The Choices We Make

Harry left on his mission in February of 1965. He had a girlfriend when I met him, and he still had a girlfriend when he left. The girlfriend lived in Southern California and did not attend BYU. Harry came by our dorm to see me before he left for California to get ready to leave on his mission. In fact, we were on his motorcycle, and he drove it right up to the door of the dorm. I was sure I would never see him again. I told my roommate Joy that very fact. She scoffed and said I'd being seeing him again for sure, that the girlfriend would not wait. I said, "Who wouldn't wait for Harry?"

Dee and I at the Horne Hall Invitational Dance on April 10, 1965.

I soon started dating a friend of my other roommate Marcia. I think he started out with a crush on Marcia, but Marcia's boyfriend, who was on a mission in Alaska, was from this boy's hometown, so I guess he figured he couldn't really put the moves on her with very much impunity! And somehow he was attracted to me.

We had a good time together - he had some "issues," but I was young and pretty much dismissed them. We went hiking, on picnics, to visit his mom and family in Lehi, which was very much just a small spot in the road in those days, and we spent lots of time driving around and talking. He had a severely disabled friend who was wheelchair bound and he went with us lots of times. He was actually a lot of fun to be around too.

When summer came and I went home, Dee wrote me often - more than once a week. In those days, people really didn't call long-distance all that often - it was pretty expensive. In the midst of all these letters, letters from Harry started arriving from Peru, and then Bolivia. Since both young men were not in my vicinity, I was enjoying all the "attention" and not thinking about any repercussions.

At this time I also got the info on the BYU Study Abroad program in Grenoble, France and became nearly obsessed with going. My parents were not very encouraging, mainly because it just looked like a lot of money to them. I had an "iffy" job and wondered how I could pull off saving for Grenoble. Fortunately, I was offered another job, one that would enable me to save for France. It meant skipping fall semester and staying in Granada Hills until I left for France in January, but it seemed a small sacrifice. (Although when I went with my mom and Alice to deposit her at the dorms for her first semester at BYU, I was a little forlorn and wishing that I could indeed "have it all!")

Dee was livid when I told him I would not be coming back fall semester. And even more upset that I'd be gone spring semester also.

Harry was very excited about my trip to France. In fact, he was "stoked" to use his words. He was always encouraging as the months of working and saving money dragged along.

I attended a missionary homecoming in Lehi when we went up to take Alice. Marcia asked me to go along with her since it was a friend of her boyfriend. Dee was there too - and wouldn't talk to me. (On a parenthetical note, the returning elder was Scott Zimmerman - and he was reporting from the same mission where Harry was serving - and he had worked with Harry and had nothing but high praise for him.)

Of course you all know the end of this story. But I was just thinking about my rather poor judgment about boyfriends before Harry came along.

Or maybe I just had the good sense to get out of the picture when a poor choice came along!

Movie Time!

David scored another winner when he put this one on his list of movies for us to watch.

Jack Nicholson is really great - it was good to be able to see him in something that wasn't R-rated!!

If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend adding it to your list!!

Friday Fun In The Lunchroom

Fridays are "spirit" days at Clifton. There is a theme, and you are supposed to dress to the theme. When you do, your grade level wins spirit points. At the end of each semester, the grade level with the most spirit points gets to spend a day at Knott's Berry Farm (the kids pay their own way though - it's not in the budget any other way.) My good friend Marcie, aka Mrs. Hoopes, is a big supporter of spirit days. If it's pajama day, she will wear pajamas to school. If it's crazy hair day, she will tease and spray her hair all over the place. I, on the other hand, hardly ever pay attention to spirit wear. I don't even have a Clifton Cubs tee shirt!

But every year on "twin wear day" Marcie always suggests that we be twins. One year we both wore our hot pink sweater sets. Another year we bought matching monkey tee shirts. This week, as we were eating lunch, Marcie suggested that we be twins. I said, "Well, what shall we wear?" And then she said, "Maybe we should come as Kyle. We all have chinos don't we?" And I said, since Kyle was wearing a blue button down shirt, "I even have a blue shirt almost the same shade as Kyle's." So Marcie said, "We can be triplets!! That ought to be worth triple points!"

Fortunately we all remembered the conversation, and we all three showed up pretty close to triplets, don't you agree?? Kyle said he even had to get up early and iron his shirt!!

Marcie teaches all 8th graders. Kyle teaches 7th and 8th. I teach 6th, 7th, and 8th.

