology illustrating (if you think about it) why it is so important to be cognizant of (and precise in) the meanings of the words you use ... and in your interpretation of words directed to or concerning you. Interestingly, the number of those who say they will or may attend is about the same as the number of those who were committed (to one degree or another) to attending the reunion if it had been held in Las Vegas, as it was originally conceived.

Nicki and I have been disappointed that even though we moved the reunion to Childress, partially in hopes that it would result in a larger turnout, the number remains essentially unchanged. There are some names common to both sign-up lists ... although some few have indicated that while they would attend a reunion in either Las Vegas or Childress, they would not travel to the other place for whatever reason. Some have said that the weekend of October 17-19 (as originally planned) would have been fine ... but there is some problem with the weekend of October 3-5 (designated by the Childress All-School Reunion Committee). Nicki and I have talked on more than one occasion about how little response we have had from those who actually live in Childress, or within a few miles thereof. So, truly immutable or unforeseen circumstances notwithstanding (and there are always some) ... the bottom line is that for the most part, those who want to be there will have found a way to manage it ... and those who don't, won't.



Laozi leaves China on his water buffalo.

Most of those who've said they are not coming have indicated some other pressing engagement. Some are apparently afraid they may be confronted with an idea or ideology with which they don't agree. And some have also said that they don't want to come because they don't much care to revisit those high school days when we all were so young, and insecure, and needy and/or desirous of approval and acceptance (even some of those we considered the popular cool people who comprised the top of the social food chain) ... or who feel they may be ignored and left to sit by themselves at a table in K-Bob's or the Elks Club. It is worth noting a bit of wisdom expressed by Bertrand Russell, who sagaciously wrote: Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd. Sad to think that some still feel that fear 45 years later on the long road out of Childress (with a nod to the Eagles).

I've written previously on the blog that not all my memories from high school are happy ones. And yet, over the nearly half-century since May 1963, as I've learned and grown and pondered and embraced my still-evolving spiritual beliefs, learned to listen to the vibrations and the resonances, I have found great benefit (and balm) in being able to put the bad things into perspective ... to acknowledge the immaturity and the sometimes mindless, contagious wolf-pack cruelty common to those adolescent years ... to come to grips with the fact that some of my own actions were causal catalysts ... to understand the unthinking, uncaring and occasionally vicious attitudes of some, and to apprehend that some went along not because of meanness or indifference on their parts, but because they themselves were afraid to go against the herd ... to recognize and regret those instances when I was less than charitable to another wandering, groping soul ... and to forgive not only those people who hurt me, through acts of commission or omission, but also to forgive myself for all the things I did wrong.

I have learned that sometimes bad things happen to us for necessary reasons ... that even if the events are painful, they are meant to (and do, if we are wise) teach us life lessons that we must learn before we can successfully traverse the terra incognita between the lives ... that we must transcend before we can ascend. Understanding and forgiveness are among the most important of life's lessons, I believe ... and I don't think one can achieve forgiveness (of oneself or of others) until one has become a frequent flier (with reward miles!) in the realms of understanding and regret and empathy.

Since I got over myself ... stopped nursing old hurts both real and imaginary, or sometimes just inflated by the hot air of adolescent angst ... refused the mantle of the victim ... started contemplating and comprehending that some of those who hurt me may have done so because they in fact were in mortal pain from their own demons ... I have found a "new" world of fond memories ... memories to be cherished and cultivated ... memories to drive away the dark nights and the dark hours and the dark thoughts and strip the curtains from the metaphoric windows of the mind to allow the light to nourish and quicken the dormant soil and quiescent flowers of my soul.

On occasion I have been tempted to regret that I did not reach this "enlightenment" sooner, that I let so much time elapse ... but then I know, with a complete, deep certainty ... that I learned (and am still learning) this life's lessons when I was supposed to ... that subject to my own choices and the choices of others, things happened as they were supposed to happen, as they had to happen ... that I was incapable of absorbing the lessons before I did and could not have learned many of them without the accompanying pain ... and that rather than regret not learning sooner, I should rejoice that I learned at all ... that it was not too late when knowledge came, too far along in this existence to become applicable. I have been blessed by that knowledge ... and by the new "old" friends I have found, and the old "old" friends I have rediscovered ... and I still anticipate reunion with those with whom I may yet "reconnect".


A Taijitu, the main symbol of the Taoist spirituality.

