lucky you - your browser doesnt play annoying midis  

Dear Friends and Schoolmates,

   Ahhh - a return to the Birthday Celebrations!

BONUS #1 - http://hca.gilead.org.il/imhca.html - After you read Frank Loesser's lyrics, scroll to the bottom right, and press the button to hear Danny Kaye sing you the song (08/13/52)!

BONUS #2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMKxnYRhk6I - The Ugly Duckling - Danny Kaye, 1952

   Today's quotation reminded me sharply of another, penned a few years earlier:

"To look almost pretty is an acquisition of higher delight to a girl who has been looking plain for the first fifteen years of her life than a beauty from her cradle can ever receive."

- Jane Austen (16 Dec 1775 - 18 July 1817)

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HOMEWORK:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen

http://www.iconsofeurope.com/toronto.hca.htm

http://hca.gilead.org.il/ - WOWZERS!!!

http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/index_e.html 

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   THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS:

   Happy Birthday this week to:

04 - Robert Workman ('57) AND    Sylvia Hall Hammond ('66) of UT;

06 - Gerald Leonard ('66) of VA AND Aaron (Hank) Smith ('69);

07 - Marc Snyder ('65) of NC!

   Many Happy Returns to You All!

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/Happy-Birthday.html 

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       From Carol Anne Comer Cutler ('70) of VA - 04/01/09 - "Betsy Lee Gardens":

One street over from Warwick Gardens was where I grew up...Betsy Lee Gardens.

I lived there (for the most part) from the time I came home from Riverside Hospital in 1951 until I sold the house in June of 2006. This is the area bordered by Briarfield Road, Jefferson Avenue, Marshall Avenue, and Warwick Gardens.   

The class of 1970 classmates refer to ourselves as the Ellen Road good guys.  There were the Caldwell sisters, (Debbie in our class). Wayne Mallory '66 (his sister Susan in our class).  Roger Warf '66 "Ellen", Carol Warf '67 "Ellen", Nancy Sosebee '67 "Decatur Street",   Janice Poole '66 "Decatur", Nathan Sosebee "Decatur",   Dianne Adams '65 "Decatur", Alan Jones '69 "Ellen", Tommy Comer '67 "Ellen",   Carol Comer '70, Charles Comer '71, Brenda Price '70 "Ellen",  Warren Crisp '70 "Ellen", Jimmy Dinwiddie '67 "Greenway", Donnie Carter '68 "Greenway",  Charles Morgan '67 "Temple?", Jerry Smith '68 "Ellen",  Emily Calhoun '69 "Ellen".  There were also (5) Prevatte sisters (Linda '70) who lived on Temple Lane. 

There were probably many more, but considering my age...the memory isn't totally gone!! 

   WOWZERS!!! Thanks, Carol Anne! I was all excited and ready to add this  to the Betsy Lee Gardens page, when I discovered much to my chagrin that no such page exists - not even a mention of such! Okay, that's next on my "To-Do" list; check back soon.....

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/SITE-MAP.html

     http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/neighborhoods.html

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  From Christine Wilson Starkman ('68) of CA - 04/01/09:

Hi Carol,

The newsletters get better and better every day! Thank so much for all you do.

....."But it's a beautiful day in paradise", and it's good to be alive!

Love, Chris

   Thank you so much, Chris - for everything! I think of you often and appreciate all your many contributions over the years.....

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  From Dora Colton Ellis ('69) of VA ? - 04/01/09 - "The NNHS Alma Mater":

Thank you very much for the NNHS alma mater music. We will now be singing it at our reunion in September for the class of '69.  

No need for bag -- we appreciate all!!
 
Dora

   Thanks, Dora!

   "BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE!!!"

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  From Al Simms ('60) of VA - 04/01/09 - "The NNHS Alma Mater":

Carol,
 

The midi that you have playing on the Saunders Stadium page is organ only - one that I sent to you early on - and is not the one that I would recommend for accompaniment to singing.  I have attached the one that I think is best for that - piano and organ - to this email along with the 1 page .pdf version of the score and words for downloading.  The other one that you have playing on the NNHS page is the one with band instruments that you and           Dale (Harty - Hillsboro HS, IL / American School, IL - '02 - of MA) did.  Hope that this helps.
 

