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.

Phil Tutor: Change ... It's Good For You!!!

Our friend Phil Tutor very kindly provided us with a CD of one of his sermons to his congregation, and has given us permission to use a portion of his message here on the blog. We believe that Phil's words hold much wisdom and his thoughts will assuredly be of interest to our blog readers. If there are any errors in transcription or editing, they are mine, and we thank Phil for sharing and making his first appearance in a topic post.. -- Jennifer

1 Corinthians 1:51: ... we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.... which happens to be somewhat appropriately displayed over the church nursery....

A simple but profound thought: The future will not change unless the present gets disturbed. Now that may be disturbing to you ... we are often afraid of change. But we all want and need change. Change is inevitable. We can't help that. We've got to hang onto things, we can try to keep things as they were, but nevertheless, change is inevitable.

If you don't believe that, go through your picture albums and look at your graduation pictures. Look at your wedding pictures. When Jennifer and Nicki first got in touch with me, somehow they found a picture of me with my motorcycle and my ink showing and my "wife-beater" shirt on ... and I've got to say that I look pretty dang good compared to the people I graduated from high school with. They look old!!!

The word change is used in various ways. It means to abolish, to alter, to remove, to pervert, to turn about, to overturn or exchange. It means to make "different". Yet, even though change is inevitable, we have a tendency to resist change. Why? Number one is that we feel the need for familiarity ... the stability of familiarity. We become familiar with our surroundings ... the things we do, the way we look, the things we eat. When you go to a familiar restaurant, do you always order the same thing, even when there's something new on the menu? Do you feel like, "Well, I might not like that." So, rather than risk eating something different, we stick with what we know because of the familiarity, the stability.

Another reason we don't like to change is that we become comfortable with the present. So why change? A third reason we resist change is that we become comfortable with the status quo. There's a security that somehow invades our mind and our surroundings, and the status quo is okay.

Unfortunately, without change, we become stagnant, and complacent. Just do the same old thing all the time ... and when anything is changed, it disrupts our whole day. Change can be hard sometimes But if you don't change, we not only become stagnant and complacent, but uncreative. I believe God wants us to be creative. A man by the name of Frank Herbert said: "Without change, something sleeps inside us and never awakes." He goes on to say that the sleeper must awake. Change forces us to wake up. Change forces us into a place where we can see things in a different perspective, a different light.

And the way we are awakened is through change. There's a quote: "If you don't like something, change it." If you can't change it, then change your attitude to that which cannot change. Now there are some things in life that aren't going to change. I mean, as long as man walks on the earth, and travels, you're never going to get a man to look at a map or ask directions. That's just a fact of life, and it ain't gonna change.

Two more great quotes: "If we don't change, we don't grow, we aren't really living;" and "Healthy people change, change brings growth, growth bears fruit, fruit causes health and healthy people change." There are three times in your life that you're going to change. First is when you hurt enough, when you're miserable enough, that you have to change. A second catalyst for change is when you learn enough that you want to change. And third is, when you receive enough, you're able to change.

It's not God's responsibility to change you ... it's your responsibility. I've counseled many married couples over the years and I've heard them say: "Well, I just wish my wife (or husband) would change." But I've learned that when the person who wants change in someone else begins to change themselves, it starts to have an effect on that other person. And of course, if that doesn't work, a good bat upside the head helps.... (Just a little joke here ... not advocating domestic violence.)

I see many people in my ministry who, when things don't go as they like, say, "Well, I want God to do" this or that ... but they don't take any steps to change their situation themselves. And then when God doesn't "fix" it, they say, "Well, I'm just upset with God." And then I say, "Well, I'm upset with you for being upset with God." Some of these people I've counseled for years, and they refuse to take any steps or actions to help themselves, and then when the wheels are coming off, they want to blame me or God. We cannot stand around waiting for God or someone else to change us, when we have the power within us to change.

