Debby Larus Doolittle

One week later -- our new puppy Savana and Mavis

Gerry Phillips

View link on Mike Phillips

http://www.skinnyski.com/racing/display.asp?Id=12455

Dan Sheedy

First Lieutenant Matthew Zeller is serving with the Army 1st Infantry Division in Afghanistan. He has been sending extensive emails about his experiences there. Would you help in this quest, dubbed "Pens for Peace"?
From Matt, sent April 26:
I'm fine, healthy, extremely satisfied, quite excited, and in great spirits. For those of you looking to send care packages, I don't really need anything at the moment…nor do my men. If you are so inclined, however, the Afghans (especially the kids) could use all the pens, old clothing, and shoes you can spare. Children's toys, soccer balls, volleyballs (they are crazy for it here), are also quite welcome.
Pens are key. Afghanistan provides all of its children with free primary education. They do not, however, provide them with writing implements. If a child's family does not own a writing implement, their parents will not send them to school – to do so would be a major dishonor against the family. The children end up farming and herding animals rather than receiving an education. The primary recruits to the Taliban are the uneducated in search of an income or children who were sent to Madrasa. Madrasas are religious schools for boys in which the primary instruction is basically memorization of the Koran. They are usually funded by the Wahhabi school of Islam that predominates in Saudi Arabia – and is best known for the brand of Islam adhered to by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Parents often send children to Madrasa because they either cannot afford to keep them in their household – Madrasas feed children, and sometimes the parents simply cannot feed all their offspring. Parents also send children to Madrasa because it guarantees some form of education – Madrasas provide their students with writing implements. Thus, PENS are essential to winning this war. Pens keep kids in government run schools, which in turn increase the number of educated people in this country, improve the economy, and most importantly, decrease the Taliban's recruiting pool. Please send pens. If I were running for President a guiding theme of my foreign policy towards Islamic fundamentalism would be the following: We can only win this war by preventing today's children from becoming tomorrow's terrorists. Many of you have asked how you can help me during this deployment. My answer is: help me help give these kids a better life. Send clothing. Send shoes. SEND PENS.

Matt Zeller (please do not include rank for security reasons)
2/1/203
FOB Ghazni (FOB Vulcan)APO AE 09354
Pens and other humanitarian aid may be sent directly to Matthew Zeller, or if you prefer, I will send your packages, at my expense. My contact information appears below.
Thanks!

Dan Sheedy
1172 State St.
Clayton NY 13624 315-285-5243

-or-

3894 Acorn Hill Dr
Canandaigua NY 14424 585-394-2532

Vivian Bender Munson

I am in California right now. My husband and I went to a funeral in Boulder City, Nevada on Friday. It was scheduled at 8:30 AM at a Veterans Cemetery in the desert. We got up at 4 AM, stumbled through security at the airport, flew to Las Vegas, rented a car and actually made it to the service almost on time. It was a Russian Orthodox burial, with the priest singing and incense. Very interesting.
The Hoover Dam was only 30 miles away so we drove over to it after breakfast. What a fantastic monument it is, as impressive as I imagine the Great Wall of China to be.
We got home at midnight and the next day drove to Lake Tahoe where our church was holding a family retreat. The theme was rest, and did we ever need rest. We normally do not run ourselves ragged like that.
What are you up to?
Vivian

Jack Mapstone

Debby, I thank you again for all that you have done with keeping us all in touch.
I have been meaning to update you folks on my rather banal but happy existence. I have finished supervising 12 student teacher interns for FSU and have sporadically filled in as a substitute teacher at a local high school. ( It seems to me parents are coddling and catering to their kids a whole lot more these days) I have been asked to teach a class at FSU for the math ed department in the fall. I hope to meet with one of the full- time professors to knock out the details shortly.
Personally, my wife and I stay pretty much around Tallahassee (the grand kids !). Renae is working at that high school I mentioned as the front office receptionist. She has tendered her resignation and is applying for a job on the FSU campus.( I think she is even more frustrated with today's parents than I am.) We did travel to Venice, FL this past weekend to see Steve Martin and his wife. Steve took me out on the gulf scuba diving for ancient sharks teeth. I hadn't been diving in probably 25 years. It was not pretty. We did manage to play some golf, sample a couple of local restaurants, see a movie and stay up late playing cards and 'Train' dominoes. Oh yeah, we drank some beer and some wine.
I sincerely hope all y'all are well and enjoying life.
Jack

Dave Eckerson

I’m back from Kabul

Tearing house apart, throwing away 8 years of accumulated junk, and then off to Uganda on July 14th to be USAID Mission Director. Will be sworn in by USAID Administrator on 7 July … if anyone is in DC, come on over the Ronald Reagan Building at 3PM.

