Monday, August 14, 2006




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

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