Day after Thanksgiving






























Send Sharon an E Mail (address in the next post) if you can come visit on the 19th
of December, details are also in that post. Hope everyone had a great T. Day and can come in for the 19th.

MORE INFO ON THE GATHERINGS


Sharon wants to know if you are coming?
If you wanta bring vitals (a sad try at spelling the food Jed ate after he used the pool sticks to fetch the pots across the fancy eating table) then rock on, but we are bringing at least one Honey Baked Ham and a touch of Lynchburg Holy water.

Call her (her phone is in the last post)
Or E mail her at sharontcady@yahoo.com


Ya know when we gather every 5 or 10 years we always say we should do this more often.
Brothers and sisters after looking around the room at the 40th I agrEE!

So if you are lurking around Murvle on the day after Turkey Day come out to the Hilton bar and lets tell lies.

IF you are coming in for Ho Ho then make a point to meet everyone on the 19th!

If you have just moved back (Mrs. KING!) then come to both of these deals.


Lets make this one the first of many OK?

Any questions e mail me at wjonair1@aol.com

DECEMBER low key PARTY and day after Thanksgiving get 2 gether







Sharon sent the following about a class December party.

"Sorry it took so long to get back to you guys, but the only date Lee has open at his club house where the breakfast was held is December 19 at 6:30pm. Hope everyone can make it. We are just going to have everyone bring somekind of sandwich, cheese ball, dip or dessert and what they want to drink. Very low key so please let me know what you are going to bring and who is going to be there. Walker please post it on blog and I know this is not all addresses so please tell or send anyone I don't have about this. My phone number is 983-5554 or you can email me." Sharon


Also on the day AFTER Thanksgiving any class member who is around town is invited to join us at the Airport Hilton in the bar at 7 pm. Come to both if you can!!!

Walker

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND



I was talking to Jody (Miser) this week and he is headed to Maryville for Thanksgiving.
On Friday we are going to get together at the Airport Hilton (bar) around 7 and if anyone else is coming back or just wants to get out then come join us.


ALSO I sent a note to Emmett Perry telling him that Denise has completed her work for her doctorate (yea I know what in the hell is someone who was automatically placed Sara Fay Schwam's Spanish and learned to make a plastic tail-light cover in the basement of the old gym doing married to a woman that smart?) and he sent me the following report.



"Congrats to Denise!!!!! but also to you for improving yourself so drastically."

"things are going great here. I had the auto stem cell transplant the first part of October and am getting over the side effects of the heavy dose of Chem. The only noticeable change is the Mr. Clean look, not so bad because I don't have to shave right now. We are getting ready for the allo (Donor transplant) the first of the year. After the first 100 days it should get easier. I think I will be at the hospital everyday getting fluids of potassium and other stuff for the 100 days. Instead of getting chemo this time I will get radiation so I should not have the same side effects of the nausea as before. Will keep you posted. Emmet"


Sounds like very GOOD news!

As always if you have any thing to pass on to the class send it to wjonair1@aol.com
or if you have any ideas about Thanksgiving (Jody will be here I think till Sunday) send them to me and we will get them posted.


It would be great to see you guys, so again if you are in for T. Day...Airport Hilton Bar (where we spotted Ann Hunt) around 7 on Friday.

Halloween eve




Last word from Sharon was she was headed to the beach and would come back refreshed and with a date for the gathering. You can still e mail her with your ideas.


I added a new blog that is nothing but pictures for those who have yet to figure out a way to move back here. If you wanta see our fall check it out.. http://southernlooks.blogspot.com/

Have a good Halloween!

Possible December gathering

Sharon is working on a gathering in December and if you are going to be in the area send her an e mail so she can select a time and place.


Our Murvle fall is looking great this year!

Emmett update and a fall report


For those pilgrims who no longer live in God's country I took a run up to the hills Sunday and got some early fall pictures. The foliage is turning around the four thousand foot level or if you are renting a room in the mountains the folks taking reservations are saying it will turn the second you arrive.

Most of the pictures were taken about three miles up from the Y.The guy fishing said he had caught a few but let them go. They always say that. If you can, come home and enjoy the fall!


Here is the latest from Emmett, lets keep remembering him. I got this last month and am sorry that I just now got around to posting it. Also send me stuff!!!
Thanks,
WJ

Just to keep you posted and to let you know that your prayers work, I feel fantastic!!! I did harvest my stem cells 10 days ago and that was a breeze. It was basically laying in a very comfortable bed for 2 hours and watching whatever I wanted. I will go in Monday for a high dose of chemo and then on Wed. I will have my stem cells put back. I will probably be out of commission for about a month, as much because me immune system will be so low. I think it is more of staying out of the public as much as possible. Elizabeth, out California daughter will be here the following week, mainly to give Jennie a break and to try to keep me corralled.
Thanks for all of your prayers and thoughts, they are truly felt and we will pull thru this like everything else with a smile on our face for all of our many blessings, and there are many!!! Emmet

NAME THESE FOLKS??





Clue... The swings are at Sam Houston and the date is April, 1959. The group shot is all 8th graders, the boaters are 10th and if you can name the dawg you get bonus points!

A visit to Main






















Sharon and Tip visited Loretta and said it was as pretty as Nebo Mountain in June!

"Tip and I are moving to New England. These are pictures of us while we are with Loretta Cantley. This has to be the most gorgeous place ever."


Daily (OK every week or so) I look in the cyber mail box for some pictures from you guys. Send any and everything and we sure will post it!

Last week UT lost and MHS won


Tomorrow is UT Home Coming if you are coming in the weather is in the low 70s and the leaves are TRYING to turn!

As of tonight .. 9 15 06 Good Old MHS is undefeated and so is the University of Tennessee.
I remeber coming home from Castle Heights one fall weekend back in 1967 and Ray Dunn and Karen fixed me up with a date from Chattanooga to go to a UT game. The following applied then and guess what it still does!


Oh, I am still hanging like a leaf in the wind for Robert to send me his reunion pictures, when he does we will all see ourselves at the gathering.

WJ



Planning for the fall football season in the South is radically different than up North. For those who are planning a football trip to the South, here are some helpful hints.

Women's Accessories:

NORTH: ChapStick in back pocket and a $20 bill in the front pocket.
SOUTH: Louis Vuitton duffel with two lipsticks, waterproof mascara, and a fifth of bourbon. Money not necessary - that's what dates are for.

Stadium Size:

NORTH: College football stadiums hold 20,000 people.
SOUTH: High school football stadiums hold 20,000 people.

Fathers:

NORTH: Expect their daughters to understand Sylvia Plath.
SOUTH: Expect their daughters to understand pass interference.

Campus Decor:

NORTH: Statues of founding fathers.
SOUTH: Statues of Heisman trophy winners.

Homecoming Queen:

NORTH: Also a physics major.
SOUTH: Also Miss America.

Heroes:

NORTH: Rudy Guliani.
SOUTH: Bear Bryant, Archie, Eli and Peyton Manning, Hershel Walker, Bo Jackson.

Getting Tickets:

NORTH: 5 days before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus and purchase tickets.
SOUTH: 5 months before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus and put name on waiting list for tickets.

Monday Classes After a Saturday Game:

NORTH: Students and teachers not sure they're going to the game because they have to prepare for classes on Monday.
SOUTH: Teachers cancel Monday classes because they don't want to see the few hung over students that might actually make it to class.

Parking:

NORTH: An hour before game time the University opens the campus for game parking.
SOUTH: RVs sporting their school flags begin arriving on Wednesday for the weekend festivities. The really faithful arrive on Tuesday.

Game Day:

NORTH: A few students party in the dorm and watch ESPN on TV.
SOUTH: Every student wakes up, has a beer for breakfast, and rushes over to where ESPN is broadcasting "Game Day Live" to get on camera and wave to the idiots up north who wonder why "Game Day Live" is never broadcast from their campus.

Tailgating:

NORTH: Raw meat on a grill, beer with lime in it, listening to local radio station with truck tailgate down.
SOUTH: 30-foot custom pig-shaped smoker fires up at dawn. Cooking accompanied by live performance by "Dave Matthews' Band," who come over during breaks and ask for a hit off bottle of bourbon.

Getting to the Stadium:

NORTH: You ask "Where's the stadium?" When you find it, you walk right in.
SOUTH: When you're near it, you'll hear it. On game day it becomes the state's third largest city.

Concessions:

NORTH: Drinks served in a paper cup filled to the top with soda.
SOUTH: Drinks served in a plastic cup with the home team's mascot on it, filled less than half way with soda, to ensure enough room for bourbon.

When National Anthem is Played:

NORTH: Stands are less than half full, and less than half the fans stand up.
SOUTH: 100,000 fans, all standing, sing along in perfect four-part harmony.

The Smell in the Air After the First Score:

NORTH: Nothing changes.
SOUTH: Fireworks, with a touch of bourbon.

Announcers:

NORTH: Neutral and paid.
SOUTH: Announcer harmonizes with the crowd in the fight song, with a tear in his eye because he is so proud of his team.

After the Game:

NORTH: The stadium is empty way before the game ends.
SOUTH: Another rack of ribs goes on the smoker, while somebody goes to the nearest package store for more bourbon, and planning begins for next
week's game.

Nothing else in the universe comes even halfway close to the glories of Southern football!

GOOD NEWS!!!!









Dear Family and Friends,
I have very good news to report. Yesterday, Friday 9-1, Emmet, Collier
(Emmet's brother) and I spent the day at MD Anderson. Going into the day,
we anticipated learning specifics on the treatments Emmet would need, and
have somewhat of a schedule. Please keep in mind as you read this that I
can report this stuff only as I understand it. It is over simplified but
for the purpose of this email, and my scope, it's the best I have.

The protocol that Emmet is on (which is still in research stage)consist of
3 rounds of chemo. He has just finished this part. The next step is a
very high dose of chemo given in one day followed immediately by a Stem
Cell transplant in which he is the donor. This purpose of this transplant
is to provide new cells to help recover from the strong effects of the
high-dose chemo. A second transplant is given
3-4 months later with the strong possibility and preference of a donor
transplant. Radiation is also given at the time of the second transplant.
The only
acceptable donor for this would be a sibling. The theory here being that
these new cells would destroy any diseased cells that may be left in
Emmet. We all had lots of
questions, particularly about the donor transplant. The current thinking
is that this complete protocol is the best program for long term health.
Ontologist never like to use the word 'cure'.

Now for what we learned:
1.) Emmet is in remission. After just three rounds of treatments, the
blood and urine indicators are not even showing up on the reports. All at
MD Anderson were thrilled with this. As are we.
2.) Emmet will have a transplant, and he will be the donor. In
preparation
for this, and much to his delight, he gets to immediately stop all of his
current treatments, (chemo, Thalidimide, steroids and a number of other
pills) In
mid September he will take medication to increase his blood counts so that
his own stem cells can be 'harvested' and and then frozen. The first
of October he will have the high dose chemo and transplant. All of this
is hopefully done on an outpatient basis. But daily visits to Anderson
are somewhat expected for the first 30 days or so after the transplant.
3.) Since Emmet has responded so well and is in such good shape, the
second transplant might not be necessary. We considered this really great
news. There are a number of health risks and a much longer recovery time
associated with the donor transplant. This debate will happen in Dec. or
Jan.
4. If the donor transplant is necessary, Art, the California brother, is
a perfect match. Both Collier and Art had submitted blood samples. There
are 10 elements that are identified. For transplants at least 6 need to
match, 8 would be best. Well Art and Emmet match on all 10, WOW. The
only way
it could be any better is if they were identical twins.

It took a total of 5 hours at Anderson yesterday to learn all this. It's
exhausting, at least for me. Emotions swing wide along with the efforts
to understand all this stuff and ask good questions, not to mention the
waiting. It really does take
all three of us to get through.

Our blessings are many. We had a celebratory evening and know that as we
move forward we are certainly in God's hands. Once again I give thanks and
praise for all of your prayers and support. This journey is far from over
but we move forward in the comfort and security of God's love.
From the bottom of our hearts we thank all of you also. I'll keep you
posted
Love, Jennie

PS: Jennie had her CAT scan on Friday so we will get her results back on Tuesday so I will keep ypu posted. Thanks again for all the prayers and concern, I can tell you that they are truely all felt. Emmet

LUNCH


Great pictures taken today at lunch never made the blog because of operator error. The folks in attendance, Gail...Lee.....Sharon.....WJ.....and Penny enjoyed a good feed at a ridiculously low price in a MHS run beanery next to the High School. We talked about the reunion, agreed to both meet again and invite all members of the class of 1966 to join us.
Again I am sorry today's pictures didn't turn out and promise next time I will hand the camera over to the nearest kid to assure quality photos!

PS
Just got this note from Jan about another meeting, read and respond if you wanta particpate.

Why don't we meet at Ruby T's on Thursday, Sept. 21 at 6 PM? Anyone who is interested can email me and I will make reservations. catteacher48@aol.com
I need to know by Tues. Sept. 19.

Jan

THE POEM


























Well, here is the poem, finally. It was tweaked a little to fit the
occasion, so next time we can actually add to it.









The Class Reunion

Every five years, as summertime nears,
An announcement arrives in the mail
A reunion is planned; it'll be really grand;
Make plans to attend without fail.

I'll never forget the first time we met;
We tried so hard to impress.
We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars,
And wore our most elegant dress.

It was quite an affair; the whole class was there
It was held at the Officers Club.
We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined,
And everyone thought it was swell.

The men all conversed about who had been first
To achieve great fortune and fame.
Meanwhile, their spouses described their fine houses
And how beautiful their children became.

The homecoming queen, who once had been lean,
Now weighed in at one-sixty-six.
The jocks who were there had all lost their hair,
And the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks

No one had heard about the class nerd
Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon;
Or poor little Jane, who's always been plain;
She married a shipping tycoon.

The boy we'd decreed "most apt to succeed"
Was serving ten years in the pen,
While the one voted "least", oh my gosh Ken's now a priest; (Abbott)
Just shows you can be wrong now and then.

They awarded a prize to one of the guys
Who seemed to have aged the least.
Another was given to the grad who had driven
The farthest to attend the feast.

They took a class picture, a curious mixture
Of beehives, mullets and wide ties,
Tall, short, or skinny, the style was the mini;
You never saw so many thighs.

At our next get-together, no one cared whether
They impressed their classmates or not.
The mood was informal, a whole lot more normal;
By this time we'd all gone to pot.

By the fortieth year, it was abundantly clear,
We were definitely over the hill.
Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed,
And be home in time for their pill.

And now I can't wait; they've set the date;
Our 45th is coming, I'm told.
It should be a ball, they've rented a hall
At the Shady Rest Home for the old.

Repairs have been made on my hearing aid;
My pacemaker's been turned up on high.
My wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled;
And I've bought a new wig and glass eye.

I'm feeling quite hearty, and I'm ready to party
I'm gonna dance 'till dawn's early light.
It'll be lots of fun; But I just hope that there's one
Other person who can make it that night.

Author Unknown


THANKS BEVERLY

There were more than a few very special people who never walked that final walk to get their MHS diploma. As Herman said, Gene was one and as I said at the gathering, Emmet was another. Emmet stood up for me when I got married, went up to Chillhowee Lake more than a few times to ski and was never seen by anyone without a SMILE! I remember bumming a place for the night off of him in Atlanta and although it was a few years after MHS it was just like we were still hanging together as dork ass 17 year olds. Anyway, he is on a good path right now and I want all of us to hold him close as I do!

Here is a note I got from him last week, lord help if we could all be about a third as cool and NICE as this guy our nasty world would flat shine!