I don't know whether you were the teacher's pet or the class goat ... the homecoming queen or the prom king ... maybe one of those like Janis Ian, who "learned the truth" At Seventeen and "knew the pain of Valentines that never came" ... wore a letter sweater (your own or one bestowed by your boyfriend for affection and/or services rendered) or envied those who did ... made good grades or barely squeaked by (perhaps because they didn't know much about dyslexia and other learning disabilities then) ... were "good" or "bad" (as defined by the times) or more likely "confused" and just desperate to fit in ... a "nice" guy or a James Dean wannabe. High school marked a significant rite of passage in all our lives ... and we each are deserving (and in need sometimes) of a congratulatory and/or accepting hug, an elevation of spirit generated by a bright welcoming smile, the quiet benediction inherent in the knowledge that we successfully ran that gauntlet of taunts and insults and uncertainty ... and we survived to tell the tale! We survived ... mostly better, and wiser I think (I fervently hope) for the experience.

We're not in high school any more, people. We've all traveled different life paths, with diverse experiences, to become the people we are today. While it is likely that most of us have retained some of the "core" essentials of those adolescents we were at CHS, I firmly believe that our life lessons have honed and burnished our present personalities, our souls if you will, like a skilled diamond cutter ... although unfortunately, in a few instances, it must be acknowledged that the master jeweler apparently struck the stone poorly and left it fractured, shattered ... bereft of light and knowledge and radiant enlightenment. In fairness to the master jeweler, it should also be noted that some stones themselves may have harbored deep, hidden flaws rendering them incapable of being polished or refined. Those unfortunates, I fear, will have many more journeys, much longer than a thousand miles...

A reunion can be and should be a celebration of all our life journeys and the sometimes quite divergent roads that we chose ... as well as a joyous commemoration and remembrance of birthday parties and Birthday Clubs and Friday Night Lights and Saturday nights dragging the highway, or date nights at the old Palace Theater ... a shared commonality of feeling and circumstance, and a sharing of all the singularly unique experiences which we bring to reconnection ... an ephemeral eulogy to our former selves and times, and an encomium and festive appreciation for all we have lived through, and learned through, to reach the caravanserai where we choose to pause temporarily to rest and refresh for our further travels.




The Three Pure Ones

A reunion is not a place to take offense over small, petty, long-ago or even contemporary disagreements, or perceived (possibly erroneously perceived) slights ... or to belligerently insist that everyone march to the beat of one particular drummer (or another). If we have grown and are wise, we will have learned that everyone does not have to look like us, or think like us, or believe like us, or act like us ... that we all traverse this world, this life, all our many lives, as we should, as we are supposed to, so that we may all reach the state of understanding and grace required to move on to our next existence ... and that those who are dogmatic, and dictatorial and seek to bend others to their will and mindset ... even these will eventually arrive at satori ... but it just may take a while.... (grin) And in the meantime, the rest of us can practice understanding, empathy, acceptance, sympathy and certainly pity for the difficult journeys these people will have ... because they've got a lot of livin' (and lives!) to do.... (Cheshire grin)

All of that having been said ... and here I am reminded of the Rolling Stones singing "You can't always get what you want" ... it is with regret that I must write that I will not be able to attend the reunion in Childress. Sometimes, despite the best laid plans and great desire, the universe has other things in store for us. In my case, Yahn's doctor has told him that because of some health problems he has had recently, she doesn't believe he should make the trip ... and I cannot, should not and will not leave him home alone. I had been looking forward to seeing many of you ... but I must remember that I have been blessed to come together with many of you over the past year (and years), and that with joss (luck), there will be more such opportunities in the future.

I have tried my best to think of some reasonable scenario which would allow me to get away for a couple of days ... and Yahn himself has encouraged me to attend the reunion ... but in the end, it comes down to the fact that he does not need to be left alone right now ... and so my decision is made, and clear. Of course there is disappointment ... but also the certainty that I am doing what I should be doing at this time, in this season.

So, on Friday evening, October 3, I will lift a glass in salute to the CHS Class of 1963 ... to all of those who attend the reunion, and all who don't, and all who are no longer able to attend ... and I will smile at the good memories. And that slight disturbance in the air around you will be my whispered wishes to all of you that you may have the very best of everything in this "autumn" of our lives, and in the future ... as I recall Mark Twain's words that "Death is the starlit strip between the companionship of yesterday and the reunion of tomorrow." L'chaim!

)O(

It's Yesterday Once More....

