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 21 – International 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
Last
Laugh:
