Sandy Geiss Karas

Just had a nice email from Sandy Geiss Karas, Class of 68. She's a lawyer in Fayetteville.

Debby Larus Doolittle

Have just returned from a week in NC with my mother, brother Dudley and wife Sydney. Our 2 dogs were also along. We were there to spend the Christmas holidays with my mother who, by the way, is doing very well in assisted living. She looks good and seems happy.
John trailered home my mother's golf cart. He will use it for the sporting clays course at the St. Louis Skeet and Trap club.
It was a long, long drive. We left at 4am and arrived home at 8pm.
Really, really glad to be home. I haven't been at the computer for the entire week and I have a lot to catch up with.

Suzette Welch Wexner

Happy Holidays Deborah.
I hope all is well.
Best wishes…Suzette Wexner

Ralph Braun

Hi Debby and Merry Christmas

I've attached one of the few pictures we have of our wedding.... it was a great day for us ,starting another phase of our lives. We had a short honeymoon in Florida a couple of weeks ago. We stayed with Carol's daughter in St. Petersburg and got together with my brother who lives nearby and also had dinner with an old helicopter squadron buddy and his wife who live south of there. It was great .We took a lunch cruise on the Inland Water Way (compleat with the obligatory Margarita's) and went to an Osprey preserve on Tampa bay to see the "fish eagles", spent time on the beach, waded in the Ocean a bit (no swimming, my brother says "only Canadians swim this time of year" LOL) and took in the beautiful weather. It was 84 when we left and flew into Detroit in the middle of an ice storm, then onto Madison with a foot of new snow. It was an overwhelming shock to the system. We are having a increasingly hard time coping with the winter so we are working on an alternate plan for the years to come. All is well and I hope it is the same for everyone else. Have a wonderful holiday season.

Ralph

Holiday Greetings

Holiday Greetings from
Jane Gaitley Collins
Sandy Tice Flanders
Dave Eckerson
Penny Zimmeran Jackson
Michael Gilman

Have a nice day

Hey, Kids, What time is it?

Buffalo Bob Smith and Howdy Doody

ClaraBell

Chief Thunderthud of Kowabanga fame

Important Information for Travelers

This is worth watching. It will gross you out, but you will never drink from hotel glasses again!!!

What you don’t know CAN hurt you!

Don't Ever Drink From Hotel Glasses Video
http://www.bestviral.com/video/6629/dont_ever_drink_from_hotel_glasses

Flash Gordon

When I was growing up, I used to watch the serial TV program Flash Gordon with Buster Crabbe. I always thought he was so handsome. I loved all the characters: Ming the Merciless, Dale Arden, Dr. Zarkov and the queen of Magic.

Gerry and Denise Phillips

Greetings to All,

We are on our way to Hatulco Mexico after seven days at sea I’m becoming accustom to being waited on hand and foot (Gerry’s in real trouble now). In Grand Cayman we swam with about 50 wild (yes wild, not in cages…swimming in the open ocean) stingrays. What an experience, it was a little scary at first but it was truly amazing!

We have experienced some ruff seas, 6 – 8 ft seas, we managed to get our sea legs early which was good so we did better than a few of the passengers. In Cartagena about the emerald mines and history of Columbia. From Columbia we spent a day at sea and headed to the Panama Canal. It took 8 hours to go thru the canal. It is truly one of the wonders of the world.

We are having a great time, going to the spa, taking yoga and spin classes and EATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Internet is very slow and hard to get a connection, we’re not able to send pictures because of the slow connection. While we’re having the time of our life we really do miss our family, friends and of course Kona and Oscar and look forward to seeing you all soon!

The Happy Travelers<

Denise & Gerry

Michael Gilman

HAPPY CHRISTMAS ...AND A ...MERRY NEW YEAR....

SANTA USED TO BE A FARMER.....THATS WHERE HE LEARNED HOW TO HOE , HOE, HOE !!

I THOUGHT THAT I SAW MY OLD PICTURE ON YOU BLOG , BUT I CAN'T FIND IT AGAIN ??

I DID GET TO E-MAIL DAVID ECKERSON ...THANKS


MIKE

Lincoln and Kennedy

Subject: History Mystery

Have a history teacher explain this----- if they can.

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.
Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head.
Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.

Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln.
Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.
Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.
Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters. Now hang on to your seat. Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford.'
Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln' made by 'Ford.'
Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.
Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.
And here's the kicker...

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.