Traces, faded, folded pencil sketch ca. 1974-1975

I was recently taking my usual afternoon ride with little Noah ("our" ritual), singing along with the radio (Noah is indulgent and sometimes even enthusiastic) and beginning to ponder just what I might do to mark the August 27th anniversary of my initial topic post on the blog (Blue Room, Hot Wheels, Purple Prose and the No. 4 Chili Cheeseburger..., although my first comment was published on August 15 in response to Nicki's inaugural post of August 13, Reflections on a Teacher at CHS). As Noah and I cruised the local drag (yes, I still do that), while I was contemplating possible "takes" ... the crystalline voice of Karen Carpenter (dead at 32 of anorexia nervosa) filled the car with the haunting words:

When I was young
I'd listen to the radio
Waitin' for my favorite songs
When they played I'd sing along
It made me smile.

Not only did those particular lyrics, that specific song, make me smile then, they conversely and concomitantly brought tears to my eyes, along with that breathtaking tug on my heart as so many years instantly fell away ... like those pages falling off calendars in old Hollywood movies to indicate the passage of time. So many different years, so many diverse images ... volatile times, kaleidoscopic places, memorable faces, a beloved twindred soul ... impossible to actually count or relate just how many memories (some good, some not so much) crowded my mind in the space of only a few moments....

I prudently had the presence of mind (and the opportunity) to swing into a convenient Sonic Drive-In just ahead, order a cherry limeade (another memory trigger) and then close my eyes and let the rest of the song work its wistful, beautiful, sometimes bittersweet magic.




Karen Carpenter (1950 - 1983) and her brother, Richard

Anyone who has read some of my blog posts, or who otherwise knows me well, apprehends that music has always been important in my life. Some of my most wonderful memories are bound in silken, sensuous chords or silvery, sussurous words, sometimes intricately woven, mellifluous, moving slowly like warm aural honey through the canyons of my mind ... soaring, close harmonies ... psychedelic screams or insensate mumbles symbiotically clashing with primitive percussion and ripped guitar riffs to savage the senses ... cry-in-your-beer but ultimately soothing and cathartic country ballads plaintively detailing love and loss, or the efforts by some Desperado to hide his Lyin' Eyes, or ...Make It Through the Night to another Tequila Sunrise with some Angel of the Morning, or to hang in just a little longer For the Good Times without thinking of What Might Have Been. (It is worth noting here that recent scientific studies have indicated that crying in response to sad songs is indeed therapeutic and should actually be encouraged as a means of feeling better, as many who have spent time drowning their sorrows and feeding the jukebox in some dark, smoky places can attest.)

I've always had a broad appreciation for sometimes startlingly different types of music ... I remember as a small child listening to Big Band music and the songs which were popular in World War II at home with my Daddy, who also introduced me to purported Peruvian/Inca exotica performed by Yma Sumac of the five-octave vocal range; hearing my mother (a wonderful pianist) play from her sheet music and sing; and watching Your Hit Parade every week with either my parents or grandparents, and with my brother Scott. But I must note that it is often our old music ... oldies, if you will ... the music that was being born and growing to maturity at the same time I was beginning to sense the inchoate yet questing nature of my own soul ... which moves me most.

And there was so much coool music those years after the advent of Elvis in the mid-'50s (see The Times of Our Lives: August 16, 1977 ... Elvis ... and Heartbreak Hotel ..., published August 15, 2008) ... Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Frankie Lymon, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Flamingos, the Marcels, the Five Satins, the Mystics, the Platters, the Crests (an unusually integrated group for that time, consisting of one Italian, two blacks and a Puerto Rican, who nailed the classic 16 Candles), the great Roy Orbison, the super-great Ray Charles and so many others.

Those were such happy times
And not so long ago
How I wondered where they'd gone
But they're back again
Just like a long lost friend
All the songs I loved so well.



Statue in Ray Charles Plaza, Albany Georgia

I remember Carl Lee and Truett Ball (both CHS Class of 1962) and later Jerry Huddleston (Class of '64) when they DJ'd at 1510 KCTX Radio in Childress ... as I recall, their shift was 3:00 p.m. until sign-off (which was dependent on when the sun set ... when so many of us then changed the dials to 1520 KOMA in Oklahoma City) ... and I remember singing along with the girls (or often just by myself) in the car to Patsy Cline, the Shirelles, the Drifters, the Ronettes, Jackie Wilson and Jerry Butler and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and Peter, Paul and Mary and the Beach Boys ... feeling an absolutely spiritual connection and uplift whenever I heard Ferrante & Teicher's powerful instrumental Theme from Exodus ... sighing softly along with ethereal instrumentals like A Summer Place (Percy Faith and Orchestra), Wonderland by Night (Bert Kaempfert and Orchestra), Moon River (Henry Mancini and Orchestra), Stranger on the Shore (Acker Bilk) and Sleepwalk (Santo and Johnny) ... and groovin' and movin' to Green Onions (Booker T. and the MG's), Midnight in Moscow (Kenny Ball and the Jazzmen), Washington Square (the Village Stompers), Rebel Rouser (Duane Eddy), Wipe Out (the Surfaris), Walk, Don't Run (the Ventures), Misirlou (Dick Dale and the Del Tones) and the truly cooooool Pipeline (done by the Chantays, only one of any number of one-hit wonders).