Al Simms

Class of 1960

   WELL, WELL!!! This is even more embarrassing than before! I must have had a third (earlier) version in mind, because I KNOW I never heard this beautiful, stately version. This one reminds me of Assemblies or something else which I can't quite recall.....

   ANYWAY, I switched Dale's version to the Saunders Stadium page, because even though we seem to have run out of time that night we were making it before we added the cymbals to the closing measures, it still reminded me more of football games.

   AND I added Al's rich piano and organ version - the lower key signature is wonderful! - to the NNHS page;

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/SITE-MAP.html 

     http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/saunders-stadium.html

     http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/nnhs.html

   Thanks so much, Al - what a fabulous job you did!

   STILL TO COME - the .pdf files attached to all both those pages as well as the index. Somehow that's still not working for me, but I'll be glad to forward a copy of it to anyone in the meantime - as I did to Dora.

   When the guys in white suits come to take me away, just tell them I'm upstairs hiding in my room.....

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      From My Niece, Shari, of VA - 04/01/09 - 04/01/09 - "Thanks for Your Time":

I'd read this before and it's very touching.

Thanks for Your Time

- Author Unknown  

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday."

Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

"Jack, did you hear me?"

"Oh sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.

"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.

"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important... Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time.

The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture... Jack stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.

"The box is gone," he said.

"What box?" Mom asked.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.

"Mr. Harold Belser" it read.

Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:

"Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."

"The thing he valued most...was...my time."

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.

"I need some time to spend with my son," he said. "Oh, by the way, Janet... thanks for your time!"

   And thank you, Shari, for this poignant reminder!

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     From Eric Huffstutler (Bethel HS - '75) of VA - 04/01/09 - "Be-Lo Super Market":

   WOWZERS!!! Thanks for all your research, Eric! You're probably wondering why I haven't begun this page yet..... I had some bizarre notion I could find a Be-Lo logo to decorate it, and spent so much time looking for that I never began at all..... That's on my "To-Do" list, too.....

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  From Danny Crockett ('65) of FL - 04/01/09 - "please add my email address":

Carol,

 

Thanks so much for      Bunny's (Booker - '65 - of MI) contact information.  I have another request.  Please add my personal email address to the 1965 class web site.

 

Thanks bunches for all of the good work you're doing,

 

Dan

 

Dan Crockett

 

DLC1047@aol.com

www.newleafcenter.com

   Thank you so much, Danny! I've added your information onto that page:

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/SITE-MAP.html

     http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/contact-ALL.html

          http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/contact-B.html

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  From My Cousin, Jim Atkinson (John Randolph Tucker HS - '77) of AZ - 04/01/09 - "Picked the wrong year...":

...to start hunting coral snakes...

		Treatment of U.S. Coral Snakebite The sole manufacturer of Eastern and Texas Coral Snake Antivenom, Wyeth, has ceased production of this product and it is estimated that all remaining in-date stocks of Coral Snake Antivenom in the United States will be exhausted between October and December, 2008. Unless the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves a new or foreign (Mexican) antivenom currently being tested at the Natural Toxins Research Center (Texas A&M University-Kingsville) then U.S. victims of Eastern and Texas Coral Snake envenomation will no longer be able to be treated by antivenom. The consequences of this radically changes the way Coral Snake envenomation is treated. Existing stocks, if any (=unknown quantity) have received an extension for expiration until October 31, 2009. See the following notice from the FDA and associated links at: http://www.fda.gov/cber/safety/wyecor102808.htm
Eastern coral snake, Micrurus tener
Image by LA Dawson

Hey Cuzz,

It's been awhile but we're still alive and kickin' in western Arizona.  I've never been to the part of the country where you are now but perhaps someday.  Now that you've had several months to get settled in, how do you like it there? 