Dave and Kristi Milan

Hi Debby,

Sorry about the long interval between emails. I now have a 1 hour commute to and from work, and then Kristi and I work out after work, so there's not much time for anything else during the week. Weekends are my time to catch up when we don't have anything else scheduled. Busy. Very busy. We're going to Boise the weekend before Christmas to spend a couple of days with my sons, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. We should have a great time and we plan to get a little skiing in, as well. We've had lots of snow here, but no time to ski. Guess we'll have to wait until New Years, since I don't have any vacation time built up yet - or at least I can't use it until April. I've attached some photos of our wedding for you. Thought I already did it, but I guess not. We had a great time and wonderful weather. And we're having a great time here in Coeur d'Alene, too. We went snowshoeing on a local golf course a couple of weekends ago through the sleet and snow, but a good workout and a trial run for longer trips up into the mountains. Sounds like you've been getting hit with some "wonderful" weather. Shades of Upstate New York and lake effects snow. Hope it wasn't much of an inconvenience. Last but not least, I wish you and your family all the best for Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Dave

Happy Holidays

"May you have... The gladness of Christmas which is hope;
The spirit of Christmas which is peace;
The heart of Christmas which is love."

- Ada V. Hendricks -

Many wishes for a safe and blessed holiday!

Debby

Phil Evans

Hi Debby,

Sorry I haven't emailed you in a while. Have been pretty busy the last couple of months, even in this relatively new retirement role. I'm now volunteering three days a week at a health and wellness center in Rochester, also taking the time to use the indoor track and resistance equipment for some workout afterwards. Really enjoy working there. It's a state of the art facility, 200-300K sq. ft. Visitors come from around the country to see and evaluate the concept. A group from Philadelphia stopped by just the other day. Enjoying having the time for those other interests now too-- music, photography, cycling, travel, and skiing shortly. Nancy and I finished the summer with three weeks in northwest Canada-- Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Whistler, Vancouver, and Victoria. Some beautiful and spectacular scenery. Have been trying to help out Nancy too this fall in her classroom and at home, a challenging year with 27 second graders of multinational backgrounds, characteristic of the SE Michigan automotive industry. A lot of parents with high expectations. Nancy's mother also passed away Oct. 25 after declining health for a number of month's. She's dealing with that and her father's continuing in-home care, with Alzheimer's, in a nearby community. As you know personally, it's a challenge as caregivers to our aging parents. We're trying to help out in various ways to lighten the load.The first of Jan. begins the new renovation of our church sanctuary and fellowship hall. After being on the design team for a number of months, it will be exciting to finally see that project get underway, especially the lighting job. Take care, and have a wonderful Christmas,Phil

Total Number of Blog Visits this week.

1966 Fayetteville-Manlius
High School

-- Site Summary ---
Visits Total .......................... 478
Average per Day .................. 8
Average Visit Length .......... 2:06
This Week ....................... 57
Page Views Total ........................ 1,011
Average per Day ................. 13
Average per Visit .............. 1.6
This Week ....................... 92

Tom Stone

Well, I thought I had a lead on finding Tom Stone. His address in the directory was listed as Ithaca, NY. Someone mentioned he was a professor at Cornell. This past summer, I sent a postcard to the address, and after a long while it came back to me. The address is no good.

I contacted Cornell and asked if they had a Tom Stone on staff and an email address was sent. I sent a long message to the address a couple of weeks ago. I knew Tad Collins was interested in finding Tom as well, so I sent the address to him. I have yet to hear back so I have a feeling it not "our" Tom Stone. If anyone has any information on Tom, please let me know.

Debby

Debby Larus Doolittle

Hope everyone has a great Christmas.

Go to Elfyourself.com, upload a photo, and watch yourself become one of santa's little disco helpers.

http://www.elfyourself.com/ click here

Cheryl Albig

Got a surprise call tonight from Cheryl Albig in Blacksburg, VA. I had emailed her and asked if she'd like to help out on the search committee for missing classmates. So she thought a call was in order. Of course we had to catch up on stuff. A lot of that going around lately. So she's going to jot down things that she knows about the people she's been in touch with like Lynn Erickson Chorlton and Libby Rogers Cowan. Great hearing from Cheryl.

