Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A Shrinking Bucket List


Ray Vybiral has done it again -- he crossed another off his bucket list. And he did this when he and Marilyn were lucky enough to see a wolf about 15 miles from their home, along a highway. Fortunately for Ray, and us, too, he had his camera along and was able to take a couple of good pics, one of which is shown here. And I, for one, am jealous!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Tivoli Theater Stars in Gecko Commercial

The following was received from Norma Deardorff Plummer:
"Have you seen one of Geico's gecho ads on TV where he's on a stage as a ventriloquist with a little gecho dummy? That commercial was shot at the Tivoli Theater in Downers last August under a cloak of secrecy and is finally making the airwaves. It was filmed by the director of the King's Speech, which makes this an even more prestigious event for the Tivoli. If you haven't seen it, you can Google Geicho gecho commerials and look for ventriloquist; or you can click on the title of this blog post as I've linked it to the commercial. The opening shot is of the front of the Tivoli and toward the end of the commercial you can hear an organ playing. That's being played by Steve Margison who is the Tivoli's technical director.I don't know if you were aware that the Tivoli is owned and operated by Ross Johnson's brother Willis (class of 55) and his family. They own 11 or 12 other theaters in the area under the name of Classic Cinema. Although many of the other theaters are multiple screened, he has kept the Tivoli just as it was only better. It's also used for many other community events: talent shows, concerts, recitals, book signings, live performances, etc. He's made it a real asset in this town."

After hearing about the gecko, Garland Edgell started reminiscing and sent the following:
"I was an usher there for about a year and was made the head usher by default at age 14 and was working 40 hours a week. The Christmans who managed the Tivoli then were very friendly to our family as several of my cousins and my oldest sister all had worked there. The attached photo was a promotional picture taken to advertize a bicycle giveaway of some sort. I didn't have the jacket to the usher uniform on but the rest of the get up was what we wore back in 1953-54."


Probably like the rest of you, I have a lot of good memories about the Tivoli (and the Don, too --- remember that theater?). My brother and I went to double-feature matinees every Saturday (in hindsight, my folks got rid of us each week). I ate Boston Baked Beans and Holloway Suckers (Slo-Pokes, today). One give-away, I won a bag of marbles, and as I returned to my seat, on the way up the aisle, the bag broke and I lost my all marbles (no pun intended).Any of the rest of you have Tivoli memories? Let me know.........

Saturday, May 19, 2012

We Finally Got Together

The phone rang; I answered it; and lo and behold, it was Frank Fusco, who I hadn't seen in 55 years. We've been in touch via e-mail, and we've sworn to meet up one day (he lives about 125 miles from here), but as life goes by, so do plans for getting together. This day, tho, Frank was at his son's lake house, about 20 miles away, and with encouragement from us, he jumped into his truck and was here in short order. The next couple of hours passed quickly, as we reminisced and caught up and even took a cable car ride to the dock. Frank was in the area for the annual Muzzle-Loading contest in a nearby town --- Frank is an avid "rifleman" --- so had to leave to get ready for the next 2 days' activities.
As you might expect, we've vowed to get together again soon, and with any luck at all, we'll do it. In the meantime, any of the rest of you headed in this direction?

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

We're Having Another Reunion!

Every five years, as summertime nears,
An announcement arrives in the mail,
A reunion is planned; it'll be really grand;
Make plans to attend without fail.
I'll never forget the first time we met;
We tried so hard to impress.
We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars,
And wore our most elegant dress.
It was quite an affair;
the whole class was there.
It was held at a fancy hotel.
We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined,
And everyone thought it was swell.
The men all conversed
about who had been first
To achieve great fortune and fame.
Meanwhile, their spouses
described their fine houses
And how beautiful their children became.
The homecoming queen,
who once had been lean,
Now weighed in at one-ninety-six.
The jocks who were there
had all lost their hair,
And the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks.
No one had heard
about the class nerd
Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon;
Or poor little Jane,
who's always been plain;
She married a shipping tycoon.
The boy we'd decreed 'most apt to succeed
'Was serving ten years in the pen,
While the one voted 'least'
now was a priest;
Just shows you can be wrong now and then.
They awarded a prize
to one of the guys
Who seemed to have aged the least.
.Another was given
to the grad who had driven
The farthest to attend the feast.
They took a class picture,
a curious mixture
Of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties.
Tall, short, or skinny,
the style was the mini;
You never saw so many thighs.
At our next get-together,
no one cared whether
They impressed their classmates or not.
The mood was informal,
a whole lot more normal;
By this time we'd all gone to pot.
It was held out-of-doors,
at the lake shores;
We ate hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans.
Then most of us lay
around in the shade,
In our comfortable T-shirts and jeans.
By the fiftieth year,
it was abundantly clear,
We were definitely over the hill.
Those who weren't dead
had to crawl out of bed,
And be home in time for their pill.
And now I can't wait;
they've set the date;
Our fifty-fifth is coming, I'm told.
It should be a ball,
they've rented a hall
At the Shady Rest Home for the old.
Repairs have been made
on my hearing aid;
My pacemaker's been turned up on high.
My wheelchair is oiled,
and my teeth have been boiled;
And I've bought a new wig and glass eye.
I'm feeling quite hearty,
and I'm ready to party
I'm gonna dance 'til dawn's early light.
It'll be lots of fun;
But I just hope that
there's oneOther person
who can make it that night.

Author Unknown Life is Wonderful.Don't forget it!----Praise The Lord, we've made it this far

Good-Bye to Facebook

Apparently there wasn't enough activity, because Facebook has "removed" our class page and deleted all members but me. If anyone wants to take over and try to make an active page for the class of 57, be my guest --- I'll do whatever is needed to help you. Till then, don't look for us on Facebook anymore, 'cause we aren't there.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A True Artist

I received the following from Florie Sick Baumann this winter (my responsiveness is slowing down in my advancing years). I know this will interest you as much as it did me: "I am part of a plein-air gallery. It is a cooperative and there are 14 of us. We each get a shot at being the featured artist on a wall of the gallery. It is my turn this month. My website is www.florabaumann.com where you can see more of my paintings. I paint out every week and have done for many years. Never knew I could do this. Took one art class at DGHS but dropped it since it was boring. Should have gone with Ellen to the Art Institute on Saturdays but I didn't know much about it. Ah, but, thankfully, I have lived long enough to find pleasure in art. I think it's never too late. People have many talents of which they are unaware until they try new things. You have to be prepared to fail a bit in the process."
As you can see, Florie is a very accomplished artist. Those of you in the San Francisco area should make it a point to look her up and check out her work -- you won't be sorry. Just one more thing: Florie and Fred recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a small party hosted by their 3 children. Our congrats to them and our wishes for at least 50 more!

It's Time for the 55th!!!

It's official --- the class of 1957 will be celebrating it's 55th reunion the week-end of August 24th and August 25th, 2012. The particulars are as follows: Friday, 8/24: There will be pizza (and cash bar) at the American Legion Hall on Saratoga, north of Ogden at 7PM. Saturday, 8/25: A buffet dinner (and cash bar) is being held at Ashbury's at Boughton Ridge in Bolingbrook, starting at 6PM. A ticket for $55 will get you into both events, but hurry! Space is limited to 100 people, so if you want to attend, send your reservation(s) and check to Norma Deardorff Plummer on or before June 1. If you have any questions, contact Carol Reeves Carlquist or Carol Mackenzie Weber. Y'all come!!