Nan Leland Flatt

Had a surprise phone call from Nan Leland while I was in NC. We finally connected last night and had a long conversation to catch up on things. She and her husband Sam Flatt live in East Syracuse and have a very large combined family of children and grandchildren. Nan, Mike Krall, Duke Leonard and I were in homeroom together and sat near each other.

Even though Nan and Sam do not use computers, she promised to stay in touch by phone.

F-M Class 1966: Steve Martin

F-M Class 1966: Debby Larus Doolittle

I just finished watching Syracuse University beat Johns Hopkins for the NCAA Lacrosse title. I still closely watch the Syracuse area sporting events.

My wife Gerry and I have a beautiful home on a lake in Venice Florida. We are both retired (although I still teach part time at Manasota Community College). Jack Mapstone and his wife were down for a visit. We all had a great time - after a couple glasses of wine Jack broke out into a southern redneck drawl and had us in stitches. Jack and I went to high school and college (Florida Tech) together and were in the same fraternity in college, so we have a lot of history to laugh about.

Gerry and I will be camping at Green Lakes State Park this summer. My daughter, son in law and four grandkids are living in Lafayette so we will have lots of company and lots to do. It's always fun to return home and see how things have changed and what things are still the same.

Steve Martin

Debby Larus Doolittle

Our new puppy Mavis in John's lap with Bailey looking on.

Oak Leaves Staff

Here's another one. Who do you recognize in this?

Do You Recognize ?

How many people can you identify in this photograph?

Dan McCabe

This is Dan McCabe cropped from the photo at right. He's 6th from the right. This is a photo of his granddaughter's baptism.

Memorial Weekend

Have a great Memorial Weekend.

Debby Larus Doolittle

This is my new puppy. Drove to Kansas City, MO and picked her up from the breeder. Quite a day. The breeder named her Pearl because of the string of spots across her neck. Am trying to come up with a name to fit her personality. She's 8 weeks. So little. She's sitting in my lap while I type. My other Dal Savana is sitting at my feet. Our Lab Bailey is outside with her Dad, John.

Kirsten Mackey Fleisher

Hi everyone!

I'd like to invite any of you to join us in Guatemala this summer to work on a medical mission up in the mountains around Lake Atitlan...or let me help you set up your own team...or consider supporting a Guatemalan child by paying school fees and supplies for the year ($95 total cost!)...or give a family basic food supplies for a month for $5.00.We'd love to have you share in the joy of making a significant difference in someone's life!

Every summer I have been so fortunate to be part of a group of Americans and Guatemalans who, through Spring of Hope Mission, try to bring medical help and education to rural Guatemalans. Lake Atitlan is one of the most beautiful spots in the world...and one of the poorest, especially devastated by 36 years of civil war. These pictures capture only a glimpse of the warmth and hospitality of the Guatemalan people, yet hide the fact that they cannot afford the most basic food supplies like flour or cooking oil, or that they suffer needlessly with ailments that could be remedied with over the counter medications here in the US. If you are interested in any aspect of this work, please contact me at kirstenmaki@yahoo.com.

Debby Larus Doolittle

There will be no posts from me for the next 5 days as I will be in NC visiting my mother and I will not have access to a computer. Please post yourself. We need fresh news and information.

The Summer Tanager

This is the latest bird to grace our backyard. Have never seen before either. They like oranges as do the Orioles.

Greetings this week

From:
Sandy Epoch
Bill Schai
Dan Sheedy
Mike Krall
Glenn Prestwich
Mike Gillman

Dick Shanahan

Had a long email from Dick telling me about the many tests he must endure at this stage to make sure he is eligible for the eventual lung transplant. It does not sound like an easy process. He is humbled and awed by the generosity of all of you who contributed to his fund. He said since he was an only child and is used to doing things for himself, he would never have asked for help.

He is so grateful and thankful to everyone.

Debby

Coffee

For those of you who really like a good cup of coffee you might want to check out this website:

http://www.coffeefool.com/

Backyard Bird Watcher

This the latest bird to make it to my feeders, the Baltimore Oriole. They're so interesting. They love oranges and pick slices clean. They only stay for a few days so I do a lot of observing.