Tim is preparing to go to college in the fall (up at Yavapai) and Joe turns 16 tomorrow.  Jody and I are still working and seem to have all consuming schedules.  This is a very interesting part of the USA and we are enjoying our time here immensely.

As for the Arizona coral snake, you would have to work hard at getting bitten by one, as the large ones seldom top about 20 inches and they all have very small mouth parts.  Rattlers are a different story as we have six different kinds within 15 minutes (driving time) of the house.  I was envenomated twice during my younger years (rattlers both times), the cost of working with ornery wildlife.  Got stuck by a timber rattlesnake in 1981 and a Great Basin in 83.  Moved (relocated) well over a hundred here last year (diamondbacks, mohaves, sidewinders, tigers, speckled and black-tails).  My personal favorite is the tigger (tiger) which has an alternating series of lavender and dark gray crossbands with salmon pink highlights on the lower sides and tail (picture attached).

We are a livin' in paradise.  115 degree heat, thornscrub, lots of dirt, dust and grit, armed illegals crossing the international border night and day, unexploded military ordinance here and there, sonic shock waves, lots of things that either sting, stick, bite or impale otherwise.  Never realized how much of an "unadventure" that life in old Virginny was until we moved here.  I do miss grinning down bears in the big thicket of Shenandoah National Park.

No complaints though as life here ain't half bad...

  Jim, Jim, Jim! I know that we're related; I remember when you were born! But Sweetie, your idea of Paradise is so diametrically opposed to my own that.....

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 From Sarah Puckett Kressaty ('65) of VA - 04/01/09 - "emails":

So…….does that mean that you didn’t get any pictures either????? 

S.

   Wellll, maybe yes and maybe no! If the email arrived, then any attached pictures arrived as well. That holds true whether or not I actually discovered it. Pictures take me far longer to process than notes with no images, but my usual aim is to post the mail on a Newsletter the day after its arrival. You'll note that all of today's entries were from yesterday.  Sometimes I'll fall behind (okay, OFTEN I'll fall behind), and on very rare occasion I'll post an item the same day it arrives - as I did yesterday with the Reunion Alert from        Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA.

   But I just ran a mail search on you, and if you've sent me any images lately, they're not merely hiding, they never arrived.

But speaking of pictures, I noticed a very familiar face on the front of the online Daily Press yesterday and today in their Prom Pictures series. It looked a LOT like this one of YOU. http://www.dailypress.com/    Thanks, Sarah Sugah! http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/SITE-MAP.html      http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/prom.html
		Saturday, May 15, 1965
		Sarah Puckett ('65) and Jimmy Dempsey ('65)

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      From My Niece, Shari, of VA - 04/01/09 - "Aww, too cute!":

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7j3RHqQWlk   

   Oh, Shari, you know what a sucker I am for cute little kiddles! Thanks again!

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FINALLY:

      From My Niece, Shari, of VA - 03/26/09 - "Picture Messages (#5 in a series of 5)":

Have a nice weekend.      COOL! Thanks, Shari! These were neat!

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DATES TO REMEMBER:

2. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 15, 16, and 17, 2009 - The Hampton High School Class of 1964 will hold its 45-Year Reunion at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. For details, see: www.hamptonhigh1964.com - HAMPTON HIGH SCHOOL - CLASS OF 1964

3. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, September 4, 5 and 6 (Labor Day Weekend), 2009 - The Class of 1969 will hold its 40-Year Reunion at the Point Plaza Hotel, Newport News, VA. For details, see: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/reunion2009-69.html and contact Jean Baker Howell at hokie13mom@cox.net - OPEN TO ALL NNHS ALUMNI

4. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, September 18, 19, and 20, 2009 - The Warwick High School Class of 1959 will hold its 50-Year Reunion at the Marriott Newport News at City Center, Newport News, VA. For details, contact WHSREUNION1959@aol.com.

