Friday, September 15, 2017

ePistle 55

Famous First Words: This is a Hallowe'en tale of Brooklyn, where anything can happen --Arsenic and Old Lace (the movie) which was released in 1944.
This is the weekend of my 55th Year High School Reunion. I had the strangest experience at my last class reunion; a lot of my classmates changed so much that they didn't recognize me.
..........Paint a rainbow all around her.........Bobby Vee …..Take Good Care of My Baby (#1 in September 1961)
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. --Kurt Vonnegut
It is a delightful Friday morning. The 61°F is a perfect temperature and the light breeze with which it kisses my cheek manifests that perfection perfectly. The sky is awash with clouds of various shapes – strings, wisps, tater tots. At the moment the sound of motors is louder than birdsong, but it comes and goes. There are automatic lawn sprinklers that add a swooshing sound to the mix and also provides a lovely smell of wet grass and damp soil. Puck – because he is made of sugar and therefore vulnerable to melting – is sitting in the middle of the deck barking now and again in this direction or that to keep up the illusion for protection. The children seem especially happy as they wait for the bus, perhaps because it is Friday or just because it is such a delightful morning. Ah, but coffee calls to me – tart, creamy – so we return to our rooms and doctor up a cup. Now my most favorite part, I get to write to you.
Hope your weekend rocks like 1962, ePistliers.
She: Are you really going to your reunion in a sweat suit? He: I'm going to run all the way. I need to lose 20 pounds before I get there. / The class reunion has been postponed another year. Everyone is till trying to lose another 10 pounds.
..........and don't you come back no more, no more.........Ray Charles …..Hit the Road Jack (#1 in October 1961)
Trivia Questions: Welcome, Class of '62 … Since we're out of school now, there are no wrong answers to these questions...
^ What was your favorite subject at Turner ? Extra points if you actually went into that field.
^^ Who was your favorite teacher?
^^^What did your sophomore class vocations say you should be when you grew up?
^^^^ What sports, if any, did you participate in?
^^^^^ What first pops into your head when you look at your senior picture?
1962 Peace of the Week: The Peace Corps began recruiting in July of 1962.
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: When we went to high school if you didn't believe in science it was just called failing.
Fake High School Statistic of the Week: 87% of all high school students would trade parents with almost any other high school student's parents. This is a constant statistic and does not change with the years.
No, no, you were never good at math; this can't possibly be our 55 year class reunion. / When I finally got old enough for the senior discount, I found I couldn't stand any of the movies they run.
..........Kind of broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip.........Jimmy Dean …..Big Bad John (#1 in November 1961)
Moonbeam: You can't do it unless you can imagine it. --George Lucas b. May 14, 1944
Something to Think About of the Week: Instead of calling it my 73rd birthday, I call it the 40th anniversary of my 33rd birthday. --from Judith Rich
Big Hello: Lay it on me, Daddyo --Hipsters, c. 1962
First Worthless Fact of the Week: The top 3 songs in 1944 were all by Bing Crosby (Swinging on a Star / Don't Fence Me In {with the Andrew Sisters} / I'll Be Seeing You)
Name That Tune of the Week: ......Two drifters, off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see... answer below
How are people at the reunion going to recognize me? I look in the mirror and don't even recognize myself. / Getting old is a drag. You wake up in the morning feeling bad and you didn't even get to feel good last night to earn it.
..........A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh.........The Tokens …..The Lion Sleeps Tonight (#1 in December 1961)
^ So ...I liked English and Speech/Theater. I did become a tech writer** so I used English but not theater, actually. I have used speech through out my various careers. I spent nearly 30 years working in libraries and I don't even remember ever being in the library at Turner. But I remember the Argentine Branch of the KCK Public Library. **It was my favorite job of all my jobs.
Almanac: It is Friday, September 15, 2017. The moon was last quarter last Wednesday. The United Nations has declared this International Day of Democracy. It is Felt Hat Day, Google Dot Com Day, Greenpeace Day, International Dot Day, LGBT Center Awareness Day, National Cheese Toast Day, National On-line Learning Day, and Tackle Kids Cancer Day. Because it is the 3rd Friday it is also Constitution Day/Pledge Across America, International Grenache Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and National Tradesmen Day. Finally it is Clean Up the World Weekend because it is the 3rd weekend.
Among those born on this day were Francois dec de la Rachefoucald (1613), James Fennimore Cooper (1789), Porfirio Diaz (1830), William Howard Taft (1857), Bruno Walter (1876), Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti (1881), Dame Agatha Christie (1890), Frank Martin (1890), Jean Renoir (1894), Roy Acuff (1903), Kathryn Murray (1906), Fay Wray (1907), John Mitchell (1913), Jackie Cooper (1921), Bobby Short (1924), Norm Crosby (1927), Miroslaw Hermaszewski (1941), Oliver Stone (1946), Tommy Lee Jones (1946), Dan Marino (1961), and Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales (1984).
On September fifteenth St. Boniface IV became pope (608), the Mayflower departed Plymouth with 102 pilgirms (1620), the US Department of foreign Affairs was renamed Department of State (1789), Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras & Nicaragua all gained independence (1821), Antoinette Blackwell became the first female ordained minister in the US (1853), the National Afro-American Council formed (1898), Wilbur Wright made his first airplane flight (1904), Russia declared itself a republic (1917), the first international bridge match was held (1930), John Cobb set the world auto speed records at 350.2 mph (1938), The Lone Ranger premiered on tv (1949), Khrushchev arrived for a 13 day visit to the US (1959), 4 children were murdered by a bomb in a Birmingham church (1963), and Lost in Space premiered (1965).
Night Sky 9/15: This evening Saturn's biggest and brightest moon, Titan, stands about four ring-lengths to Saturn's east. A 4-inch telescope will begin to show the orange color of its smoggy atmosphere. Before sunrise on Sunday morning the 16th, Mercury is only about 0.3° from dimmer Mars. Bring optical aid to scan very low in the east, lower left of Venus.
This Week: Saturday, September 16 – International Eat An Apple Day & Big Whopper Liar Day
Sunday, September 17 – Batman Day & Citizenship Day & Constitution Day
Night Sky, 9/17: Saturn is at eastern quadrature: 90° east of the Sun in the evening sky. So this month, telescope users see the shadow of Saturn's globe falling farthest eastward onto the rings behind it, enhancing Saturn's overall 3-D appearance.
Monday, September 18 – National Ceiling Fan Day & National Respect Day
Tuesday, September 19 – Talk Like a Pirate Day
Night Sky, 9/19: Vega now passes the zenith an hour after sunset, in late twilight, for those of us at mid-northern latitudes. Vega is bigger, hotter, and more luminous than our Sun, but at 25 light-years it's 1,600,000 times farther away.
Wednesday, September 20 – National Rehabilitation Day & School Backpack Awareness Day
Thursday, September 21International Day of Peace !!!
Night Sky, 9/21: Uranus (in Pisces) and Neptune (in Aquarius) are well up in the east and southeast, respectively, by late evening.
I'll be interested to see who has a trophy wife and whether any of them won first place./ I called the Incontinence Hotline...they asked me if I could hold please.
.......... Till we tear the house down.........Chubby Checker …..The Twist (#1 in January 1962)
^^ Favorite teacher, hands down – Stan Eitzen
Funniest thing I read of the Week: With high definition TV everything looks bigger and wider. Kind of like going to you high school reunion. --Jay Leno
Answer to Name That Tune of the Week: Moon River written by Johnny Mercer and sung by Andy Williams won the Best Song Oscar in 1962 as the theme in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Best New Thing of the Week: Cooper aka the C-Dog

Strangest Item I Encountered of the Week: In the endless and repetitious coverage of hurricane Irma, one of the commentators used the phrase “to its intended target”. Do we thing that a hurricane can intend? I'm sure the commentator meant “til it dissipates”. Hurricanes with the ability to plan and intend might make an interesting science fiction story. And Jose and Katia doidmake it look like they are ganging up there for awhile.
Moonbeam: Radical simply means “grasping things at the root”. --Angela Davis, b. January 6, 1944
Let's face it. No kid in high school feels as though they fit in. --Stephen King
While it is still perfectly true that I can party like a rock star; it seems that I cannot recover like one. / It's better to grow old with a sense of humor than to grow old with no sense at all.
..........We'll walk through my dukedom.........Gene Chandler …..Duke of Earl (#1 in February 1962)
^^^ I recall Mr. Bell with a kind of weariness in his voice, saying I just wanted to help people. I also remember when we practiced calling about jobs in the newspaper, I applied to be a dancer in a club. I find that even more amusing today than I did then.
Some More Worthless Facts of the Week: Turner High School dates back to the 1920s. It is currently the only high school in the district. THS was formerly located in the building that now houses the Turner Recreation Association. In the 1950s, it moved to a new building that now houses Turner Middle School. In the late 1990s, a bond issue was passed to build a new high school facility. After passing, the new Turner High School was built on a piece of land that was once a farm. The farm was torn down and in 2001, the new Turner High School opened its doors.
Weird Word of the Week: TOPE – Current High School Slang (well, 2016 – current enough for government work) Tope is a mix of totally and dope (which means marijuana but also means seriously great).
What the...of the Week: From our last reunion I brought home 2 bears that were table decorations. And now...

