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	11/17/08 - NNHS Newsletter - Gordon Lightfoot's 70th Birthday “I try to keep it light and positive most of the time, whereas earlier on I didn't always do that. " - Gordon Lightfoot. (b. 17 Nov 1938)

Dear Friends and Schoolmates,

   Today's birthday celebration marks another first observance for us here.

BONUS - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta0a3DFUU0Y&fmt=18 - If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot

HOMEWORK:

http://gordonlightfoot.com/

http://gordonlightfoot.com/GordonLightfootBiography.shtml

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

SAD NEWS:

  From Linda Alfrey Walker (61) of VA - 11/15/08 - "Kevin Puckett":

Carol,
I hope this reaches you. I hate to be the bearer of sad news but I just found out earlier today      Les Puckett ('58) lost his son, Kevin, who was only 39. My sister-in-law is his cousin. I heard only the sketchiest details. It seems he and his wife were at the gym and he collapsed. Keep Les in your prayers.
 

   Oh, Linda, I am so sorry to learn this unspeakably sad news! I'll prepare a Memorial Newsletter tomorrow when more information becomes available; this is all I was able to locate today:

Puckett, Leslie Kevin - 39, of Charlotttesville died Saturday, November 15, 2008. Arrangements with Hill and Wood Funeral Home are incomplete.

Published in the Charlottesville Daily Progress on 11/17/2008.

   Thank you so much for letting us know - and of course we'll keep Les and his family in our thoughts and prayers!

HEALTH ALERT:

From   Al Simms ('60) of VA - 11/15/08 - "Please add my wife,    Lois, to your prayer list":

Carol,

Please add my wife Lois to your prayer list as she has been diagnosed with and is being treated for breast cancer. It was caught very early, less than one cm tumor on a routine mammogram and has already been removed via lumpectomy and next week she will have a new state of the art radiation treatment, Mammosite, that treats the area of the tumor with radiation from inside the cavity created by removal of the tumor. This may be followed by chemo but that is not decided with certainty yet. Her lymph nodes were clear as was a margin of tissue around the tumor and so we believe that she is probably already cancer free and the follow-up radiation and possibly chemo too are just to make sure. Please pray that she is cancer free and that the treatment that she will have next week is really as side-effect free as they say that it is.

Thanks,
Al Simms
Class of 1960

  Oh, Al, I'm so sorry! We'll keep you and Lois both in our hearts and prayers!

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/requests-prayers.html

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT:

From   Al Simms ('60) of VA - 11/15/08 - "Grandchild number 6":

Carol,

Announcing the birth of Stephen Patrick Mikell, Born: November 11 at 3:09 am, Weight: 7 lbs. 0 oz., Length: 20.6 inches. He was about 3 weeks early but mother and child are both doing just fine. Stephen is our sixth grandchild and was born to my youngest daughter, Martha Simms Mikell, who lives in Stuarts Draft, VA with her husband Abraham Mikell.  Both are teachers in the high school there; Martha - Chemistry, Biology and Earth Science and she is also head of the science department; Abe - History, Government, Civics and he is also the head football and wrestling coach.
		Stephen Patrick Mikell

   AWWWW! What a beautiful baby boy! Thanks for sharing this with us, Al! Congratulations to All! Isn't it amazing how sad news and glad news so often arrive simultaneously??

THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS:

    Happy Birthday today to Ronald Creech ('57)!

   Happy Birthday tomorrow to   Joe Drewry ('58) of VA AND    Jane Coltrane Leonard ('64) of VA AND   Ann Allen ('65) of FL!

   Happy Birthday this week to:

21 -   the late Rose Woodard Davis Ficocello Groff ('65) (deceased 10/14/84);

23 -   Sandra Ray ('61) of VA AND     John Howard ('66) of VA AND Peggy Cooke Wolfley ('71) of VA AND    Fayetta Covert Stansbury (Ferguson HS - '72) of FL;

24 -     Sharon Hilsdon Bryant ('68) of VA;

25 -    Donnie Satisky ('56) of OR AND  ('63) of CA!

   Many Happy Returns to You All!