I'm not sure who got the points!

"That is correct!"

Tomorrow is the Spelling Bee at Clifton. One of my students placed 2nd in his grade level last year, and he's competing again tomorrow. As is Wyatt Gray, Amy's boy.

So when I came across this in a box in the office, I chuckled a little. I have tried describing the trophy Hannah got the year she placed first in the 6th grade, and I don't think my kids believe me. There are no individual trophies anymore - at least not at the school level. They get books as prizes. My student Nick liked the book he got the year he placed 2nd in 6th grade, but not the one he got in 7th grade. He says he hopes it's a better book this time.

At least he's confident about placing!!

"Seeing" is Believing!

I'm not sure why I ever thought such large glasses were attractive!

Or why I let anyone take a picture of me eating!

But I did like that dress!

"The play's the thing."

As I type this, it's still Nebeker's birthday. And we got a solicitation from the folks at Shakespeare by the Sea - a solicitation I was happy to respond to, by the way - and of course Harry and I have been discussing the upcoming production of Julius Cesar at our annual Ides of March party - which is rapidly approaching - beware!!!

So when I stumbled upon this old photo, I was taken with how much difference 20 years makes!!

Is this going to go on forever - me always harking back to past glories and wallowing in emotion over all that water under the bridge??

I like to think of it as family history!!

Everyone in the above photo is in a place they couldn't even imagine 20 years ago.

But maybe that's good. Who wants to know what's coming??

"Baby it's cold outside!"

We have had a rash of nippy weather. I'm sure you Utahans and East Coasters would call us wimpy for chattering in 42 degree weather. Be that as it may, 42 degrees - especially at 9 o'clock in the morning - is cold!!

Which put me in mind of some old photos I remembered - and could actually lay my hands on - wherein I am wearing a new coat in one of them - one that was always my favorite. Harry took these photos - he was taking a photo class and even had a new (used) camera to practice with.

We had been married for 2 years. We had scrimped and scrounged for 2 years. We had left Provo and come to SLC for graduate school at the U. When we had a small windfall, Harry insisted that we get a new coat for me. I hadn't had a new coat for several years. The one I wore most of the time was from high school - which means it wasn't even a Utah coat!!

So we headed off for ZCMI. I fell in love with this coat - it had a fur collar - it's so long ago, it was probably real animal fur too. I wish I had a full length photo of it. I thought it was quite elegant. I wore it proudly and often.

When we moved to California, I brought it along. Hung onto it for about 5 years. Then finally decided it would never get worn again. At least not very often! So I gave it to the D.I.

It probably ended up in someone's costume box.

Is there some kind of statement being made when a woman wears a coat with a fur collar - and ponytails??

A month of celebration

Esme's birthday is today. So we went out to Malibu on Sunday to celebrate. Seemed a little like we'd just been there - because we had - to celebrate Ara's b-day. In the month of love, though, celebrating seems very apropos.

I don't remember ever having my grandparents to our house to celebrate birthdays. I don't know how common it might have been in other homes, but I'm pretty sure the size of our family was daunting for even the most determined grandparents. Although I do remember a few years in a row when my Grandma Stevens would bring out a birthday gift for Alice and one for me. They would sit up in the cupboard above the closet in my parent's bedroom - this was when we were in the little house. One year it was umbrellas. Another year it was lunchboxes. And another year it was fancy Sunday dresses with sheer overskirts. The one downside was that once Alice opened her gift in April, I knew just what mine would be in May. I just didn't know the color!

I love that Bonny carries on the tradition of the little number figurines that I used to do with her. I think I was sporadic with the other girls. You can see it in the corner of the photo. I had Dad take pictures because I was mending Ella's gym bag for her - and I didn't give him precise instructions!

It was a fun evening - Harry, Dawn and fam were there, as was Noah, so it was a big group. And there is nothing as good as food, family, and celebration.

Especially when the next day is a holiday and you don't have to get up early!!!

Saturday Night at the Sewing Machine!!

I have my trusty little portable DVD player plunked right down next to my sewing machine. And when I sew - mostly aprons - which I can almost do in my sleep - I watch a movie. Makes the time go by faster - and it's not so solitary. (It occurred to me that when I had kids at home and sewed, there was always noise and commotion and people talking to me - so it didn't seem like such a solitary occupation then. In fact, I probably wished for solitude!!)