There are some things I want to challenge you with, if you are contemplating change. If you're tired of the status quo, if you're tired of things as they are, if you're becoming stagnant and your creativity has waned ... you need to think positively. That is crucial. And you need to think creatively ... look for ways to change. Be creative in your positive thinking ... and contemplate what you want the "finished product" to be.

Sometimes we make things too complicated ... so if you want to change things, just keep it simple. You want to get in shape? Don't go out and spend $10,000 on equipment. Just start walking or running. Just start picking yourself up off the chair you're sitting on. Be simple. Be practical. Think practically. I had a lady in to see me recently about going to Africa to be a missionary. And I appreciate that ... I believe there is a desire in her heart ... but why wait until you get to Africa when there is so much to be done right here? I never cease to be amazed at people who want to change, or want to serve ... but they always want to do it in a way that's impractical. So do something about the things that are before you right now ... be practical about it.

You must also think continually, if you want to change. So many people want to change, but when the change doesn't come as quickly as they want, they give up and quit.

And I know some of you think, "Well, should I do this, or should I do that? Is it right or wrong?" You need to change your thinking about that, because "right" is not always clear cut. I often appear at the courthouse with regard to various cases, and I see all kinds of decisions handed down by the judges ... and some of these decisions are going to be "right" for one person and "wrong" for another. And many times those decisions produce justice for no one ... because often there are two "rights" ... there are two stories ... there is more than one life at stake. Most of our society is structured on "wrong" decisions and "right" decisions, what we see as "moral" and what we see is "immoral" ... but our society, the people we associate with, and are related to, all of the things which make us a diverse culture, do not always give blackline definitions of "right" and "wrong" ... and we must be prepared to try to think as others do, to try to put ourselves in their shoes, and then walk a mile in those shoes ... before we make snap judgments as to whether something is clearly "right" or clearly "wrong". And sometimes that requires change in our thinking.

I mean, I used to see people eating raw oysters. And I'd think, "How could you?" I don't want to gross anybody out, but it almost looked like eating a giant loogie. But after someone once dared me into trying one, I can hardly wait to get to some cities that have oyster bars! I mean, as they say in Kentucky, "It's gooder than snuff!" And especially with a big, nice glass of RC Cola ... little Lu'siana hot sauce....

So, in closing, I want to pose another question to you. When was the last time you did something for the first time? If it's been a while, then it's probably going to require change in your life, which may require risk ... because change nearly always involves risk. So look at risk-takers, because risk-takers are people who want to change.

I challenge you to do something different ... if not today, then tomorrow, but don't keep putting it off. Even if it's as simple as ordering something unfamiliar from a menu, or changing your haircut. I have to say that I've worn my hair four different ways in the past 20 years. I've worn it straight, I've worn it curly, I've worn somebody else's, and I've worn it as it is now. And every now and then, I let it grow out just a little bit, and I look like Tommy on "Rugrats". I've also started sporting a partial beard, because I'm starting to have a little bit of a turkey chin, and that hides it real well.

Be Blessed!

The Unexpected: The Miracle of the Blog

IF A FAT GUY GRABS YOU AND PUTS YOU IN A BAG, DON'T WORRY, I TOLD SANTA I WANTED A GOOD FRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS!

Sometimes at Christmas it takes only the smallest gesture to touch our hearts in very unexpected ways, a special Christmas card, a gift of cookies, or a phone call. In this case the unexpected came in the form of an email with a funny message of friendship from a treasured classmate and his wife in the class of 1963. Jennifer and I, both feel very blessed to have received this affirmation that old friendships are being rekindled perhaps with a little help from our blog. Jennifer calls it "The Miracle of the Blog" and I agree. I am sharing this message with all of you. I hope you, too, will find your hearts touched in simple and unexpected ways throughout the coming year. A very heartfelt thank you to Harold and Donna.

We're Not Getting Older; We're Getting Better.

