04/08/11 - NNHS Newsletter -
This Nearly Was Mine

“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: 'It might have been.'”

- John Greenleaf Whittier
(17 Dec 1807 - 07 Sept 1892)

South Pacific is considered by some to be one of the greatest Broadway musicals.^[1][2] Several of its songs, including "Bali Ha'i", "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair", "Some Enchanted Evening", "Happy Talk", "Younger than Springtime", and "I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy", have become worldwide standards. The Broadway production was nominated for and won ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Libretto. It is the only musical production ever to have won all four Tony Awards for acting. The show was a critical and box office hit and has since enjoyed many successful revivals and tours and spawned a 1958 film and other adaptations...

Metropolitan Opera star Giorgio Tozzi provided the singing voice for the role of Emile de Becque in the film...

   WOWZERS! Unfortunately, I personally have no such knowledge, Casagrande, but I'm sending your request along to the four men who in my opinion are most likely to be able to help you, and I will also include your request in today's Newsletter, which is sent to over 650 people.

   Best wishes in your endeavors!

I didn't mean to leave out my phone number for persons to contact me concerning 61 reunion, so if you would include I would appreciate it.

Thanks Gary Fitzgerald @ 757-879-2847 or Fitz43@cox.net.  Have a nice day.

   OOOPS! Thanks, Gary - I've posted it now!

    Marcus (Higgins - '65 - of AZ)

Okay, that's it for me, later,

Ray

    I'm glad you liked yesterday's theme song, Ray; it's a great one!

   Thanks for your memories! I posted then on the respective Teacher pages:

http://nnhs65.com/SITE-MAP.html

     http://nnhs65.com/faculty.html

          http://www.nnhs65.com/teach-Graves.html

          http://www.nnhs65.com/teach-Lyeth.html

I just got home from a day with     Monty (Phillips - '62 - of VA).  He is not doing well at all, but always answers the same..."hanging in there".  He really is hanging in there. 

I check for the NNHS Newsletters to wind down and catch a few smiles and/or laughs.  Typhoons are great, you know. I have to tell you what a neat thing     Norm Covert ('61 - of MD) did.  He passed on his T-shirt from when he was so "medically challenged" and now it is in Monty's living room near his bed where all who enter can enjoy a chuckle.  It says "4 OUT OF 5 DOCTORS PREFER ME".  He has been a model patient.  I have to agree.  He is fighting valiantly, but he is so weak.  Please keep him in your prayers as well as Jerry who spends every night with him and works full time still.  Just the drive to Norfolk daily is tiring him, but many nights, he is up several times with Monty.

I read today that     Glenn Dye ('60 - of TX) asked who was in Mrs. Graves' math class.      Jerry (Allen - 65 - of VA) and I both had Algebra II with her. That's where we were when JFK's assassination was announced.  Someone came up to our classroom window and told us about it first.  We thought it a joke at first. I remember, too, that the play JENNY KISSED ME was to be performed and, after debate and discussion, went on as scheduled to keep things as normal as possible for us.

I hope everything is going well with        Adrienne (Harty - Hillsboro HS, IL / American School, IL - of IL).

   Dearest Judy, your cheerful notes are always uplifting, even when your news is not always happy! Kiss your darling brother and husband for us, give them our love, and grab some for yourself!  

   I posted your remarks on Mrs. Graves' page and on the Kennedy assassination page, and referenced the Prayer Roll as well:

http://nnhs65.com/SITE-MAP.html

     http://nnhs65.com/faculty.html

          http://www.nnhs65.com/teach-Graves.html 

     http://nnhs65.com/assassination.html

     http://www.nnhs65.com/requests-prayers.html

   Adrienne is doing much better now, and thanks you for your caring concern - as do I!

   AMEN! Thanks, Joan!

YouTube - Goose Named Maria.avi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61WkeY9Jcvw&feature=email

   OH, WOW! Thanks, Sweetie-Pies! I think I must agree with Katie - that is one strange story!

- Conan O'Brien

8`8`8`

Another man and I share a locker at work. Noticing that it needed a new combination lock, my partner said he would pick one up on his way to work the next day. It occurred to me later that I might not see him in the morning. How would I find out the combination? I needn't have worried.