But I digress - as is my wont - and so let me just say that it's good to watch a well-wrought tear jerker now and then. Especially one with Olympia Dukakis and Dolly Parton!!

Did you know there are "quotable quotes" from the film - pages of them if you Google it.

Some of the better ones: "There is no such thing as natural beauty." Or "I don't trust a woman who does her own hair." Or, "These thighs have not ventured out without being encased in spandex since I was 14." Or, "I have a strict policy that no one cries alone in my presence." And finally, "Happiness through tears is my favorite emotion."

All spoken by the Dolly Parton character, Truvy, owner of the beauty salon.

I can't watch a movie I haven't seen before when I sew. If I do, I have to pay close attention - and then I don't get much sewing done. Usually I watch Gone With the Wind, or Father of the Bride, or Because of Winn Dixie, or Little Women. It's good to add one to the list.

And this one had subtitles - so I could let the machine sew away and make noise and I'd still know what was being said!

I have to take help wherever I can get it!

Friday Night Festivities!!

I have taken to carrying a somewhat smaller-than-usual purse of late. It's handy in many ways. It holds everything I need to have on my person. Except a camera. For that reason, I seem to forget to go out to the car and get my camera to take pictures. So I have improvised here!!

This is not Amber!!

Tonight I attended Amber Burdick's Senior Recital at APU. Amber is a harpist - and a very fine one at that. I told her that she was only the 2nd harpist I had ever known personally. Too bad, because based on the two I know, these are musicians I should be getting acquainted with!! And the music written for harp is quite lovely.

But this is!! And she was wearing a shade of pink - just not this shade!

Amber did a beautiful job. The music was lovely. Even the rain didn't dampen our spirits - because with the carefully selected music, we could rise above it all.

The program included composers I knew - Faure, Hindemith, and Ravel. And composers I didn't know - Ibert, Renie, and Albeniz. But I'm thinking I've heard of Jacques Ibert.

The Ravel at the end - Introduction et Allegro, which included 2 violins, a viola, a cello, a flute, and a clarinet - was quite lovely.

And you had to be there!!

(The cookies and cocoa afterward were very fine also!!)

Just another manic Thursday!!

Actually it was a pretty mellow day at Clifton. It was the Founder's Day assembly at the end of the day, so every period was 10 minutes shorter than usual, and there was no SSR.

Bill Card as principal at Clifton circa 1996.

Marcie got the Golden Apple award, and I was the presenter - so that was fun. It was also MJ's b-day, so I stopped by the homestead - it's always good to be with the girlfriends.

But I did deal with a rude parent. I hate that. I wish I could just say, "What is the matter? Why am I at fault for your bad day? Can I help you?" Instead I have to measure my words carefully so that none of them can be misconstrued.

It won't be the kids who drive me into retirement. It will be the adults.

"How do I love thee?" At least, what are some of the things I love about you?

Kacy F. did a Valentine's Day post about how much she loved her kids - and most of the commenters lauded her efforts at focusing on love and not romance.

Since I recently focused on this particular photo - I sent it to our family orthodontist who took care of everyone's smiles - I was thinking about our great kids and how much I love them!

So here's to lauding the people who give dimension and meaning to my life!!

I love Bonny's long blonde hair, her ready smile, her generosity of spirit, her attention to detail, her love of all things historical in her life, and how seriously she takes her position as the oldest child!!

I love Harry's ability to single-mindedly focus - on his wife, his life, his kids, his career, his yard, his house, his dogs, his new camera, and the birds that flock to his trees!!

I love how the party doesn't really start until Phoebe is there!! I love her joie de vivre that emanates from whatever or wherever she is. I love her sense of style - and her fearlessness in expressing it!!

I love Eliza's calm, deliberate way of dealing with all life gives her. I love her serious consideration of all life entails. I love that she is a memory keeper. And I love how she can have one blouse that just makes her happy when she wears it!!

I love that Hannah can take silk and twine and needle and thread and cloth and felt and buttons and bows and make a happy place for all who go there! I love that she wants to sew. I love that she just wants to know if she can use anything she can find in the garage!!

I love Noah. I love his eternal optimism. I love his love for his grandmothers. I love his ability to not need very much. I love his love of learning. I love that everyone sees his sweet spirit and kind heart!!

Lest we leave romance completely out of the picture, since romance lead to the above-referenced apples of our collective eye, let me just say that I love their dad too.