Kirsten Mackey Fleisher

This is a picture of me with some of the members of my "Welcome Club." It's an after school program I developed and now implement at my school in Trenton, NJ. The students are foreign born English speakers, but not an English that is easily understood. Some are from Liberia, Jamaica, and Mexico. They are usually poor readers with low academic skills, mostly because they have moved around so many times and have no continuity in their learning. In addition to academics, we work on acculturation and school social issues. It hasn't gotten any easier to be in middle school!

Kirsten

Maria Pulos Levy

Harriet Evans Betts and Nancy Martin White
Harriet, Nancy and Maria
Keely, Nancy, Colbert, Maria, Harriet, Kristina
Jacques and Maria, Cris and Demmy Pulos

Dear Debby,

The blog is outrageous and wonderful - I love it - Saw Jim Earl in Denver last year and he was asking about Mark Hooper. Low and behold, there he is at the bottom on the blog. Hope Jim sees it. And, thanks to you, I get to see Barb Belton in Denver this Christmas - wahoo!! I searched high and low for the photo I promised you from our youth. But, :o(, I couldn't find the picture of you and I dressed up as beatnicks for halloween - Attached are some pictures from the "wedding" Please feel free to do whatever you want with this E-Mail and Pictures.

Maria

Sandy Jackson Epoch

Just found Sandy Jackson Epoch on MySpace.com. She lives in the Austin, Texas area. Have invited her to join the blog so am waiting for more information on her.

Glenn Prestwich

Hi Debby

Four continents in one month - Brisbane, Singapore, Copenhagen, and up n down and back n forth in US.

New house coming along, with garden design by daughter Jocie well underway. See Thanksgiving pic for PM view from air and AM view from cottage towards west.

Hugs,

Glenn--

Glenn D. Prestwich Presidential Professor, and Director, Center for Therapeutic Biomaterials Department of Medicinal Chemistry,

The University of Utah

A couple of crazy guyz

Jack, Geri and Rene

Steve and Geri

Steve Martin

Debby,
The site looks great – thanks for all your hard work, it is a wonderful treat for all of us. We’re still down here in sunny Venice, Florida. I’m basically retired, but still working part time as a math professor at a small college here in Venice (wouldn’t Mrs. Case be proud – remember we sat next to each other in her algebra class, 9th grade). We still get up to see Jack and Renee Mapstone in Tallahassee, Florida and plan to go camping with them this winter.
We are into collecting sharks teeth and have a very large collection of them (50,000 -60,000). The best one’s are from a very large, extinct shark called a megalodon. I spend a lot of my time combing the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico (SCUBA diving) to get them (See the attached photos).
Thanks again for giving us this website.
Steve Martin

Dave Neary Photographs

David Neary

Hi Debby:
Hope I haven't clogged up your mailbox, but finally got around to sending the photos you requested. I sent you some images from my climb this fall to the top of Mt. Elbrus, in Russia, the highest mountain in Europe and one of the "Seven Summits", the highest mountain on each of the continents. I supported a friend who's climbing all seven, and has now completed five including Everest. I'm not planning to do all seven, nonetheless this is my third (including Denali in Alaska and Aconcagua in Argentina. Will probably climb Kilimanjaro next year (before all the snow is gone), and call it good!
Also included some images from the Wyoming Shakespeare Festival Company's production of Macbeth this past summer. I'm managing director and an actor for the Company, as well as the technical director. It is serious fun! I played Macduff, and had a chance to study stage combat with one of the best fight directors in the business. Sword fighting on stage- takes one back to childhood games!
After retiring from directing the Nature Conservancy and the National Outdoor Leadership School over the past twenty years, both in Wyoming, I'm focused on playing and enjoying life, so have been acting, raising money for state arts groups and traveling extensively.
Usually get back to Fayetteville once a year to help my parents with projects.
I'm off later today, traveling to Iowa to campaign for one of the presidential candidates, Barack Obama, and will be in Sioux City for a month trying to help determine where the country is headed, at least for the next four years.
That's the quick update. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Thank you for all the time effort and energy put into the FM site- it's very good of you and interesting to see what some of the others are up to.
Encourage anyone who is interested to connect with me, especially if they're traveliing through this part of the world.
Happy Holidays!
David

Note from Jon Flatt

Received a short hand written note from Jon. He was responding to a postcard I sent out this summer asking for information. He doesn't have a computer or cellphone. " I hate'em!"

Occupation: retired Postmater, Camden, NY

3 adult sons

4 grandchildren

1 dog

His property is in a 5000 acre wetland with lots of wildlife. He's a collector of old coins and guns. Does a fair amount of hunting and fishing. Unfortunately he has a bad back and has undergone 7 operations and will have an 8th in April.