Every Sha-la-la-la
Every Wo-o-wo-o
Still shines.
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they're startin' to sing's
So fine.

I have such vivid (and verbatim!) memories of so many old songs ... from grade school and Junior High School, from my years at CHS and in college, through all the intervening years and the intermittent tears ... the genuinely warm glow spreading throughout the body, or the quick stab to the heart, when a particularly strong mnemonic suddenly sparks a half-forgotten or half-buried moment or a day in the life. Memory ... the kind that lights the corners of [the] mind ... is a true gift, though not unlike the gift of rain in that whether it is ultimately good or bad depends on how it is used or deployed. When coupled with the honest assessment of your actual feelings and thoughts, proper use of these keys may help determine your future path, and may help clear obstacles you may encounter otherwise.

Bearing in mind the strong, killer karmic injunction not to cause pain to the innocent, I nevertheless think failing and/or refusing to quietly look at and discreetly examine the past is a profligate waste of the gift, perhaps even a thwart to destiny ... and further begs the question(s): If you don't remember who you truly were at some certain significant time(s) of your life ... what you really felt ... if it has been colored or distorted by outside influences ... then how do know who you really are now??? How do you contemplate who you may be(come) in the future???

I remember the love songs that meant (and still mean) so much to me ... I remember all the words and the melodies ... I remember all the ephemera detailed by the Classics IV ... the Faded photographs, covered now with lines and creases/Tickets torn in half, memories in bits and pieces/... souvenirs of days together/... pages from an old love letter ... so many things gone now in ritual cleansing flames or in the natural attrition of almost half a century encompassing moves and spring cleaning ... and still there remain old totems and anonymous traces like a ballpoint pen, an empty cigarette pack, champagne corks, pressed flowers, hotel receipts, matchbooks ... things that when I stumble across them, I smile to think that I kept such innocuous things, which mean absolutely nothing to anyone but me ... but to throw them out would be somehow to throw away or devalue the memory. And that I will never do. I am reminded that if we cannot or will not remember, we cannot know ... we struggle to learn ... we impede our own progress....

When they get to the part
Where he's breaking her heart
It can really make me cry
Just like before
It's yesterday once more.

[Sidebar: I've always loved the 1966 song Elusive Butterfly, by folksinger/songwriter Bob Lind (another one-hit wonder), which as someone once said to me was the closest thing to pure poetry I ever heard set to music. ... "You might wake up some morning ..." and it goes on from there, making as concrete as is humanly possible all those intangible, surreal (yet so very real) moments of stasis in the midst of constant flux that we call love.... Sidebar Addendum: I almost wrecked the car the other day (perhaps a slight exaggeration, but not much) when the female afternoon drive-time DJ on the usually wonderful Platinum 96.7 station here played the gorgeous, evocative Grammy-winning Misty (recorded by Texas-born Johnny Mathis and released in 1959), and then went on to state oh so erroneously that the song was specifically written for the movie Play Misty for Me, starring and directed by Clint Eastwood (his directorial debut), released in 1971 ... a twelve-year gap. Jeez! Do a little research, for god's sake!!! I cringe to think of the people who will now tell other people that the song was written for the movie.... And I hate disinformation, even in such small matters.... Grrrrrr.... But I digress....]



Cairns Birdwing, the largest butterfly in Australia

I think (and have ventured to say on the blog) that memory ... revisiting times and places and things and people who were once (and may still be) important to us ... is vital as we continue to grow and learn in this life. If we cannot "tap into" the person we were at age 16, or 25, or 34, or 43 ... then how in the world do we comprehend not only whether we have changed, but the extent and nature of the change ... whether the change has been good or bad for us and our ultimate spiritual growth ... instructive or stunting in the development of our lives and our souls ... a comfortably-padded and well-accoutred prison or a true liberation allowing us to be all that we can be? I know some people will immediately think "Oh, but you can't live in the past" ... and of course that is true. It is dead and gone ... but not forgotten ... and I am certainly not proposing that anyone try to dwell in that ghost town, to the exclusion of the present and the future. But ... but ... I believe remembrance and true, unclouded examination is as necessary for our eternal, living souls as air and water and food are for our temporary, temporal bodies....