John Bergstrom

Hi Debby,

I remember, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... but I have to admit I don't remember that particular book group - but that doesn't mean I wasn't in it. I'm afraid my memory has never been very good. I try to exercise it these days by memorizing poems, but I guess that is a different aspect of memory.I sort of remember a group that got together in somebody's house to learn interesting mathematical concepts - base-12 arithmetic and probably other things - and a school-based program where we would take a school-bus in to Syracuse and hear lectures by University professors (?) on literary and scientific topics. I think those were in the Jr-High years.If you get this, it means I have managed to correct whatever was wrong with my email system. Let's see!

Keep in touch

John

Glenn Prestwich

Hi Debby

Great! Bix was a bus-riding buddy too...it would be fun to see him again. In 2 wks I’ll be clearing customs in SYR on a trip back from Kingston, Ontario. Will think of you then too. See photo “The Four Geezers of the Apocalypse” from my friend Bill’s (best friend in grad school) 60th bday at a winery in Gilroy, CA. Also see aerial of the state of the Orcas house. Solar panels on. Deck coming along. Sheetrocking in progress.

Hugs Glenn

Greetings from the following Classmates

Weekly greetings from various classmates:

Barb Belton Robertson
Bill Schai
Mike Krall
Dan Sheedy
Glenn Prestwich

Debby Larus Doolittle

This is my step daughter Bridget Butler. She's just started a new position in Maine as director of an Audubon Society bird sanctuary island. She's commuting to work in this photo.

The Pileated Wookdpecker

We have a lot of these here in Missouri. In fact there's one on my suet feeder right now making a squawking noise and sounding like a jungle bird. They're very interesting to watch. They come in all sizes -- medium, large and very large. You can hear and see them gliding through the woods announcing their arrival and departure.

The Pileated Woodpecker

Reunion set for Class 1968

The Class of 1968 is having their 40th reunion in August. My brother Dudley and his wife Sydney are both in that class. So far they have a gathering planned at Green Lakes. I 'm helping them with suggestions and ways to locate people.

Class Directory

Please let me know if you'd like an updated class directory. It can be sent as an attachment to an email. Very easy to do.

Steve Martin

Debby,
I just looked at the blog – it has been a while since I looked at it (and contributed to it). Jack Mapstone is coming down Memorial Day weekend and we’re going to do some SCUBA diving. When he is here I’ll take a few pictures and bring you up to date on “all the latest”.
Steve

Libby Rogers Cowan

Debby,

I have a vivid memory of sitting in Kirsten’s family room and discussing A Tale of Two Cities with Mr. Mackey.

But that is the only memory I have. I can’t remember any other books we read, or even if we had more than that one meeting. I know it included Kristen, Bix, you and me. I think Cinda was in it too, but I don’t know if anyone else was involved or even what grade we were in. Do you think it was eighth grade? And how did it get started?

Whatever happened to Bix?

Libby

Post Tax Filing Advice

Keep vs. Toss: shed unnecessary records, then separate the must keeps in 3 places -- a lockable file cabinet, long-term storage, and an emergency kit

* create a receipt receptacle and review later for essential receipts
* fill a lockable fireproof box with difficult to replace documents
* ditch backlogs of bank statements, bill and pay stubs
* the single smartest thing you can do: invest in a crosscut shredder

http://goodhousekeeping.com/importantdocs for the complete article click here

Lee Adams Lerch

Carsten

Our first grandchild

Lee Adams Lerch

This is my first entry, so I will try to get you up to date. My husband, Dave, and I have been living in Pennsylvania since we got married, 35 years ago. We lived in the Philadelphia area for a year, but that was a mistake. We are now in the Lehigh Valley (Allentown is the biggest city), living in an old farmhouse in the country. When we bought the house, it had no heat or plumbing, and only had minimal electricity. 3 years later, with the help of all his brothers, we got running water and heat. The electricity soon followed. It's quite comfortable now with lots of renovations. Needless to say, we delayed bringing children into that environment.

Our first child, Heather, was born Nov. 22, 1980. She excelled at everything including softball and soccer. Her picture can be found on a Team Cheerios box with her softball team from 1996. She graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in marketing and married Joshua Kuchera. They moved to Detroit where he was a mechanical engineer with the Chrysler Corporation. Chrysler sent them to Germany on a job exchange program. That program ended when the auto industry began to have problems. They were scheduled to come home in December of 2007, when another company, TRW, grabbed Josh. And so, they are still in Germany. April 2, 2008, was the birth of their first child, Carsten, and our first grandchild. Dave & I just came back from visiting them. Carsten is beautiful, don't you think?