Surprise Call from Barb Belton Robertson

Had just finished an email to Teri Guhin Ayer about searching out missing classmates. The phone rang and it was Barb calling from Charleston, SC. She's traveling to CO this Christmas to be with her brother Charlie and his family. She wanted Maria Pulos Levy's email address so with any spare time they might be able to hook up. ... We spent quite awhile catching up. It was great talking. Barb sounds busy and happy.

Flip Benham and Family

A wonderful family portrait

On the far left you will see David (one of our twin sons) Lori ( his wife) and Ava Rose (their youngest). Next to them are Craig and Tracy (Craig is married to our oldest daughter Tracy). Faye and I are next (married for 35 years, thank God). Next to Faye is our youngest son Jonathan (16), and our youngest daughter Abigail (18). Next to Abigail is Alley (Jason and Tori’s daughter), Jason (our other twin), and his wife Tori (she is holding Jake our youngest grandchild. In front us all are Grandma (my mom) holding Camron (Craig and Tracy’s son) in her right arm and Ella (David and Lori’s daughter) in her left, and Trey (Jason and Tori’s son) is to her right. The two boys seated to the left and right of Grandma are Bailey and Ty (David and Lori’s two oldest boys).

Music of the 60's -Click on this

http://moreoldfortyfives.com/TakeMeBackToTheSixties.htm

Check our Jim Myers new websites

Try http://www.myersvoice.com/

and this one as well

http://www.myspace.com/myersvoice

Oak Leaves Yearbook photographs

Dear Mrs. Lockwood and Mrs. Doolittle,
Regarding your questions about yearbooks and copyright, neither our yearbook advisor nor I, are aware of copyrights attached to copies of the "Oakleaves." Building a website for your graduating class sounds like a good idea as does the use of photos from "Oakleaves."
Jim Chupaila
Principal F-M HS

Dale Drypolcher Class of 1965

Message from Dale Drypolcher:
Great job on your blog! I was the class of 1965, but i read a blurb from duke leonard about my old teammate, tom jones and i was hoping that if duke saw this he could send me jones' email address. We attended jr. college together ( after being asked to leave from our first colleges ) and i have not seen him in 40 years. thanks for this opportunity. you guys did a magnificent job on this blog site. i had a number of friends from 1966 and got some great info.
best regards- dale drypolcher, class of '65

Let's Say thanks

Click on this site to send a postcard thanking the troops:

http://www.letssaythanks.com/ThankYou.html

This is a great web site. It's so easy to do. You can write your own message or choose one. Something cool that Xerox is doing.If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com, you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.
How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one. It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these?Whether you are for or against the war, our people over there need to know we are behind them...
from anonymous

Identifying a Stroke Victim

New Sign of a Stroke --------Stick out Your Tongue STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters.... S.T.R.
My nurse friend sent this and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks. Seriously.. Please read: STROKE IDENTIFICATION: During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) .....she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00 pm Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die.... they end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this... A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke... totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough. RECOGNIZING A STROKE Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke .Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:S * Ask the individual to SMILE. T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)(i.e. It is sunny out today) R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue.. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other , that is also an indication of a stroke. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911(US)/999(UK) immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher or 110 in China. A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

Internet Jargon

Thought this might be interesting.