I love his smile, and how his blue eyes crinkle when he smiles. I love his shining white hair. I love his love of all things poetic. I love that his "soul claps its hands and sings" rather than remain a "tattered coat upon a stick!"

Let's hear it for love!! (We are part-hippie you know!!)

Christmas in February

I recently heard that a woman I used to babysit and work for died last week. I went looking for a Christmas card from her that I thought was in my possession. It may actually be in my possession, but I can't lay my hands on it! It had a photograph of her and her family. I thought a nice post about her and my experiences babysitting and cleaning house for her would be interesting - to me anyway, and maybe even some of my siblings - I think her son was the age of Leslie.

Didn't find the card - but I did find this one!! I believe it is even heretofore unpublished!!

You saw it here first folks!!

If you can't tell, it's Bonny and Harry. Bonny doesn't look real happy about being in the picture with Santa. I can't say I blame her. But it seemed important at the time!

I also found some Valentines that Harry the Dad had written to Phoebe, Eliza, and Hannah - and I mailed them off to them. They were from 1993. I also found a Mother's Day card from Noah - vintage 1993 or so. It had MOTHER down one side and then a sentence for each letter. I loved the R one: "R is because she is Reasonable."

You heard it here folks!!

Monday Night at the Movies

When Kacy F. of "Every Day I Write the Book" fame lived in our ward, she once told me that the best book she'd ever read was A Prayer for Owen Meany. My kids echoed her sentiments, so I gave the book a try - and really liked it.

A few years later, they made a movie loosely based on the plot entitled Simon Birch. And I always intended to see it, but never got around to it.

So I put it on my Netflix queue, and we finally watched it tonight. Kind of a FHE Valentine's Day occasion.

I liked it - Harry did too. Not sure why it takes us so long to get around to seeing movies we want to see.

Oh well, we could have worse habits.

Some thoughts on raising a boy -

I was thinking that a stranger looking at this photo of a 17 year old boy sitting in his somewhat cluttered bedroom might draw some erroneous conclusions.

1989 - probably summer since there's a fan in the room- but then again the fan could be just "lost in the shuffle!"

I was something of a nag I fear. Always after Harry to clean up his room. Always after him to do his homework, make his bed, take out the trash - you get the picture! (Oddly enough, every time he did clean up his room, he would find money!! A check he hadn't cashed, a 20 dollar bill in a pocket or in the pages of a book - almost like a reward for finally cleaning the room up. I think he posited that you had to let it all collect for the money to appear!!)

My point? The teen years are not always the best barometer of what someone will become. You can get lucky and they can find a wonderful wife like Dawn!!

But be sure to take pictures to document the evidence!!

Like mother, like daughter, like daughter, like granddaughter!!

While browsing through my mostly unorganized photos - or should I say, they were once organized and while browsing over the years I have pretty much disorganized them!!

At any rate, found this shot below from January of 1986 and thought how much it reminded me of Eliza with Ida in the shot above from November of last year.

Although Eliza and Ida look a bit more put together and stylish!!

(Do you guys remember that hot pink robe? I wore it a lot!)

"Each life that touches ours for good"

It seems like I've used that title before - probably because I've reached that stage in life where I'm not looking for wedding or baby announcements so much anymore but rather am seeing more in the way of obituary notices!! Not all of them are people my age - some older - some younger. I think I am just more aware of my mortality - of everyone's mortality. I certainly didn't used to think of it so often!

Kaye with Bonnie Kinch at a ward Relief Society Christmas dinner in 1988.

And though Kaye was older than me - but not by much - and even though she had been in poor health for many years, I was certainly surprised by her death.

Dad with Bishop Burdette and Ken Zerbel in 1988 - maybe a farewell for Bishop Monson??

The Burdette family was a part of our lives - and always will be, even though they are far away. It may sound cliche, but we do need to appreciate the people in our lives now.

Kaye was a gracious and lovely woman. She liked to make things nice, to make them special. Sometimes I would chafe when she tried to micromanage an assignment she'd given me. One time I got upset with her and told her that if she wanted it done her way, she'd have to do it herself - if I did it, I was going to do it my way.

She expressed her willingness to let me do it "my way." She said she'd often found that people were seeking direction, so she'd gotten into the habit of giving it. I felt bad for getting upset with her. But she wasn't upset with me.

Now that is graciousness!