Our second child, Adam, was born on May 19, 1984. He has blossomed into an incredible artist. He graduated from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and is still living in that area. He has had several freelance art jobs, such as illustrating a book and story boards for a movie. He also works as a valet for a hotel to bring in a regular paycheck for now. Adam's website is
http://www.illustrationguru.com/

As for me, I had a career as an Occupational Therapist, got 2 masters degrees and decided I needed something different. I am using my Occupational Therapy training at a local YMCA teaching aquatic fitness classes. I was the Aquatic Director there for 7 years. I am now back to teaching the aquatic fitness classes, 5 mornings/week, 2 or 3/day. And, that's the way I like it. The water keeps me "young," especially in my senior classes where most of them are near 80.
I also have a freelance art business at home. I design custom Christmas cards, usually of your house. I have recently ventured into watercolor and house portraits. My website, which is still under construction, is:
http://www.creativeavenuespa.com/

This has been fun. I can't wait to get caught up on everyone else.

Lee

Bix Norman

My family and I lived in Fayetteville for 10 years from age 4 to 14 so l have many memories of growing up there... in fact my best memories. In our neighborhood I especially remember Artie Johnson (smart and scholarly), Flip Benham (handsome and less scholarly!) and Judy Lapham (did everything correctly if I remember right). I believe they were all in the same 8th grade when we moved away. From 8th grade I especially remember many of the girls and boys including Maria Pulos, Barb Belton, you Debby, Sylvia Billings (8th grade girlfriend) and Gary Revercomb, Dick Shanahan (basketball) and many others... I'm stopping because I don't want to risk leaving out someone. For me it was a great time and I loved FM Jr high in the old Manlius school.

We moved to Bloomfield Hills north of Detroit, a very ritzy community and one of the weirdest places I've ever lived... a lot of spoiled rich kids. (Hope none of you live there now!) We only were there 18 months and then moved to East Lansing, MI and I graduated from East Lansing High in '66. It was great living there, normal but ultra competitive kids (offspring of Michigan State professors, etc.) and it was the time when MSU was number one in football playing Notre Dame to the infamous 10-10 tie.

If you're familiar with college rivalry you'll know that if you can get into Michigan State or The University of Michigan, you, of course, go to U of M in Ann Arbor... the better school. Fortunately I was a good student through High School and went to U of M where I did more partying than studying.

Met Margot the beginning of Jr., instantly fell in love and 2 1/2 years later we were married and still are after 37 1/2 years.

First company I worked for was Standard Register selling business forms and doing their management training program. Lived for 8 years in York, PA and then Medford Lakes, NJ for about 5 years where I changed jobs to a more entrepreneurial/progressive company - Herman Miller an office furniture company based in Holland, MI. My parents were always in love with modern design including furniture and passed that love onto me so when I was researching companies I knew Herman Miller from living in MI and from their iconic designs, e.g. Eames Lounge Chair, Aeron chair, etc.To make a long story shorter I worked for Herman Miller for about 25 years starting in Medford Lakes, NJ (actual office location was 58th and Madison in NYC), then Holland, MI for short while (headquarters) then in Dayton, NJ (exit 8a on NJ Turnpike) then back to Holland, MI where we have lived ever since (19 years). It was a wonderful experience and a wonderful ride. I was fortunate to be able to retire at age 53 about one month before the "dot-com" implosion which diminished my former employer from $2.3 billion running rate to $1.3 in a little over a year. Talk about getting out of Dodge at the right time.

Along the way and more importantly Margot and I had two children a boy Todd and a girl Mary who are 30 and 27, teacher and Physicians Assistant respectively. Todd got married while in college and he and wife Kathryn now have 5 children and live 2.1 miles from our house. The g-kids are 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1. And they are really good kids although their energy levels are off the chart.

Margot and I spend about 4 months in Bonita Springs, FL from Jan 1 to May 1 and love it more and more, but it is hard to be away from the g-kids especially while they are this young and we are so close to them physically and emotionally.I've had a wonderful life so far and, if anything, it seems to be getting better as I increasingly mellow from the type A competitive guy to the laid back "hoppa" (what all the g-kids call me).

As I've gotten older it's more and more fun to hear what's happened to old friends and classmates especially at FM.

Bix

bixnorman@yahoo.com

Debby Larus Doolittle

I hardly post anything about myself so I thought I would take a moment and say how wonderful it is for the blog to have blossomed as it has lately. I've been hearing from all new people. Views of the site have gone from around 10 per day now to about 30 per day. And we're getting classmates from all over the country and world.