Lookin' back on how it was
In years gone by
And the good times that I had
Makes today seem rather sad
So much has changed.

One of the greatest things (in my mind, at least) about the blog is that in addition to contemporary topics and catch-ups and reunions ... here in this small space in the vast ethereal universe ... it is ... it can be ... it has been ... yesterday, once more. The blog provides an impetus, if not an imperative, for us to return to a place and time, now vanished except in memory (I am reminded of Margaret Mitchell's halcyon fever-dream of the Old South), to revisit things that happened to us then and in the years thereafter, and to analyze them ... both the beautiful and the painful ... in the light of the knowledge we have gained in our life journeys since then. It provides a place for us to reach out to each other, when a saving hand might be welcome, or necessary, or easy to to proffer.

I had an e-mail exchange with Clemi Higley Blackburn shortly before her shockingly swift and untimely death this past February. Despite an estrangement between us, I had e-mailed her to verify some information for my December 31, 2007 post Bobcat Treasure: Jade ... Candles ... and Auld Lang Syne..., and Clemi graciously answered my e-mail and those questions she could. Always looking (with Nicki) for "new voices" on the blog, I wrote again to Clemi, asking if she might be interested in doing a topic post for us, and she e'ed back that she didn't have a clue what she'd write about even if she was interested in undertaking such a project. And so I answered: "Oh, just whatever might be of general interest, or some happy memories you have from school, or something like that." And I felt a literal, physical pain when she wrote back: "I don't have any happy memories from high school, so wouldn't be able to write anything that would be of interest to your readers."

I was absolutely stunned. No happy memories from high school??? Zip, zilch, nada? I had some pretty ugly, painful memories of my own from those days ... as did many of us. But to say you had absolutely no happy memories? That you had not managed to separate and salvage the good from the bad??? Clemi and I were not good friends in school, but we did take dance lessons together for some years, and we worked on The Corral together my Junior and her Senior year, and I was frequently at her house visiting with her mother Carol during my last year of high school (and after) ... and I know that there were happy memories that she might have found there, if she had chosen to access them ... had made the effort to look ... if someone might have reached her ... if she had been able to consign the bad memories to the black hole where terrible memories should go. But as it was, less than two months before she died, Clemi said and remembered she had no happy memories of high school after 45 or so years. And that made me cry ... then and soon thereafter, when I heard of her death.

It was songs of love
That I would sing to then
And I'd memorize each word
Those old melodies
Still sound so good to me
As they melt the years away.



Spider lily and butterfly

The blog gifts us with visions and memories of yesterday, once more. It is a place to come together to share our lives and our thoughts and our acquired wisdom and compassion ... to reach out to each other in these years when love and friendship may be more important than ever. The blog gives each of us the opportunity to reconstitute the complex, layered individual essence of our past, present and future ... it helps us perfect the essential "blending" of the florals and woods and ambergris and spices acquired as we've walked through this life ... to meld the strong but fleeting "top notes" (aromas which are apparent immediately upon application of a perfume but dissipate soon thereafter) with the "middle notes" (the "heart" or "core" scent which begins to emerge as the top notes fade), and the more subtle but deep and rich "base notes" (formulated to emerge as the middle notes begin to fade, but also to pair with and sustain the middle notes to engender the lingering signature of the essence) ... our quintessence, if you will.

All my best memories
Come back clearly to me
Some can even make me cry
Just like before
It's yesterday once more.

I have been privileged to be Nicki's partner on the blog during this past year and I thank her so much for her invitation, for her trust in me and for her support. I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you, have been delighted by your comments, and I look forward to the future with anticipation. And, even if some of us don't always agree, I believe we may continue with an adult respect for diverse opinions. I am humbled and so stoked by some of the wonderful thoughts and insights many of you have shared, whether or not it was for publication on the blog. I remain hopeful that more of you will find your own "voices" here, either in topic posts or comments. And I am fortunate and truly blessed to have been able to "reconnect" after so many long years....

And as ever, I so hope that we each are able to take something from here ... to cherish the good things, and consign the "bad things" to the darkness, to build and plan for days to come ... that we may continue for a long time to share our past and present lives, our commonalities of history and circumstance, and our dreams for the future.

Thank you for all ... for everything ... for oh so much ... you have given me ... and for the eternal, immortal connection....