"Things here in the big city of Houston are doing great. On my last visit to MD Anderson my M-Protein level, which normally should be 0 and mine was at 5.6 with a goal of cutting that in half before the insurance would consider doing a stem cell transplant, well after several rounds of Chemo mine was lowered to .5, my doctor really couldn't explain it other than we know that prayer works. I meet with both my Myeloma and the transplant doctor on Sept 1 to firm up our plans. We will probably do the transplant the first part of October.
Thanks for the pictures from the reunion, it looks like a good time was had by all, really could have used some names to go along with some of the pictures, of course you are always the easy one to pick out. One of these days we might just surprise you in Tennessee. Wth our oldest daugher living in NJ with our only grandson, it might just call for a car trip up that way. Both daughters and family were here last weekend and we had Michael baptized and then it was my birthday so what more could a Dad ask for. It is tough having one in NJ and the other one in CA, at least we are half way.
I will keep you up to date with my happenings"

Be SURE to go to the next post after this one, both are new.
THANKS!






Actually, Walker, I enjoyed seeing the picture of your Mom and your DAWG!
I'm sad to report that our beloved Bichon, Dixie, died three weeks ago
today. She would have been 16 in October, and Buddy and I finally brought
ourselves to put her down because she had for some time been suffering from
a variety of physical problems (diabetes, arthritis, blindness, deafness,
skin problems, mental confusion - any of this sound familiar to any of
you?), and we knew that it just wasn't right to make her continue to be in
such distress.

Anyway, we had her cremated and then I went to the vet last Wednesday to
pick her up. Ran into an acquaintance there who was telling me his dog was
in for a checkup. "Well, I'm just here to pick up ashes today," I said.
"Really, what kind of dog is it?" he asked. "It's a dead dog!" I responded
emphatically to his dismay. Anybody out there know of a dog named "Ashes"?

Attached is a photo of Dixie (on the right) with our 8-year old
Lhasa-Maltese, Bamboo. After about a week of moping, Bamboo has fortunately
decided it is quite a good thing to have us both all to herself.
Ruthie




Also here is a note from Yvonne on the flag issue.


RIGHT ON
I wasn't able to attend the Reunion, but I must say that it upset me that
the time of our youth could not be looked on as the time of our
innocence. People can take any object and attach a bad or hurtful
meaning to it.
Yvonne


More on the next post, just scroll down.

Hi Class of 66!

Great IDEAS about future reunions are rolling in and to kick them off I included this picture of Laurel Valley Golf Course. Some of you will remember the old First Baptist days of Camp Laurel Lake? Well the Tree Huggers (bless their yellow hearts) talked the new owners of the area into opening the dam and creating a WET LAND (liberal speak for swamp) by draining the lake. No problem, the republicans just build a beautiful golf course (insecticides out the wazoo flowing minute by minute into the water supply of the swamp..Sorry wetlands) and filled the surrounding mountains with beautiful homes for rent.

We dashed up for a three day R&R this wkend and really had a nice time! If any of you wander back to the Mother Land (Murvle) consider Laurel valley as a place to relax!

Now about those suggestions..
Chip Sutton sent this great one, read it and send me a note at wjonair1@aol.com about your thoughts OK?

Thanks!







Dear Walker,
Due to my sometimes lack of computer knowledge where blogs are concerned, I tried posting comments about what Steve wrote and experienced no success. I am now responding this way, and hopefully, you'll be able to transfer this to your blog. Anyway, here goes my dissertation.