Some have expressed to me that they were not that well known in high school and don't feel they're a part of the class, but I think now that we've reached this age, we should put this kind of thing behind us and just take joy and fun in finding out about each other.

Thanks for all the great responses and emails and I look forward to hearing more soon.

Debby

Dave Milan

Hi Debby,
Pretty soon you'll have found everyone in our class. How do you do it? I have a hard time finding basic stuff on the internet. Amazing.
I'm doing fine, but I have a lot on my plate. Full-time job plus maintaining 6 cars (you'd think I had the good sense to collect something simple and small like spoons or stamps or something) plus working with Kristi to remodel our new (to us) home (it's only 7 years old and has been sorely neglected, but most of the work is cosmetic) plus exercise (never enough of that) plus ... well, the list seems endless. I got on line this morning for the first time in a long time and had 47 emails from a week ago. Just aren't enough hours in the day. The good news is that we're going to take a little break from working on the house after we reach a couple of milestones and then we'll have more time to enjoy life. That is, enjoy life even more. Hope all is well with you and you're managing to avoid all that nasty weather that's been blowing across the midwest.
Dave

Kent Langworthy

Finally heard back from Kent and learned that his wife Paula has made an excellent recovery from her recent surgery.

Cinda Meachem Sutton

OK. Deb,
I'm officially"hooked" on your blog!!
I can't believe you post almost every day! I find if I don't check it out almost daily, I miss something! Who would have thought that at age almost 60, we'd be checking up on friends from Jr & Sr. high! ....
This is all such a HOOT!

Next weekend I'm taking my 90 year old mother to Jane and Tad's house. We'll spend Friday night there and then go on to Titusville (Cape Canaveral) so that my Mom can attend a Jr high friend's 90th birthday party!! Jane and I will go out to lunch and go shopping or something while the "oldsters" have a party. Then back home so that we can celebrate Mother's day here.
I feel so fortunate to have my Mom in full, sharp mind, even though her body isn't so strong. Even though she's on a walker, she goes to water aerobics 6 days a week. My daughter-in-law and I go to a different water aerobics class, taking advantage of our beautiful weather!
Cinda

Do You Need Rental Car Insurance?

Click on writing to enlarge.

Just saying Hi -- Tom Weller

Hi Debby,

Hello from the Left Coast. Just writing to keep in touch. Things are pretty much the same out here, but then the same is nothing to complain about. Getting ready to go out to Lake Havasu to get the boat ready for the season. The picture is a couple of years old, but London Bridge still looks the same, as does the boat. This is just about the right time for going out there. Not too hot, Spring Break is over (ahh, to be 20 again!!!), and you don't cook the minute you leave the air conditioning. It gets up to about 110 or better for most of the summer out there, so you tend to just scurry from air conditioned cars to air conditioned buildings. Not much fun. During the Winter you have to contend with all the snowbirds, so that can be a little challenging as well. That's about it. No news is good news. Hope all went well with your medical procedure. I'm probably going to go back to Alaska again this summer. I'm squirreling away all my pennies as we speak.

Take care and I will keep in touch.

Tom

Bix Norman

Bix and Margot Norman
2008

7th grade homeroom

I couldn't resist putting this homeroom shot in as well. Click on it to enlarge.

Mr. Pendergast's 8th grade homeroom

Check out this photo. Click on it and it will enlarge so you can see people.

Bix Norman

Bix Norman has been located in Holland, MI. Mike Krall and Rick Cook assisted in this search. Rick, who lives near Lansing, MI called to see if the right person had been found and in deed it is Bix. This is a photo cropped from Mr. Pendergast's 8th grade homeroom. Looking forward to finding out what Bix has been up to since Jr. high school.

Road ID

Give EMT's all the information they need with MY ROAD ID

"Carrying ID during you daily workout could save your life. In an emergency, wearing ID may be the only thing you have to guarantee correct medical treatment and immediate contact with family members. If you can't speak for your self, your Road ID will."

for information see www.RoadID.com or call 800-345-6336

I found an ad for this in a fitness magazine and thought it would be of benefit to anyone who bikes or runs a lot. Road ID comes in wrist form, shoe, ankle and necklace. Check out the website.

Camilla Zankowski Daniels

Happy Birthday
Camilla
Sunday,
May 4th

Guy Beck

Guy is finishing his music studies in Calcutta, India and is "looking forward to the cool swamplands of Louisiana, and the soft jazz of the French Quarter," after the intense heat of India.

Sandy Jackson Epoch

Just received a picture of Sandy and her 2 year old grandson, Dylan.

Greetings from the following Classmates

Greetings from the following Classmates