The Many Faces of Family

I have these ideas for excellent photo montages - like everyone's baptism photo - except I don't have one of Bonny - unless she has it. The family as it grew. Or the grandchildren as they came.

They are just ideas that I don't seem to act upon.

Something to do when I retire.

These are not in any order.

Kind of how I found them when I browsed through "Scanner output."

This is the latest, greatest - I like this photo - what great looking kids we have!!

Maybe I should just start.

A Prelude to Valentine's Day!

This is the Y Center. It will always be the Y Center to me - I'm not sure why they insisted on calling it the Wilkinson Center - the Y Center sounds so much more collegiate!! But they didn't ask me!!

The way it looked then!

But I digress - as I am wont to do on occasion!! I came across this dedicatory program for the Y Center - April 3, 1965 - and thought about how Harry and I met at the Y Center Grand Opening in September of 1964.

It's a bit odd to think that when I started at BYU in 1963, the Y Center was under construction. We used to have a BYU Bookstore in the basement of the then Joseph Smith Building - a building which has been replaced, although it's still called the Joseph Smith Building. The Cougareat was in the basement there too. I remember going down there a time or two, but it wasn't really a campus hub or anything. Heaps 'O Pizza was more of a hub than any building on campus! (I think Heaps is now the Brick Oven.)

Dances were held every Saturday night at Cannon Center - and we went every Saturday night too - that's where I first heard the Beatles in fact!!

Joy and I in our dorm room with our favorite mannequin.

Back to the Y Center Grand Opening though. We all went on Friday night for the weekend event. Harry - whom I didn't know at the time - came up and asked me to dance. The now immortalized dialogue went something like this: "Hey, we match. We should dance." (I was wearing a red sweater and Harry had on a burgundy blazer!) He was cute and so I said yes and we danced a couple of times. I didn't even remember his name although I thought he was very personable.

Next night the big doings were at the Y Center, not Cannon Center, so we all headed there. I saw Harry again and he came up like we were old friends and asked me to dance. I remembered him, but not his name!! I coyly pulled his ID card from his pocket and looked at it - but saw "Harry" and thought, "No young person is named Harry!" (I had a grandpa and an uncle named Harry!)


Harry's mission program photo

But then everyone who walked by said, "Hi Harry," or "How ya doin' Harry," so I figured that was his name!! After dancing for awhile, he suggested we go to the new snack bar for something to eat. We were sitting there and my cousin Pat walked by and said, "Hi Harry, what are you doing here?" Then she saw me and said, "Hi Barbara, how do you know this guy?"

Turned out Harry had been the home teaching (then called ward teaching) companion to my cousin Pat and her family in Covina. It is indeed a small world. When I saw my cousin later at my Uncle George's funeral in SLC, she said she was surprised and didn't know Harry was at BYU.

Later it turned out that Harry and I had an Astronomy class together, and we passed each other every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as he was leaving his French class and I was heading to my English class. Also turned out that he had been at BYU the Spring semester before and had observed me in my French lab all semester!! I was always goofing around with my good friend Linda Bang, so I had not observed him at all. Since he married me, I guess the impression wasn't too negative!

Ah, young love!!

And a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet now wouldn't it? But I'm still going to say that we met at the Y Center!

Oh, the days of yore and bouffant skirts!!

We were having a "bring your junior high yearbook to school" day in the staff lounge a week or so ago, so I went digging around for my old Patrick Henry Junior High yearbooks - it was a veritable treasure trove of "laugh out loud" pictures, believe me.

Just take a look at this - and X marks the spot too!

It's a good thing I have a sense of humor! Oddly enough, the younger members of the staff - which would be everyone except me - thought the pictures charming. I think you have to be far removed from an era before you can appreciate it. Makes sense now why my mom never appreciated my love of 40's style dresses!

The things you find!

Have you ever heard someone say, "In thousands of years, scientists will find all the pull tabs from soda cans as they sift through the remains of previous civilizations - and will probably conclude that they were money?"

I wonder what someone would think in a hundred years about the old plastic sleeve for my BYU ID card? Of course now they are like credit cards - everything is. But that is bound to change too. Putting them in a plastic sleeve with your photo was high tech in my era.

I found it in a box with old yearbooks, valentines, certificates, and newspaper clippings. I guess I thought it was worth saving.

I really need to catalog all my scattered memorabilia.

Just as soon as I gather it up!!

Monday morning - always seems to come around!