    From Jerry Blanchard ('62) of VA - 11/14/08 - "CEMETERY ESCORT DUTY  ":

Carol,

I just got this from an old school pal. I do not know if it is true or not. He seems to think so. Be that as it may. Being an Old salt, not a Grunt, I still feel this should be passed on. Some of my best friends were or are Marines. (Once one, always one) There is a lot to this story. I would like to believe it is true....

Jerry B. (Class of 62) of Va.
 

CEMETERY ESCORT DUTY 
 
I just wanted to get the day over with and go down to Smokey's. Sneaking a look at my watch, I saw the time, 1655. Five minutes to go before the cemetery gates are closed for the day. Full dress was hot in the August sun. Oklahoma summertime was as bad as ever--the heat and humidity at the same level--both too high.

I saw the car pull into the drive, '69 or '70 model Cadillac Deville, looked factory-new. It pulled into the parking lot at a snail's pace. An old woman got out so slowly I thought she was paralyzed; She had a cane and a sheaf of flowers--about four or five bunches, as best I could tell.

I couldn't help myself. The thought came unwanted, and left a slightly bitter taste: 'She's going to spend an hour, and for this old soldier, my hip hurts like hell and I'm ready to get out of here right now!' But for this day, my duty was to assist anyone coming in.

Kevin would lock the 'In' gate and if I could hurry the old biddy along, we might make it to Smokey's in time.

I broke post attention. My hip made gritty noises when I took the first step and the pain went up a notch. I must have made a real military sight: middle-aged man with a small pot gut and half a limp, in marine full-dress uniform, which had lost its razor crease about thirty minutes after I began the watch at the cemetery.

I stopped in front of her, halfway up the walk. She looked up at me with an old woman's squint.

'Ma'am, may I assist you in any way?'

She took long enough to answer.

'Yes, son. "Can you carry these flowers? I seem to be moving a tad slow these days."

'My pleasure, ma'am. Well, it wasn't too much of a lie.

She looked again. "Marine, where were you stationed?"

" Vietnam, ma'am. Ground-pounder. '69 to '71."

She looked at me closer. 'Wounded in action, I see. Well done, marine. I'll be as quick as I can.'

I lied a little bigger: 'No hurry, ma'am.'

She smiled and winked at me. 'Son, I'm 85-years-old and I can tell a lie from a long way off. Let's get this done. Might be the last time I can do this. My name's Joanne Wieserman, and I've a few marines I'd like to see one more time.'

'Yes, ma'am. At your service. '

She headed for the World War I section, stopping at a stone. She picked one of the flowers out of my arm and laid it on top of the stone. She murmured something I couldn't quite make out. The name on the marble was Donald S. Davidson, USMC: France 1918.

She turned away and made a straight line for the World War II section, stopping at one stone. I saw a tear slowly tracking its way down her cheek. She put a bunch on a stone; the name was Stephen X. Davidson, USMC, 1943.

She went up the row a ways and laid an other bunch on a stone, Stanley J. Wieserman, USMC, 1944.

She paused for a second. 'Two more, son, and we'll be done'

I almost didn't say anything, but, 'Yes, ma'am. Take your time.'

She looked confused. 'Where's the Vietnam section, son? I seem to have lost my way.'

I pointed with my chin. 'That way, ma'am.'

'Oh!' she chuckled quietly. 'Son, me and old age ain't too friendly.'

She headed down the walk I'd pointed at. She stopped at a couple of stones before she found the ones she wanted. She placed a bunch on Larry Wieserman, USMC, 1968, and the last on Darrel Wieserman, USMC, 1970. She stood there and murmured a few words I still couldn't make out.

'OK, son, I'm finished. Get me back to my car and you can go home.'

'Yes, ma'am.' If I may ask, were those your kinfolk?'

She paused.

'Yes, Donald Davidson was my father, Stephen was my uncle, Stanley was my husband, Larry and Darrel were our sons. All killed in action, all marines.'

She stopped. Whether she had finished, or couldn't finish, I don't know. She made her way to her car, slowly and painfully.

I waited for a polite distance to come between us and then double-timed it over to Kevin, waiting by the car.

'Get to the 'Out' gate quick. I have something I've got to do.'

Kevin started to say something, but saw the look I gave him. He broke the rules to get us there down the service road. We beat her. She hadn't made it around the rotunda yet.