A sure cure for a bad day or a bad mood is to visit your nearest greeting card shop and spend time reading the cards. It is impossible to not find your spirits lifted a bit when most of the cards lend themselves to laughter. We often spend much of our time laughing at the cards that in some way deal with the subject of aging, after all many of our friends are now hitting 60 and above, and we want to find just the right card to emphasize that they will soon be the recipient of many of the "ravages of time." You know the ones I mean, loss of memory, loss of hair, loss of one's sexual urges, loss of energy, loss of one's teeth, loss of hearing and the list goes on. While we laugh, it is also hard to not feel a twinge or two when some cliche or another hits home. The truth is, as the bumper sticker says, "getting old is not for sissies." The expression carries more truth than fiction. In many ways aging does hurts. All of us carry with us more aches, more pains, more health conditions and more pills and medicines. Additionally, aging in our society often results in loss of self esteem and a loss of self worth brought on by among other things the media. If we are not seeking out nips and tucks for every part of our bodies, we are led to believe that there is no way we can ever be considered beautiful or desirable again.

Recently my son-in-law and daughter commented after a trip to St. Kitts that the people who seemed to be having the most fun were a large group of "blue hairs" who invaded the swimming pool with little or no regard as to how they looked in bathing suits (even bikinis). Apparently their raucous comments which included the word, Viagra, were accompanied by merriment and loud laughter! Obviously these people had found a way to live long enough to become an "embarrassment to their children" as they lived life to the fullest.

So where are you today my fellow aging classmates from the class of 1963? Are you going to take this aging thing lying down by giving in or giving up, or hiding your head in the sand hoping it will all go away. I say a resounding NO to that. It is time to take back our lives to assert ourselves as being vital, important , and fun. Will you say "bring it on" like Linda Kay and Jennifer? Will you adopt the philosophies of crabby, cranky,Maxine from those Hallmark Cards and join her in "snarkiness?" Will you spend your time wishing you were 16 or 20 again or will you admit that 60 is sexy and as some say now that 60 is the old 40?

As for myself, I am really really glad to be my age.
I would hate being young and naive, or facing life again without the experience and hindsight that I have today. I would hate not being a grandma.

Let me share with you my 10 commandments for the aging me!

1. I will never let my health issues and ailments be
my main topic of conversation, EVER!
2. I will be active everyday.
3. I will remember that I am not 30 or 40 anymore
so I won't hurt myself trying to act as if I am.
4. I will try not be become a burden to my children.
5. If I must become a burden to my children, I will do it with style and finesse.
6. I will learn to do something new everyday.
7. I will never lose my enthusiasm for experiencing new things
unless that new thing could put me in the hospital.
8. I will never use expressions like "in my day" or
"that's not the way we've always done it."
9. I will remember that wrinkles and lines really are a sign of experience and hopefully wisdom so I can be reminded to be grateful to be who I am, myself!
10. I will never let Jim wear black socks and dress shoes
with shorts and a tee shirt in public. (This commandment was initiated by Jim!)

Now in light of the above, it is my pleasure to share with you photos
that Darryl Morris has shared. While he is no longer the young man in the white jacket
that we see in our annuals, he definitely exemplifies the statement that "We are not getting older; We are getting better." Thank you Darryl for being brave enough to share with us in hopes that some of the others will do the same.

Here's "Papa" with granddaughter Louisa Claire Morris-Uebel. I'm wearing my typical "farmer's uniform." (I should get a big discount on haircuts, shouldn't I? )

And here's Sharon (on the right) with her sister and dearest friend Janell who died of cancer a year ago this past August.

The daughters of Darryl and Sharon.The three sisters during an amusing
moment: L-R: Debbie, Nicki, and Sharyl.
The reunion was held at the Wellington VFW hall, thus all the stars and stripes.

Darryl refers to their home as a Little Slice of Paradise

The Meadowlands

Seven acres that offer,among other things, wonderful peace of mind.