Click on the ARTICLE

David Milan

Hi Debby,
No, I haven't drowned in Lake Coeur d'Alene, although it seems like my job has done that. It's been very busy around here, and my commute to and from work is ... um ... "fun?" More like challenging. It's the first job I've had in a long time where I commute on the freeway with the normal flow of traffic. It's usually fairly good with only a couple of places where it slows, but I'm waiting for the first big snow fall (which is predicted this week) to see how that goes. The first one is always the fun one with folks forgetting how to drive on the slippery stuff. I can't wait! The transition to life in CDA has been wonderful. We're having a great time together, and my work is interesting. I do miss my son and his family, especially my grandchildren, but I plan to visit on a very regular basis. The plane fare is fairly cheap, and it's only an hour flight. So it's mostly been work and sleep. The weekends seem to fly by, and Kristi and I stay very busy with workouts at the gym and some fun stuff. We went to see James Taylor in Spokane and it was terrific. He's one of my all-time favorites, and he didn't disappoint. Naturally, I had to buy a JT baseball cap to commemorate the occasion, and Kristi bought a t-shirt so we'll remember the fun time we had. Thanksgiving was fun, and especially so because my brother is recovering from his near-death experience. I called him on Thurs morning and was heartened to hear that he's back on his feet and getting around by himself. He even went to the grocery store, and he's been going out to dinner with his lady friend. Something to be truly grateful for this Thanksgiving. My younger son Jesse was planning on coming to visit us here in CDA for Thanksgiving. He was going to drive in on Wed night and leave on Fri afternoon, because he had to be back to play at a winery south of Portland on Sat. After he had a chance to think about it, he realized that he would be spending almost as much time on the road as he would have spent with us, so he canceled. Pretty smart, actually, especially at this time of year when the weather is unpredictable. Kristi's kids are here in town, though, and her grandkids are as well, so we all got together and had fun. We went to her son's house for Turkey Day and they came over to our house last evening. Her son doesn't cook turkey, so we had prime rib on Thurs, and we cooked the turkey yesterday for a traditional followup dinner. We also watched the Boise State Broncos get beat by Hawaii for the WAC championship. Good thing I don't live in Boise anymore. Well, I'd better get going. Hope all is well with you and your family.
Dave

New Slide Show Feature

Blogger added a new slide show feature. Am using many of the candids from the 40th reunion which will change periodically.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Debby

Jamie Steele

Jamie Steele has seen and talked to Ray Conover who unfortunately wants to remain incommunicado. I have been in touch with another classmate, Jim Carroll who also wants to remain out of touch. I just don't understand. I know there are others like that so we will forge ahead and try and find the people who want to be found.

Tom Ford Class of 68

Debby,
It’s great that you share them. I had a lot of friends in your class. I always liked the Morrisseys and looked up to John. He was an Army helo pilot in Vietnam, and maybe that’s part of the reason I chose to fly helos.As you will remember, I was very active in music. Sandy Geiss was one of my closest friends, so I got to know Dave through her. I remember working on Skip’s HS campaign (student council Pres?) at his house and was good friends with David – we were in Swing 16 together.Have a great Thanksgiving with your family. I had hoped to be home by now (with a new job) to enjoy the day with Tommy & Stephen and my dad in Pensacola, but the Navy hasn’t picked the winner of the contract yet.....All the best,Tom

Rick Cook

Rick Cook is a consultant for Chevron. He lives 2 weeks out of each month in Dinosaur, CO. The other 2 weeks of the month he either flies home to MI or goes fishing or hunting with his brother Carl or his wife Maureen and daughter. If not doing that, he races vintage Corvettes. It seems he's getting ready to retire from consulting after the first of the year. On his drive home, he may stop in St. Louis for a visit.

Happy Thanksgiving

Best wishes to the class of '66 for a Happy Thanksgiving.
The Sheedy family (Dan, Jill, Ben and Jon) will share Thanksgiving dinner at home. The boys will slip away at some point to spend time with friends and the old folks will slip into their customary coma. The four dogs will be standing by for anything that just happens to "fall off the table."
Ben is home from SUNY Fredonia for the week, while Jonathan's escape from high school starts at 2:20 pm Tuesday (that's today).
The old man will go through the motions of visiting the gym in the never ending battle of the bulge. Then there will be the start of Christmas shopping (thank God for the internet).
So, that's about it from this side of the moon. Happiness and good health to all!

Frank Carroll

While sitting in the Raleigh Durham airport yesterday waiting for my flight, I had a long chat with fellow Verizon user Frank Carroll. Verizon callers have unlimited calling minutes to each other so we chatted for almost an hour. We caught up on the last couple months we've been out of touch with each other.
Frank and I share similar situations with our Mothers. While I'm dealing with an assisted living facility, Frank is dealing with 24/7 inhome nursing care of his Mother. Many of the stresses and demands are the same.
If anyone has similiar stories, let us know. And if anyone is a Verizon user let us know so we can talk.
Debby

Tom Ford Class of 1968

Just had a nice email from Tom Ford from my brother's class, 1968. Tom was our neighbor on Thornwood Lane in Fayetteville. He was a Navy helicopter pilot. He writes: " I’m a retired US Navy Captain, helicopter pilot. I've been living/working in Sevastopol as Senior U.S. Advisor to the Ukrainian Navy since 2005. I have 3 sons: Cliff, Stephen, and Tommy Jr; also 3 granddaughters. Cliff is a Marine Captain flying the H-46 helicopter, which is the same helo I flew during my career. He returns to Iraq next Spring for his 3rd tour. I was married to Laurie Hamel; we divorced in 2005."
Tom filled me in on the comings and goings of our neighbors on Thornwood Lane. Very interesting. The Class of '68 is due for their 40th reunion in 2008.