'Kevin, stand at attention next to the gatepost. Follow my lead.' I humped it across the drive to the other post.

When the Cadillac came puttering around from the hedges and began the short straight traverse to the gate, I called in my best gunny's voice: 'TehenHut! Present Haaaarms!' I have to hand it to Kevin; he never blinked an eye--full dress attention and a salute that would make his DI proud.

She drove through that gate with two old worn-out soldiers giving her a send-off she deserved, for service rendered to her country, and for knowing duty, honor and sacrifice.

I am not sure, but I think I saw a salute returned from that Cadillac.

   Thank you so very much for this beautiful and moving story, Jerry!

From Norris Perry (Warwick HS - '59) of VA - 11/15/08 - "Veterans Day - A Pittance of Time":

This will bring a lump to your throat … maybe a tear to your eye …

late but still timely

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlrrAWCTRg - A Pittance of Time - Terry Kelly

"On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store's PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.

"Terry was impressed with the store's leadership role in adopting the Legion's 'two minutes of silence' initiative. He felt that the store's contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.

"When eleven o'clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the "'wo minutes of silence' to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.

"Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the store's clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was later channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, 'A Pittance of Time'. Terry later recorded 'A Pittance of Time' and included it on his full-length music CD, 'The Power of the Dream'."

   "Maybe a tear to your eye," Norris?!? I think so, yes! Thanks so much, Sweetie!

    From Susie Overton Jones ('63) of AL - 11/15/08 - "Canadian Research proves that Vicks on the feet cures coughing-Fiction!":

TruthOrFiction.com:

Summary of the eRumor:  
The email says that the Canada Research Council doesn't know why but has found that using Vicks VapoRub on the bottom of the feet at bedtime will stop nighttime coughing.  

It says that even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and that relief will last for hours.

This was discovered as part of a research project about the effectiveness of prescription cough medicines compared with alternative therapies in children. The Truth:  
There is no "Canada Research Council" but the National Research Council of Canada did issue a statement about this eRumor.

The Council said that it had never conducted any such research about Vicks VapoRub and that it does not, as the eRumor suggested, do research on "alternative applications of medicines."  

It is popularly believed that rubbing Vicks VapoRub on the feet can help coughing.  We're not aware of any official research that found that it works.

The Vicks company has never made such a claim although Vicks VapoRub and its formula of camphor, eucalyptus oil, and menthol is formulated to deal with coughs.  The company recommends rubbing it on the chest or throat for relieving coughing during a cold or on muscles and joints for relieving minor pain.

The eRumor, however, appears to have been fabricated by someone who believed in the efficacy of rubbing the product on the feet and who wanted to be able to cite official research supporting it.

Updated 7/10/07 A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:
discovered it) aren't sure why.

   Thanks for the report, Susie! Actually, I deliberately did not check the alleged veracity of this item for one reason - I'm a pragmatist. I assumed (correctly, I see!) that an expert would say that was of no value, but it might just work for me or for one of you.

   Some years ago I encountered a list of "100 Prescription Medications That Don't Work".  I was aghast to see two medicines included which I personally found to be so efficacious I would have described them as miracle cures, but that had just been dismissed as worthless.

   I concluded that what works for one may not for another, but if if causes no harm, why not give it a try?!?

From Amy - Ummm - a Close Relative of     Elaine Wilkinson Bracken ('61) of VA - 11/17/08 - "RE: Vick's VapoRub":

I used to do this with Amina when she was younger (and still do, but she doesn't get sick as often now).  I suggest a more natural approach than Vicks (filled with stuff we don't want in our blood stream), by using pure essential oils of eucalyptus, hyssop, thyme, rosemary, ginger, and peppermint (peppermint will also help bring down a fever).  These can be found at any health food store.

In Good Health...
Many Blessings to all,

Amy

   Thanks, Amy! This one sounds even better! I'll try both when the opportunity presents itself!

From Norris Perry (Warwick HS - '59) of VA - 11/15/08 - "YouTube - Tom Rush":

Some of us can identify and are experiencing some of these symptoms. 

http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=9yN-6PbqAPM

      Thanks again, Norris!