5. Friday and Saturday, October 9 and 10, 2009 - The Class of 1964 will hold its 45-Year Reunion at the Newport News Marriott at City Center, 740 Town Center Drive, Newport News, VA 23606: For details, see: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/reunion2009-64.html - CLASS OF 1964:

Your NNHS 64/45 Reunion Committee is pleased to announce that musical entertainment has been arranged for our Reunion.

On Friday evening, we will dance to the tunes of DJ, Susan Voss. Those of you who attended our “Turning Sixty” Party in 2006 at Spirit Events will remember Susan’s talent and energy.

On Saturday night we have engaged the band, LP & Company, headed by L.P. Butler. I could tell you how great they are, but you can see for yourself on the video at their web site:  http://www.eastcoastentertainment.com/artist/LP_and_Company.html

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   Y'all take care of each other!  TYPHOONS FOREVER!  We'll Always Have Buckroe!

                                   Love to all, Carol

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The Ugly Duckling

Words and Music by Frank Loesser
(29 June 1910 - 26 July 1969)

- from Hans Christian Andersen, 1952


There once was an ugly duckling
With feathers all stubby and brown
And the other birds said in so many words
Get out of town
Get out, get out, get out of town
And he went with a quack and a waddle and a quack
In a flurry of eiderdown
That poor little ugly duckling
Went wandering far and near
But at every place they said to his face
Now get out, get out, get out of here
And he went with a quack and a waddle and a quack
And a very unhappy tear
All through the wintertime he hid himself away
Ashamed to show his face, afraid of what others might say
All through the winter in his lonely clump of wheat
Till a flock of swans spied him there and very soon agreed
You’re a very fine swan indeed!
A swan? Me a swan? Ah, go on!
And he said yes, you’re a swan
Take a look at yourself in the lake and you’ll see
And he looked, and he saw, and he said
I am a swan! Wheeeeeeee!
I’m not such an ugly duckling
No feathers all stubby and brown
For in fact these birds in so many words said
The best in town, the best, the best
The best in town
Not a quack, not a quack, not a waddle or a quack
But a glide and a whistle and a snowy white back
And a head so noble and high
Say who’s an ugly duckling?
Not I!
Not I!

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"The Ugly Duckling" lyrics courtesy of http://www.angelfire.com/film/dannykaye/UglyDuckling.htm - 04/02/09

First Image of Hans Christian Andersen (portrait by Christian Albrecht Jensen) courtesy of http://www.iconsofeurope.com/toronto.hca.htm - 04/02/09

Second Image of Hans Christian Andersen (portrait by Carl Heinrich Bloch) courtesy
of http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/23566/97486/Hans-Christian-Andersen-portrait-by-Carl-Heinrich-Bloch-19th-century - 04/02/09

Swan clip art used to form Divider Lines courtesy
of http://www.iclipart.com/search.php?start=35&submit=&keys=Swan&notkeys=&andor=AND&c1=&c2=&s1=&s2=&release1=
&release2=&previewcheck=&cat=All&type=&rows=5&jump=0&period=&collection=&tl=clipart - 04/02/09

Animated Tiny Birthday Cake clip art courtesy of Sarah Puckett Kressaty ('65) of VA - 08/31/05
Thanks, Sarah Sugah!

Army Seal clip art courtesy of Al Farber ('64) of GA - 05/24/06 (still missing...)
Thanks, Al!
Replaced by Norm Covert ('61) of MD - 02/09/09
Thanks, Norm!

Hillsboro High School's Topper (Band Version) clip art courtesy of http://www.hillsboroschools.net/schools/hhs/activities/music2/Band/bio.html - 06/07/08
Thanks, Mark!

American School Logo courtesy of http://www.americanschoolofcorr.com/grads.asp - 09/05/06

Bethel High School's Bruin clip art courtesy of Eric Huffstutler (Bethel HS - '75) of VA - 03/22/06 (replaced 02/23/09)
Thanks, Eric!

J. R. Tucker High School's Orange Tiger Paw Print courtesy of http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/hs/tucker/resources/about.htm - 11/12/07

Animated Kissing Smiley clip art courtesy of my friend, Judy, of IL - 09/19/08
Thanks, Judy!