Linda Badgley D'Agostino

Hi Deb,
my husband and I have been through a similar experience when his mother decided at 88 years young to come home, after living many years in Florida. I think the only thing we can compare it to is that time in our lives when we dropped our children off at college and waved bravely goodbye. They thrived and we worried. Little did we realize that we would be doing it again, later in our lives, for our parents. "Ma" is playing "queen bee" to a bunch of little old ladies and a few men, and for the first time in her life is doing what she wants to if and when wants to. I know there's probably so much more yet for you to do, but take heart that your Mom's probably settled in quite well, and enjoying life more than she ever thought she would at her age. Take care, and try not to worry. Linda Posted by Linda Badgely D'Agostino to F-M Class 1966 at November 14, 2007 11:42 PM

Jane and Tad Collins

Hi, Deb-

Greetings from Jane (Gaitley) Collins and Tad.

Eighteen for Thanksgiving, and counting. Oy, joy…. Rel’s, wannabees, in laws, outlaws, groupies, hangers on, and a mangy black poodle eyeing a pear tree. Happy Holidays to the “Class” of ’66 from your classmates residing in the shadow of the space shuttle’s launch trajectory. Where is Tom Stone? Happy Holidays!

C2 and Jane

Debby Larus Doolittle

My mother turned 88 10/25/07. Until very recently she was living alone in her home and still driving. The DVM graced her with a renewed license in the spring so she thought she was good to go. Unfortunately she had a number of small accidents doing minor damage to the car. She seemed to be doing OK. I flew to NC the first part of Oct. to check on her. ... Her forgetfulness had increased and her appearance had declined along with her weight. I finally convinced her to get the First Alert pendent so if she fell she would have a way of summoning help.... I flew home thinking I had damned up the hole in the dyke so to speak. The next weekend my uncle stopped by for a visit. On Sunday I got a call from him telling me my mother had fallen in the night. I directed him to take her to the emergency room after questioning him about her responses. ..... It was this small but significant crisis that led to my brother driving from Atlanta and for me to fly to NC again. In a week we secured an assisted living apartment and on 11/1, I moved my mother in. ... Without the help of Aging Outreach Agency, the gifted people at the residence, the doctors, lawyers and others, I would not have been able to do this. ... This was the single most gut wrenching, stress filled experience of my life. Placing my once tall, vibrant, classy mother in a facility where she is a frail, little older lady who is totally dependent now. .... I know I am not unique, but no one or nothing could have prepared me for this. .... Once into it, there is no guide to tell you what to do. I just ran in my little rented car back and forth and did whatever that had to be done. Never eating and hardly sleeping and not thinking about anything but my mother.....Guess what. She seems to like it there. She's gained some weight back and has some people to talk with and share a meal. .... Am flying back this Wed. to return a cell phone I foolishly thought she could use. Way too complicated. I also have to return the alert pendent and have the locks changed. I found one door that would not lock so I had to barricade the door from the inside and let the police know that house was unoccupied. .... Unknown to my brother and me, our mother was saving magazines and printed stuff she thought was important, like annual reports. I also have to deal with bags of trash from having gone through papers and drawers of stuff. .... selling the car and then the house will follow in due time. But the most important part has been dealt with. Securing a safe place for my mother and peace of mind for me.

Linda Craig Cummings

I am now living in sunny Florida. I moved to Naples about 5 years ago and love it here. I work for the school district and am the Fine Arts Coordinator - which means I oversee the art, music and dance in 46 schools. Yikes!! It does keep me very busy. Last February, my father moved here from Indianapolis and is living in an independent/assisted living facility about a mile from my house. He really enjoys the warmer weather here. In July, my daughter and my two grandchildren (pictured above-ages 6 and 2) moved to Naples from Colorado. At this point, they are living with me and there is an explosion of toys throughout my house. I love the time I have now with all my family. My son Darren lives in Rochester, NY, and is married and has two beautiful children. He owns the Otter Lodge in Rochester (bar/restaurant) and is doing very well. Erica is a financial advisor. Zachary will be 2 in November and Kaitlyn was 3 in September. Life is good but busy.

Linda Craig Cummings