  From Ruth Ann Reece Horace ('67) of FL - 10/31/08 - "++++ MAXINE +++++" (#11 in a Series of 15):

..... More from the gal everyone loves and admires..... Whatever pops into her mind, Maxine says. Ordinarily, folks might be offended. But instead, millions of Americans have identified with the crabby, irreverent Maxine, the popular Hallmark character that lambastes everything from holidays to aging, and does not hesitate to tell it like it is - or as she sees it.....    Thanks, Ruthie!

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HOLIDAY REUNION NEWS:  

The NNHS Class of 1958 Gathering and Dinner will be held Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 6:00 PM at Al Fresco Ristorante, 11710 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA 23606.  CONTACT: Joe Drewry (jwdvt@aol.com, 757-244-4443, ext 4)

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DATES TO REMEMBER:

1. Thursday, December 4, 2007, 11:00 AM - Class of 1955 Lunch Bunch - Steve & John's Steak House on Jefferson Avenue just above Denbigh Boulevard in Newport News, VA  - OPEN TO ALL WITH FRIENDS IN CLASS OF 1955

2. April 23, 24, & 25, 2009 - Class of 1954 will hold their 55th-Year Reunion. For details contact Dr. Harry Simpson at 804-694-0346 or email him at hdsdds@aol.com - CLASS OF 1954

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PRAYER ROLL: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/requests-prayers.html - updated 11/17/08

NNHS BLOG: http://nnhs.wordpress.com/ - updated 11/17/08

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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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NNHS CLASS OF '65 WEB SITE: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com

PERSONAL WEB SITE: http://www.angelfire.com/weird2/cluckmeat

==============================================

Carol Buckley Harty 219 Four Ply Lane Fayetteville, NC 29311-9305   910-488-9408

To donate, click on the gold seal on the left,               or just mail it to my home. Thanks!

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If You Could Read My Mind

Written and sung by Gordon Lightfoot, 1970
 

If you could read my mind love,
what a tale my thoughts could tell.
Just like an old time movie
about a ghost from a wishing well.
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
with chains upon my feet.
You know that ghost is me
and I will never be set free
as long as I'm a ghost that you can see.

If I could read your mind love,
what a tale your thoughts could tell.
Just like a paperback novel,
the kind the drugstore sells.
When you reach the part where the heartaches
come the hero would be me.
Heroes often fail.
And you won't read that book again
because the ending's just too hard to take.

I walk away like a movie star
who gets burned in a three way script.
Enter number two, a movie queen
to play the scene of bringing all the good things out in me,
but for now love let's be real.

I never thought I could act this way
and I've got to say that I just don't get it.
I don't know where we went wrong
but the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back.

If you could read my mind love,
what a tale my thoughts could tell.
Just like an old time movie about a ghost from a wishing well.
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
with chains upon my feet the story always ends.
And if you read between the lines
you'll know that I'm just trying to understand
the feeling that you left.

I never thought I could feel this way
and I got to say that I just don't get it.
I don't know where we went wrong
but the feelings gone
and I just can't get it back.

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"If You Could Read My Mind" midi (sequenced by Jeff Jackson) courtesy of http://www.corfid.com/gl/midi-files.htm - 11/15/08

"If You Could Read My Mind" lyrics courtesy of http://www.metrolyrics.com/if-you-could-read-my-mind-lyrics-gordon-lightfoot.html - 11/15/08

First Image of Gordon Lightfoot courtesy of http://dreamchimney.com/tracks/artist/Gordon+Lightfoot - 11/15/08

Second Image (2007) of Gordon Lightfoot courtesy of http://gordonlightfoot.com/ - 11/15/08

Acoustical Guitar Divider Line clip art courtesy of http://www.wtv-zone.com/nevr2l82/bars22.html - 11/15/08

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
Thanks, Al!

Ferguson High School's Anchor clip art courtesy of Steve Silsby (FHS - '72) of NC - 12/14/05
Thanks, Steve!

Navy Seal clip art courtesy of http://www.onemileup.com/miniSeals.asp - 05/29/06

Animated Laughing Jerry courtesy of Cookie Phillips Tyndall ('64) of VA - 06/14/06
Thanks, Cookie!

Animated Ringing Christmas Bell clip art (designed by Art Holden) courtesy of http://www.animationfactory.com - 12/08/05

Animated "NEW" clip art courtesy of http://gifsnow.com/ - 03/07/06

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