)O(

Another Year Over: The Blog Year One

The Blog is Born


Because I have an intense interest in technology and a strong desire to stay current with the latest developments, especially those relating to education and classrooms, I was curious and delighted when I found a book entitled Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, written by Will Richardson. I must also confess that my delight in finding the book and bringing it home related somewhat to recognizing it as an opportunity to both horrify and tease Jim a bit with the title because he has always thought me to be a bit “weird” in some of my interests relating to technology.

I have previously had a lot of experience with designing and maintaining web pages, and while I had heard of blogs and blogging, I had no experience even though I had made a couple of half hearted attempts at various times. Reading Richardson’s book rekindled my curiosity and solidified my opinion that blogs have real application to not only classrooms but to our daily lives. Unlike regular web pages, blogs hold the key to allowing users to post unlimited information, opinions, ideas and other resources to an audience that in turn can easily and quickly respond. In the book, Richardson writes,

“I will never forget the first time I posted my opinion (on a blog), and the first time someone responded to it. There was something really powerful about easily being able to share resources and ideas with a Web audience that was willing to share back what they thought about those ideas."

Additionally Richardson states:

“Weblogs are not built on static chunks of content. Instead they are comprised of reflections and conversations that in many cases are updated every day…… Blogs engage readers with ideas and questions and links. They ask readers to think and to respond. They demand interaction.”

By the time I had finished reading much of what Richardson has written, I became consumed with learning to become a blogger. In the back of my mind I wanted to become proficient with a new skill that I might someday apply to the writing of curriculum designed for online learners. I turned to Blogspot.Com and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to setup a blog in my name. Somehow I knew that my intended audience was to be the CHS Class of 1963. The idea was there in my mind and I had a vision of what I wanted to do.

Amazingly, it all came together on Monday, August 13, 2007, one year ago today! “Reflections on the Way Were: Childress High School Class of 1963” was launched.

Depending on word of mouth and the few email addresses that I had for former Childress classmates, I published the first post for the blog. In trying desperately to come up with a topic with wide appeal I wrote Reflections on a Teacher at CHS. The two goals I set forth were to publish new posts at least once a month and to get Jim involved in writing for the blog as well. The first goal has been met thanks to much help from Jennifer who came on board August 27, 2007 with her post entitled Blue Room, Hot Wheels, Purple Prose and the No. 4 Chili Cheeseburger ... The second goal involving Jim has been less successful, even though he has blessed us with one post entitled Life is a game; Basketball is Serious: Jim Wilcoxson. However, his behind the scenes support, and interest have been invaluable.

To this date we have published 92 posts. In an effort to provide a variety of topics of interest to everyone, we have enjoyed multiple posts entitled Cat’ Tracks which focused on the travels and trips of various classmates, posts entitled Bobcat Treasures which focused on every individual member of our class by incorporating bits of information from the past and present, The Times of Our Lives which cover memorable events which have affected all of us, and Blast From the Past which happily once more bring to us articles written by Jennifer in the Corral including her column “As You Like It.”

In the beginning the posts focused on “the way we were” in 1963 by reliving the junior and senior banquets and good times with old friends. The Naughty Nine as well as Childress HS athletics, band, and cheerleading were spotlighted in posts. We revisited the “blue room”, drag racing, and Halloween past and present. Not surprisingly over the year many of the posts have moved to the issues that we in the Class of 63 face today such as aging, caring for elderly parents, grandchildren, and living the good life of retirement.

Sadly, we have found it necessary to take the time to mourn the loss of too many of our friends and classmates including two who died during this year, John McConnell in 2007 and Larry Clifton in 2008.

Room for Expansion

In January, 2008, the Reflections Blog was linked to a new blog named “Show and Tell” which serves as an online yearbook for our class. The goal is to showcase each class member of 1963 with a brief updated bio of life after graduation up to “today”. Fourteen of our old friends have graciously responded. I still have hopes that we will be able to add more in the next months.

In February, 2008 another piece of the puzzle was created in the form of another linked blog called “Short Notes.” We want a place to share information and short posts on a wide variety of topics. 32 short notes including Childress information, art works by former classmates and a trip to Paris. This blog is one we would like to “do over” a bit, but it has been a successful way to share information about other classes at CHS, reunion information, and much more.

The newest planned linked blog will be called “Celebrating the Journey: The Power of Love” which is designed to spotlight and celebrate the marriages of our former classmates as they share their secrets of a great marriage. At this time we have published a post from Kay Eatherly and Gayle Whitten on the Reflections blog. When new posts are received, the new blog will become active.

We Couldn’t have Done it Without You!

So many people have helped us in so many ways. Posts were written by Joe Hopkins, Clara Robinson Meek, Linda Kay Bridges Cook, Kay and Gayle Whitten, Darryl Morris, Lynn Purcell Durham, Mike Spradley, Yahn Smith, Raenell Wynn Smith, Phil Tutor, and Betty Smith Merritt. We appreciate you more than you can imagine!

In order to get the word out about the blog, we had a great response from the following people who shared email addresses, home addresses and phone numbers of former classmates. Thank you so very much to Raenell Wynn Smith, Jennifer, Linda Key Rothwell, Joe Hopkins, Classmates.Com, Kay Eatherly Whitten, and other Childress people.

To everyone who cared enough and took the time to comment on posts over the last year—we remain eternally grateful to you.

To all of you who emailed your support and good wishes over the year, thank you so very, very much!

To each person who is in the spotlight on the online yearbook, thank you for stepping up and sharing. It has been so much fun to read about you and your families over the years. Carolyn Loter Barlow was brave enough to be the first up. Each life story has been such a blessing to all of us.

A special thank you to Kay and Gayle. You didn’t disappoint me! I owe you big time!

Thank you to Harold Simmons for your contributions to Short Notes! It is always good to hear from you.

Thank you, Betty Smith Merritt, for blessing us with your story and your poetry.

Thank you to Driscilla Dehtan Storrs for your emails and your encouragement.

Thank you to Mike Spradley for your wit, your stories, and your drawings. You were such a blessing in the beginning. We look forward to your return to the blog in the future.

Thank you to Clara Robinson Meek for your friendship and for sharing your art and your wonderful stories. More please!

Thank you to Pat Davenport Shapiro for having us to your home. It was such a wonderful time and so wonderful to see you again.

Thank you to Lynn Purcell Durham for your story of survival in the hurricane. It was awesome! You remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you to Bill Bailey for getting in touch with us and for so willingly sending your bio to Show and Tell. We appreciate you!

The Big Disappointments

We were disappointed but not down and out by the unsuccessful drive to have our 45th reunion in Las Vegas. It would have been so much fun, but we are anticipating seeing many more of you in Childress. Thank you to everyone who is planning on making the trip.

We are sad that a few of our classmates remain on the Lost rather than the Found lists. Juanita Foster, Linda Ham Stephenson, Gerald Holeman, Darrel Manuel, Woody Maggart, Barbara Moore, Bruce Patterson, Linda Richie Cook, Juanita Taylor, Rex Wheeler, and Eddie Worthington are missed. Can you help us locate any of them?

Sadly, many of our classmates that we have managed to locate have not gotten in touch with us. Every person is important to us and we would love to hear from everyone.

Great Rewards

Locating Phil Tutor in Arizona and meeting Phil face to face along with his wife Winnie was so much fun. Phil has “grown up” : ) very nicely and we look forward to hearing from The Bish again.

Reconnecting with so many of our other classmates via email, telephone calls, or face to face is wonderful!

Seeing so many of our classmates reconnect with old friends because of the blog is terrific, too.

Getting to see “Jersey Boys” in Dallas with Linda Bridges Cook and her husband Wayne Cook! Linda, you make both Jim and me laugh with your wonderful wit and stories.

Having the occasional Sunday lunch with Jan and J.R. Bell.

Saving the Best for Last

Jennifer, your posts, your encouragement, your great ideas, you wonderful titles, your wit, your passion and zeal on so many levels all mean more than I can say. Thank you for your friendship. You have blessed every one of us in so many ways.

What is Next?

With the support, suggestions, and input of our "audience" we will continue One Day at a Time.

A Final Look Back

John Lennon’s, “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)” remains one of my favorite songs. Three of the lines in particular always make me stop and think and even though the song is a Christmas song, I want to apply those lines here because I love them. They are not in the order that they appear in the song, but they are reflective of the first year of the blog for me.

”Another year over
And what have you done”

It has been a great year. It has been my pleasure to create a blog that hopefully has served many of you well by transporting you back to a much simpler time when we were young and full of hopes and dreams. However, I would hope most of all that as we share our stories of today with one another we can once again re-establish the bonds of friendship and respect based on the adults that we have become today.

"Another year over
And a new one just begun"

With the new year of the blog, dare I hope that we will see more of each one of you actively appearing on the blog? What a gift that would be for all of us.

I remain your humble blog servant or perhaps I should say, I remain your humble blog slave! : )

Nicki

Celebrating the Journey: The Power of Love: Kay and Gayle Whitten

Kay (Eatherly) and Gayle Whitten
August 20, 1966

How did you meet and what attracted you to each other?