I have to attend our 55th reunion, I promised at least 20 classmates that I'd keep in touch. / We're so old some of us knew Dirt when he was still a rock.
...........I want to know if you'll be my girl........Bruce Channel …..Hey, Baby (#1 in March 1962)
^^^^ Nada on sports. I attended lots of football games and a few basketball games and have no idea how Turner did in either sport. I remember soccer in gym glass. Jan Chapin and I were in the backfield – she was goalie and I was half back – the game never got to us – we played for several weeks – the action never got to our end. We made up jokes...we saw the crowd and the team members milling about and cheering. We assumed our team had scored a goal but later we found out the referees had bought everybody a coke.
Wicked Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Native American Council Offers Amnesty to 240 Million Undocumented Whites.
Word Shakespeare Made Up of the Week: Monumental – great in importance, extent, or size. (as in: Making it to your 55th reunion is a monumental event.) Troilus and Cressida Act III Scene III Ulysses: to have done is to hand quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail in monumental mockery.
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week:

Puck the Brave Episode of the Week: Here's our fearless Puck hiding in the shadows deciding whether to attend his low school reunion in the case of the Jaded Jackapoo.

Sure, I have a chance to lose 50 pounds before my reunion. I also think I still have a shot at being valedictorian. / I'm so old I used to babysit God when he was a toddler.
..........I get carried away.........Shelly Fabares …..Johnny Angel (#1 in April 1962)
^^^^^ I wasn't, haven't been, nor ever will be as straight as I look in that picture.
Month of the Week: September is Library Card Sign-up Month – In childhood a library card takes you to exotic, faraway places; in adulthood, a credit card serves that purpose, in old age its your medicare card.
Most Beautiful Thing in the State: Jungle Gardens, Avery Island, Louisiana. Experience the natural beauty and tranquility of Jungle Gardens - a 170-acre semitropical garden that stretches along Bayou Petite Anse on Avery Island. Naturalists, bird watchers and visitors from around the world will enjoy the gently rolling landscape, botanical treasures and abundant wildlife. http://www.junglegardens.org/ FYI: Avery Island is the home of Tabasco® Sauce.
'Nother Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I support keeping the US minimum wage at $7.25/hour – but only for Congress, because those guys already live off the tips. --John Fugelsang
Today's Peace of History: What goes around comes around – Fake News from our past: One of the headlines on September 15th, 1961 – our senior year – was that Rep. Chet Holified (D, CA) told the press that the Soviet Union planned to nuke the Moon.
High School Reunion: An awkward but inevitably pleasant non-digital walk down memory lane. / I don't like to think I'm old and worn out but I always make sure that I'm no where near the curb on trash day.
..........Wherever you go my heart will follow........The Shirelles ….Soldier Boy (#1 in May 1962)
Last Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Mr Limbaugh, your basement is flooded with two feet of left-wing hoax.
Masthead of the Week: fRiday ePistle September 15, 2017. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Oh, God, Not That Long Ago. Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 1800 Goodell Ct. Lawrence, KS 66046
Moonbeam: She who has regrets is a fool twice. --Gay Courter b. October 1, 1944
Cost of War:
Tax dollars spent in Afghanistan: as of 9/14/17: $783,476,580,654
Tax dollars spent in Afghanistan: as of 9/7/17: $782,766,372,948
Tax dollars spent on the Iraq war since 2001 as of 9/14/17: $820,830,135,811.
Tax dollars spent on the Iraq war since 2001 as of 9/7/17: $820,809,379,608.
Tax dollars spent on Daesh conflict as of 9/14/17: $16,795,987,293.
Tax dollars spent on Daesh conflict as of 9/7/17: $16,686,830,293.
Tax dollars spent on the Pentagon Slush Fund as of 9/14/17: $159,650,408,907
Tax dollars spent on the Pentagon Slush Fund as of 9/7/17: $159,043,041,064
Tax dollars spent on all wars since 2001 as of 9/14/17: $1,785,965,009,826.
Tax dollars spent on all wars since 2001 as of 9/7/17: $1,784,482,866,807.
Having been unpopular in high school is not just cause for book publications. --Fran Lebowitz
..........Those happy hours that we once knew........Ray Charles …..I Can't Stop Loving You (#1 in June 1962)
How the hell did I get to be this damned old? I'm sure it was only last year that I left high school. / I've reached the age where happy hour means a nap.
Famous Last Words: Home, sir. Lawrence of Arabia (Top grossing film of 1962)
May Peace be your legacy
And Joy be your trademark
prairie mama
christine


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