When I arrived at work I found that he had used the locker before me and had left a note reading: "To find the first number subtract 142 from your high score the last time we went bowling. The second number is 16 less than that. To find the third number subtract 1.87 from the amount you owe me."

8`8`8`

My wife-to-be and I were at the county clerk's office to get our marriage license. After recording the vital information; names, dates of birth, etc. the clerk handed me our license and deadpanned, "No refunds, no exchanges, no warranties."

8`8`8`

"A new study found that our happiness peaks in our late 80s. Mainly because all the people who annoyed you are dead by then."

- Jimmy Fallon

`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`

Good Quote

"Make yourself necessary to somebody."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`

A Sunbather

It was an early Spring morning. The sun was out but the chill of Winter past was still fighting against the warmth of Spring. I was driving down a quiet country lane and heading home after running some errands. As I was rounding a curve I saw a rock up ahead in the middle of the road. As I slowed to go around it, I noticed too that it had a head and was staring up at me. It was a turtle who had decided to warm up by sunbathing on the asphalt.

I pulled over to the side of the road and picked up the sunbather. I knew if I moved the turtle off to the side of the road he would just crawl back to the warmer spot as soon as I left. Not knowing what else to do then I carried him to my car and placed him on the passenger seat. As I drove home I would glance over every so often and see the distrusting eyes glaring back at me from within his shell. I tried to comfort him with a few gentle words, but they had no effect.

When I finally made it home I picked up the sunbather again and headed to the woods behind my house. After looking around a bit I saw a clear spot where the sun was shining down on a single rock. I gently placed the turtle down on it and took a few steps back. A few minutes later the head slowly emerged and started soaking up the sun once more. I smiled and headed back to my house. My simple act of kindness may not have seemed like much in the eyes of the world, but it made a difference in the life of one turtle and in the heart of one man.

Most of us go through our lives wanting to make some big difference in this world. In the eyes of Heaven, however, any kind act no matter how small makes a difference. God loves you and He only wants you to do what you can, with what you have, whenever you get a chance. We help God the most too not with some big act of courage but rather with a thousand little acts of love. Remember this then the next time you see a person or a turtle needing a helping hand.

~ Joseph J. Mazzella ~

You can get Joseph Mazzella's book, "WALKING THE PATH OF LOVE," at www.amazon.com.

[ by: Joseph J. Mazzella Copyright © 2011 (joecool@wirefire.com) -- {used with permission} ]

`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`8`

He Loved

I stared at the blank page nervously. The school assignment was to write your own obituary but how was I supposed to write a summation of my life when I hadn’t even lived it yet? I looked to my left and right and saw people pouring paragraphs out of their pens. I tried to think of what I wanted to accomplish in my life but my crazily racing thoughts crashed into each other. I glanced back at my clean sheet of paper and my writer’s block intensified. I tried to imagine the man I wanted to become but couldn’t see him clearly. Looking up at the clock on the wall I saw that there were only fifteen minutes left in class. Finally, in a panic I scribbled down a few sentences of what I hoped someday to do and turned it in. Let’s just say when I got the paper back it wasn’t the highest grade I had ever gotten.

If I had that assignment to do over today, however, I think that my obituary would be even shorter. It would probably get me an F on the assignment, but it would get me an A in life. In fact, I would sum it up in two words: He Loved. To love is what I want to do today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life. To love is what living is all about. The rest is just details.

Everything about living well and good and right is wrapped up in the arms of love. To love is to serve, to give, to be kind, and to help others. To love is to have joy and to bring joy as well. To love is to make this world a better place just by being in it. To love is to create a little Heaven everyday while still here on Earth. To love is to be the wonderful child, caring parent, tender spouse, fantastic friend, and beautiful person that you have always wanted to be. To love is to become the bright, shining soul that God meant for you to become.

Fill your days with love then and you will have truly lived. Fill yourself with love and you will be the best possible you. Fill your life with love and your obituary will take care of itself.

~ Joseph J. Mazzella ~

You can get Joseph Mazzella's book, "WALKING THE PATH OF LOVE," at www.amazon.com.

[ by: Joseph J. Mazzella Copyright © 2011 (joecool@wirefire.com) -- {used with permission} ]

   Thanks, Shari!  I assigned myself the task of writing my own obituary.  It's essentially finished, but fortunately I also have a shortened version: "Pore thang, she tried!"