Steve, I do understand your position about the flag, and after talking with Herman the other day at the store, I feel the need to address the issue presented. Yes, I quite agree that as adults we need to move beyond the bias that our world is showing toward all races and not just the African American population. As part of the decorating committee for the reunion, I wanted to express my opinion and my views only. When we were discussing decorations for the reunion, to my knowledge, I don't recall the committee discussing sensitivity where the flag was concerned. If they did, I wasn't aware. However, our goal was to make the evening location (that Lee was so gracious to supply), a walk down memory lane and recalling a time when things were of a simpler nature. Yes, there are times when our society has gotten so complex that I yearn for those years in high school and maybe beyond. The committee wanted to provide as pleasant an evening as we could possibly arrange, not only for the returning out- of- town classmates, but in-town classmates as well. I guess from my perspective, I never gave the flag issue a thought, until I met Herman at the store and he related his displeasure to me. Then, upon reading your comments in Walker's blog, it became more aware that our lack of consideration was an issue. As one of the committee persons, I sincerely apologize for any displeasure or discomfort in our decoration arrangement. Your concerns are valid, but I do agree with Walker when he stated that the flag was part of our being there experience at Maryville, and nothing else. In addition to this, I would never try and hurt the classmates who were constantly reminded in our high school years, of bigotry that obviously some at Maryville dished out in an insensitive manner. Herman made me realize that if one of our classmates is upset with the lack of mature judgment on any level of planning the reunion, then we obviously didn't meet our goal of "pleasant environment" for all.

I also wanted to address one other thing that you mentioned, and please forgive my sensitive nature about this. When I was in the Air Force and returned from Vietnam, those of us who were there, certainly didn't experience a welcome home like the ladies and gentlemen who are coming from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other points around the world. Tragically, some veterans were not welcomed back into American society as has been the recent history. Throughout our history with war, beliefs caused great loss of life. Mind you, I don't totally agree with this position, but I certainly feel for those who gave their life in the defense of their ideas. God love them for whatever they fought and died for. During the Civil War, the flag was not just one dealing with racism for some, but stood for states' rights, and we just can't push our history under the rug and try to forget it. That being said, our own personal history is not meant to harm or hurt anyone. We deeply care about the modern perspectives and try to be sensitive to those around us.

Walker, as a suggestion for the fall, I think it would be nice for maybe a hayride around Cades Cove and dinner afterwards either at the Carriage House in Townsend, or one of the restaurants over in Pigeon Forge that could accommodate a large crowd. This is just a suggestion for people to consider. Thanks for allowing me to express my opinion and it was certainly good to see everyone who came to the reunion. God bless to each and everyone of you!

Kindest regards,

Chip

Brothers and sisters I am working like a field-hand trying to get you kids to send me some pictures, notes, thoughts or feelings that I can share with all of those wonderful people you spent a weekend in MURVLE just a few weeks back.

Because NONE of you have sent me a thing I have resorted to loading my 90 year old (she will be 91 in feb) MOM into my wives new SUV and hauling her down to the the river behind our home for some pictures. UP side is this is the river that some or all of you used to swim in at the Y and below. Down dang side is she and the dawg were missing EVERYONE LOVES RAYMOND on the TV, big show for those 88 and above. I am just saying that this great lady sacrificed her show and I snuk (is that a word) my wives Lexus out, to make these shots...all in hope that you guys would send me something back. You really DON'T wanta see my (pictures) and We ALL would love to see yours.

OK, now look on your hard drives and see if you have CHRISTMAS 1999 or whatever saved and send me the junk and I will post it!

Jan says she is working on a gathering in September, heck if I can get my life in line I will have one before that. We ALL had such a great time together the general censuses is we want to have another...but right now if you can send me a note about YOU or a picture about your fam we can keep this blog rocking.


Thanks

Walker Johnson

Got an e mail from Lee yesterday and he said he has gotten more than a few notes and calls saying this was our best reunion ever, I agree! He also added that folks wanta do this more than every 5 or ten years, at my AGE I think that is a very wise move. Whata all think? If you are just dropping in to see if there are new posts, leave your thoughts below in the comment box; also if you took any pictures and have finally downloaded them to your computer send them and I will update this bad boy. If you have summer shots of the dawgs, children, grand children, yourself, husband, wife, girl or boy friend or all of the above, heck send that also and will flat post them with your message. If you don't have a message I will make up something.

THANKS, WJ

Linda Jones sent these great pictures! If you took any PLEASE send them cause we NEVER get tired of looking at OURSELVES!!!!! THANKS WJ

MORE LINDA JONES PICTURES!