We met in our sophomore history class, and I (Kay) did not learn history, but I was attracted to a cute boy who was full of fun and had a great smile. Gayle says he thought I was cute but probably would not give him a second look. He was so intriguing that I asked him to be my date at the Future Teachers of America banquet on March 24, 1961. From that night on, we spent a lot of time together. After we graduated from high school, Gayle went to Wayland Baptist while I went to Texas Tech. That first year of college left us longing to be in the same town, so the next year, Gayle transferred to Texas Tech where we discovered that we truly wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. So we married August 20, 1966 and have lived in Lubbock ever since.

What was the biggest thing that you had to change or learn to make your marriage work? What was the biggest challenge you triumphed over as a couple?

According to Gary Thomas, a Christian author, “God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy.” We are living examples of the truth of that statement. Marriage has been a challenge for both of us; living together, respecting each other, submitting to the Christ in each other, choosing to stay together, living on a one-teacher salary and bringing up two children to be Godly people who are responsible and delightful, being stretched and stressed while taking care of sick parents while working full time, and then dealing with the deaths of our parents.

How has your relationship changed over time?

GOD is faithful, and today we are happier, more content, more in love with Jesus and each other than we have ever been.

What Accomplishment are you most proud of in your life?

Our children are healthy and successful, bringing up our five grandchildren in homes with love and affection. We thoroughly enjoy our grandchildren and are blessed almost daily to see the three who live in Lubbock. The other two are in Houston, and it takes more effort to see them.

What activities do you enjoy doing together?

For years, we had a boat and spent many hours boating, skiing and fishing. We have been privileged to take many wonderful and awesome trips together—Korea, China, Russia, Japan, Czech Republic, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Canada, London, Hawaii, Alaska, Arizona, all over Texas, and soon we will go to Virginia and Washington, DC. We enjoy bird watching and sharing in the excitement of finding birds wherever we go.

What is your favorite thing about being married?

Having someone to share LIFE with is a precious gift, and God has used this gift to draw both of us closer to Him, truly revealing that the process of becoming holy is a road marked with trials and suffering, but the eternal rewards, that far outshine merely being happy, are true love, joy, peace and happiness.

Is there anything you haven’t accomplished that you dream of doing together?

As I write this, God is opening new opportunities for Gayle to embark on realizing his life-long dream of teaching Creation vs. Evolution in churches and in the Ministry Training School at our church. Together, we prepare PowerPoint presentations that emphasize the authority of the scriptures as they relate to this topic as well as to our daily lives. This is just another step in our journey, and we are eager to see where this path will lead and what new and exciting things lie ahead.

In your experience, what is the secret to a good marriage?

Our secret to a good marriage is not really a secret but a scripture: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths (journey).”

Reflecting on the Journey: The Power of Love

As we looked at these two pictures (wedding day and today), we were struck by the enormous space that separated them. What filled all those years? We have been on a journey that has led us in many directions and through valleys, across rivers, up onto mountain tops, and today we look back over that expanse and are amazed that God has been leading us and He has allowed us to share this journey together for nearly 42 years of marriage plus five and one-half years of dating.

Kay and Gayle Whitten June, 2008

Marriage Bobcat Style

Thursday, July 31, we will begin a new series of posts entitled, Celebrating the Journey: The Power of Love. The goal for the project is to explore the question, “What is the secret of a good marriage?” All of the couples selected to participate include at least one spouse from the Class of 1963, with most having graduated from Childress High School. An added benefit for this project will be the opportunity for us to get to know each other in a different way other than the 18 year old classmates of the past.

During the past month, we have sent requests to many of our former classmates asking each one along with his/her spouse to consider participating in this project. Amazingly, the response was almost unanimously positive. Apparently this is a topic of great interest and we are so excited to begin the posts. Even more gratifying is the fact that many who have agreed to complete the questionnaires that were sent to to them are old friends who have not previously appeared on the blog. For those of you who have not yet been asked to participate, I assure you that we welcome every one and I will be contacting more of you as time goes on. However, if you would like to contact me prior to that, it would be a blessing to have you.

As the completed questionnaires are received each one will be posted on this (the main) blog. Because we consider these posts to be so special, a new blog (Celebrating the Journey) has been created so that we can move each one there for its permanent home. However, once again, because these posts are special, we want them to first appear where everyone can see them easily and then revisit them on the new blog as desired.

On Thursday, the first post (our mystery couple for now) will be featured along with a wedding photo and a today photo. Be sure to check it out.

http://childresshighschool-classof1963.blogspot.com/