February is full of holidays - at least for students - and next Monday is one of those. Last Monday was a teacher in-service - almost as good as a holiday - at least you don't have to be ready for students and you don't need to be early - unless you want the breakfast spread they have for you.

Sometimes I feel like Mondays come around too quickly - the weekend is never long enough. And other times I feel like Monday is a "second chance" to get it all together at last.

Here's hoping today is just that!

Saturday night ruminations

When everyone was here for the holidays, I had Matt go get s'more fixings. But we never got around to using them. Like money burning a hole in your pocket, graham crackers, Hershey bars, and marshmallows "burn" a hole in my "pocket" too!!

YM/YW Beach Party - 1997 (me, John Hanke, Melissa Moore, Katie Cornwall, Emily Graham)

Dad is wont to start fires - in the fireplace of course - most nights. And he gets distracted and goes off to do other things that need doing, and the fire burns down and lovely coals are left. Coals just itching to toast a marshmallow. And just like giving a mouse a cookie, a toasted marshmallow needs a graham cracker with half of a Hershey bar on it!!

I either need to have a s'mores party - or a I need to just get them eaten up!!

Friday Night at the Movies

When I was at Phoebe and David's this summer, David made of list of movies he said I needed to see. I promptly went home and put the first one in my Netflix queue. (I have been donating money monthly to Netflix - the movie has been sitting on my counter since then - and I finally watched it tonight!
I'm trying to do my part for the economy!!)

So the movie was Emperor's Club. I am thinking that David figured - and rightly so - that I'd enjoy a movie where wearing togas figured prominently in the plot.

And I'm thinking he figured - and rightly so - that I'd enjoy a movie where Julius Cesar figured prominently in the plot also.

Mostly, though, I think he figured - and rightly so - that I'd enjoy a movie about the impact teachers have on the lives of their students. And even more, the impact students have on the lives of their teachers.

Thanks for the recommendation David - I'll try not to take 6 months to watch the next one that comes!!

Super Bowl Friday

I'm not sure when the tradition began, but for many years there has been a Super Bowl Friday at Clifton Middle School. It used to be a much bigger deal than it is now. For starters, the In 'n Out truck used to come, and we had a two hour lunch. Then the 8th grade boys played the faculty - and the faculty always won!! Cheerleaders, tall flags, mascot, drill team - the - pardon the pun - whole 9 yards!

Now it's just an assembly schedule - all classes are shortened to 47 minutes instead of 55 - and it's a regular lunch, and at the end of 7th period it's 2:oo instead of 3:00 - and then the teachers take their classes out to the field, the drill team marches around a bit, and the teachers play the 8th grade boys. The teachers still seem to win.

It's not my favorite day. I'm not a fan of the Super Bowl or football for that matter. And I positively hate monitoring 8th graders on the field outside. (They are supposed to stay with their class.) Especially 8th graders who'd rather run away from me to be with their friends.

Maybe the 8th graders will win this year - I'll let you know. I know you are waiting with bated breath.

I'm just waiting for it to be over for another year!!

Can I just say that they are pretty dang cute!!??

Maybe you are someone who doesn't read any Terrill blog except mine. So then maybe you haven't seen this very cute photo that just makes me smile!!

Dawn had to go with the Young Women today, so she brought the kids by the school when she had to go. They enjoyed "hanging out" in my room while I got ready for tomorrow. (Dawn was sustained as YW President on Sunday.)

And they enjoyed watching "Ghostbusters 2" while I heated up the dinner Dawn had sent with them - for all of us of course!

Harry F. joined us around 5:30 and we had dinner together.

Then I went to pick up Eve from gymnastics.

I think I have a new calling too - but I think I will enjoy it!

Days of Yore!!

While looking for my old junior high yearbooks, I came across this yellowed and brittle newspaper clipping from 1962!!

I had the dubious distinction of being Student Body President of my high school. I did lots of odd things as a result. For starters, I attended the monthly Rotary dinner at the Knollwood Country Club. I conducted assemblies at school. I went to conferences in exotic locales like Long Beach - and one time even stayed overnight in a hotel room - by myself. It was high adventure, believe me!

I also "cut the ribbon" for the grand opening of a Thrifty Drug Store in Granada Hills.

And got my picture in the paper!!

It all seemed so important back then!

"Still the one!!"

What a difference 43 years makes!

At least neither one of us is bald!