6 th Grade Mr. Otis

This was my first class in my new school in Fayetteville. My family had moved from Scarsdale, just outside NYC about 1958.

Do you know who this is?

Email me with your answer.

Let us know your experience

What would you like to do when you retire?


What are you doing in retirement?

Either post your answer or send to me in an email.

Debby

Kirsten Mackey Fleisher

Kirsten writes: I enjoyed your posting of your grandfather's obituary so much. It gave me more insight into your family and in to history. I was thinking that it might be interesting to post a question a week - or a month, on the Blog and have anyone interested post an answer.

Tell about grandparents
How did your family come to live in Fayetteville/Manlius
Tell where you were born, and any little story that might go along with it
How did you get your name
What were your goals upon graduating from HS, college, at 40, etc
Tell what your siblings are doing now
What are/do you want to do in retirement
Talk about your children - names, locations, what are they doing
What were you doing at major events in history - MLK assassination, 9-11

This is just a thought. I love our blog, but after a few updates, I don't feel that I have anything really worthy of posting. This would give a little direction.

My Grandfather Jacob Larus

My grandfather Jacob Larus died in 1951. He was founder and chairman of the Ellay chain of department stores, the forerunner of stores such as Walmart, Kmart and Kresge chain stores. I rcently ran across this obituary on him in my mothers files.

Working for WSYR Radio

This was a promotion for SU Basketball run by WSYR Radio in around 1988. I had braces and was about 38 years old.

Snow in Missouri

We got about 9 inches of snow last week with another 2 yesterday. That is a lot of snow for here.

My husband John slid with our Ford Explorer and skidded into a tree on the right side of the driveway doing about $3500 damage to the driver's side. He was OK but not the car.

Fishing at the Cape 1988

I have a new printer/scanner and was looking for pictures this morning and found this one of myself. I was fishing at Cape Cod with John Butler, my soon to be husband. He loves to surf cast so he was teaching me. I did pretty well. Other men on the beach thought it was a real hoot.

Duke Leonard

I am still alive and enjoying the best weather in the world in AZ.. I am getting ready to travel back to Iraq at the end of the month.

Since I have been home, I have done nothing, but travel and work.

While home, I have been doing nuclear security reviews for one of the largest public utility companiies in the US. Also have been assisting a joint task force on this armed incursion challenge that we have on our boarder (interesting work). We are working twenty miles South of Phoenix and I have to wear body armor, imagine that! I don't wear body armor in Iraq. Just returned from the Las Vegas Shot Show which was mind blowing - did your husband go?. Out the door for Coronado tomorrow for more meetings.

Enjoy the snow,

Duke

The Reunion Website

The reunion website has over 500 hits. That's great. Hope you'll start leaving some feedback.

Steve Bickelhaup

I found Steve's sister Carol on Facebook and she graciously gave me permission to use a photo of Steve and his wife Cindy. This is the first time I've seen Steve since we graduated. I guess that would be the case for any of you looking at this as well. Photo top taken in 1995. Small shot taken in 2004. With book taken 2010.

Friends

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.Love the people who treat you right.Forget about the ones who don't.Believe everything happens for a reason.If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy.They just promised it would be worth it.Friends are like balloons.Once you let them go, you can't get them back.Send these balloons to your friends.

Camp Tellman

2010 has been a good year for us. We maintain good health and continue working toward a retirement. I am still teaching ESL (English as a second language) to 26 elementary students. I also am the liaison between the school and the community. They are thankful for a chance at a better life.
I had a stroke of luck in April. I have been riding BMW motorcycles off and on since 1972. The BMW owner’s club had a raffle and I bought two tickets. Out of 10,000 others I won a 2011 BMW S1000RR Superbike and a complete set of safety apparel . The motorcycle is state of the art and much more performance than I’ll ever use.
In addition Lisa and I were guests of BMW at the World Superbike Races in Salt Lake City on Memorial Day weekend. There we met up with my foreign exchange student brother Jorge Lopez and his son Hugo from Mexico. It was a great time.
The boat project is progressing. We hope to be back in the water next fall. It will be our home away from home when we travel. We hope to wander in search of good weather and fair winds. This has been a complete refit and a learning experience for me. You can say I am intimately familiar with our boat. She will return to the water with many upgrades and improvements more safety, comfort and sailing ease. Our boat cat Yeoman is tired of being a land dweller and wants to return to the water. He has been an interesting and loyal member of the family.
There is a chance we will visit Mexico over Easter. It depends on the violence but we will not be near the border with the US.
Lisa and I hope you are well and that 2011 is a good year.

Larry Shipps

Grandchild # 3 due in early March. Caitlin our # 2 daughter who lives in Middlebury... much closer than Jocelin (Alison's son) in Strasbourg France. So... we have Danny, age 19 (foster son of Caitlin), Jocelin age 2.5 and now little girl? Steele. Leslie and I have been skiing quite a bit at Whiteface (17 miles away) and are planning a couple of trips to France to visit Jocelin. Last October we drove to Appleton, WI to visit our oldest daughter Bradley and her husband Scott. We dragged our teardrop camper and stayed in Algonquin Park in Ontario and then in a Michigan park on the UP on the shores of Lake Superior.I still work about 3 days a week and get down to Syracuse for 5 or so days per month (I rent a small house in Fayetteville with a friend who needs to be there 4 or 5 days a month too). In our travel plans we are planning around the reunion dates in October.
All is well! Larry

Wayne Trivelpiece

Hi Debby, First, my apologies for the long silence. Sandy did get after me and Tom about getting in touch. I hope you had a great Christmas and are enjoying the Holidays as much as I am. Getting a new dog is one way to certainly cheer things up around the place. I did get to see Sandy Epoch this Fall while she was in San Diego. Sandy, her brother Ted (Class of 65) and his wife Ginnel? came up to the house for an afternoon visit and drinks in early November. Sandy was still undergoing Chemo at the time, so she wanted to make it a short stay, but she was her old cheerful self and she said the treatments were nearly over and manageable. I hope she was as well as she made out to be, as it has been very nice getting together with her and Tom Weller whenever she comes to SD for a visit.
We have had a wet but cozy Holiday season thus far. Sue, my wife, returned from her 2+ month Antarctic research stint in early December and my oldest daughter Sara has been home from college (Humboldt State Univ) in Arcata, CA since mid December. I depart for the South next week and will be away until late March.
I am definitely planning on coming to the 45th reunion next October, although it will depend on my in-laws (both in their 80s) remaining healthy and able to come to CA and care for Amy, our 13 year old, while I'm in NY. Thanks again for all the work on behalf of the Class and I look forward to seeing you and many other old friends and fellow class members in October.
Best wishes for the New Year, Cheers, Wayne

Tom Weller

Hi Debby.
Sandy is great. She had her PET scan about 3 weeks ago and she is cancer-free. She is back in Texas and she'll be coming back out here in January for followup treatment.
We had a chance to get together with her a couple of times when she was out here undergoing her treatment. I have not talked to Wayne. Sue was still in Anarctica last I heard, so he is pretty homebound with the girls. Hopefully we'll get together when Sue gets back and they get through with their conferences and lectures. We'll see.
Hope all is well with you and I'm definitely looking forward to the reunion. Everything is on track for making it.
Take care.
Tom

Blog is Now 5 years old!

This marks the 5th year our class blog has been going with over 15,000 visitors and 1,000 entries.

Law of the Garbage Truck

Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.
Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.
Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,
so ... Love the people who treat you right.
Pray for the ones who don't.
Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!
Have a garbage-free day!