************************************************************************
(Some of the
following mail
was received
almost a month
ago.
I did not have a
NEWSLETTER on
the scheduled
Aug. 14th
date since I
was away on my
vacation in
Alaska.)
MAIL CALL
from
Fred McCarty
in Kingwood
I wanted to let
everyone know
that my son,
Captain Matt
McCarty,
completed his
second
deployment in
Iraq
and was
re-deployed to
Ft. Riley,
KS. He had deployed to
Iraq
in August, 2009.
We drove up to
Kansas to be there for the re-deployment and
spent a few days
with Matt and
his girlfriend.
While in
Iraq,
Matt was the
Commanding
Officer of
Bandit Troop in
the 1st
Squadron, 4th
Cavalry Regiment
(US Army).
They were in the
northwestern
part of
Iraq near the Syrian border and their primary
mission was to
intercept people
and goods being
smuggled into
Iraq that would be used against the
Iraqi security
forces or US
forces.
They trained
Iraqi armed
infrastructure
in
Iraq. Thankfully, the 1-4 CAV
completed this
mission without
any fatalities.
After
re-integration
training and
some time off,
Matt will be
relocated to
Ft. Benning,
GA where he will be an instructor for new
Captains in the
Infantry and
Armor branches.
from
Janette Light
Norton
in Cypress
It's official:
Richard retires
08/31. The
Harley's getting
spiffed up in
anticipation.
The road atlases
line the coffee
table.
This is serious,
folks.
"-)
from
Cherlyn Hebert
in Houston
A friend and I
leave on August
5 for 16 days on
the Volga, from
St. Petersburg
to
Moscow
, and then 5
days in
Kiev
(Ukraine). I think in my last
update I was
bragging about
the cool
temperatures
we'd be having
in
Russia,
while all my
fellow Texans
were sweltering
in the 90s and
100s.
Well, my bubble
has been burst.
That part of
Europe
is experiencing
their worst heat
wave in 130
years and really
no end in sight.
So, I'll be
leaving 90+
temps. and
Europe
doesn't believe
in air
conditioning
like we Texans
do. I
can't even
depend on our
tour buses to be
cool. Oh
well, I'll just
try to remember
that some people
pay big bucks to
build saunas in
their homes, and
I'll be able to
experience a
nice steam bath
every day for
free.
from
Roy Dale
Birkelbach
in LaMarque
Since Hurricane
Ike, we moved
from Hitchcock
to LaMarque.
We got a
contract on the
house and have
our fingers
crossed and have
our fingers
crossed that it
sells. We
moved 7 miles
away and don't
even need flood
insurance.
Becky's mom from
Groves
moved in with us
last year and
lives in a
garage apartment
behind us.
She has a heart
condition and it
is easier to
have her here to
check up on her.
Thanks for
keeping the
class up with
the website
updates.
They are fun to
read.
from
Brenda Rector
Cook
in Nederland
I am staying too
busy!
Between the
office and
caring for my
parents, (now 83
& 86), there is
never a dull
moment. I
enjoy the 1968
website every
time I visit.
Thanks to you
and Mike for the
dedication/sacrifice
for the website.
I will try to do
better about
keeping in
contact and will
send a donation
soon.
from
Betty Bernauer
Waedemon
in Sugar Land
Ron is having a
total knee
replacement on
Thursday, August
5. He is
confident that
he will be on
the stationary
bike on Friday
and driving by
Monday. He
is , after all,
crazy!
Pray for his
fast
reasonable
recovery.
Our sons are
very supportive
and all Ron
wanted to know
is when his 2
year old
grandson can
visit him.
Since I have
found
Linda Davis
Fitzpatrick,
we have been
keeping in touch
and plan to
spend our
birthdays
together this
October in
upstate New York where she and
Charlie have a
second home.
It has been so
wonderful to
reestablish our
long-lost
friendship.
Kay King Young
and I see each
other often
since her
daughter, Mara,
has moved to Sugar Land. We have "adopted" Mara's
family and they
are with us and
our sons often.
Kay and her
husband, Dwayne,
are trying to
sell their home
in
Tyler
to move to Sugar Land. We are very excited to have
them near us.
***********************************************************************
Well, the BRAD
Club closed
down. That
means our
favorite
venue for the
Saturday night
social/dance for
our 5 year
reunions will no
longer be
available.
Our 45th reunion
will be coming
up in the year
2013. That
means we start
planning in
2012! Wow,
that is not so
far away.
Send me your new
home address and
phone changes
for my class
spreadsheet.
I KNOW that many
of you have
moved since 2007
when we last
updated our
information
getting ready
for our 40th
reunion.
***********************************************************************
(contributed by
Debbie Borres
Desmond)
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,
(okay, that is
only because it
rhymes)
And wore our
most elegant
dress.
It was quite an
affair; the
whole class was
there.
It was held at a
fancy hotel.
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-ninety-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 seving ten
years in the
pen,
While the one
voted 'least'
now was a
priest;
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,
crew cuts 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.
It was held
out-of-doors, at
the lake shores;
We ate
hamburgers,
coleslaw, and
beans.
Then most of us
lay around in
the shade,
In our
comfortable
T-shirts and
jeans.
***********************************************************************
I can only say
that
ALASKA is as
beautiful as
many of you
said! Wow!
The weather was
perfect, the
scenery
spectacular, and
the money has
held out, or at
least until the
credit card bill
comes in next
month!
Thank you for
your concern,
support, and
prayers toward
my sister who
has mental
health issues.
She did a great
job taking care
of my dad for
the two weeks we
were gone.
Her
medicine seems
to be doing well
and she is
stablizing.
Being bi-polar
is such a
difficult
medical
condition to
regulate.
I am so happy
that she has
shown
improvement.
I FINALLY
arranged a
long-overdue
luncheon with
two wonderful
classmates that
I have been
wanting to
reconnect
with.....Shelley
Dettman
and
Charlotte Pace
Thurston!
It was the
"shortest" two
hours
imaginable.
Why do we wait
so long to do
this kind of
thing? I
loved
reminiscing with
them about
Lakeview,
Woodrow, and TJ. Charlotte was my best
friend at Travis
after she moved
from DeQueen.
We were so close
at Woodrow,
also.
Shelley and I
met at Woodrow
and were great
friends with CYO
at St. Joseph and living in
Lakeview.
All three of us
became educators
in the
elementary
field! I can't
wait to visit
with them again
and continue our
path down memory
lane. I
was so glad to
also hear how
Betty Bernauer
has reconnected
with
Linda Davis!
Maybe some of
you would take
the time to drop
me a line about
some of your
get-togethers
with your
classmates.
Talking with
classmates for a
minute or two at
a funeral is
just not enough.
Contact a friend
and spend some
quality time
with them.
**********************************************************************
Ross Felker
(husband of
Gail Wilson)
CSTC-A-CJ2
APO
AE 09356
Send us photos
of your military
family members.
************************************************************************
(death of our
beloved
classmate)
Sheryl Evans
Graham
(death of her
dad on July
31st)
771 Texas Ave.
Port
Neches,
TX
77651
rgraham1@gt.rr.com
***********************************************************************
Now that school
has reconvened,
vacations with
the grandkids
have waned, you
shouldn't have
any excuses not
to drop me a
line. Let
us hear about
your summer or
even your autumn
plans.
Tell us about
your
get-togethers
with classmates.
How about you
guys thinking
about hunting
trips?
Hey, I'll take
anything,
(ALMOST), to put
in my
NEWSLETTERS!
Don't forget to
keep us informed
of special needs
of classmates or
members of their
families.
Our classmate
prayer chains
are powerful.