Est. March 31, 2000 38,005 Previous Hits April 7, 2003 Editor:Tommy Towery http://www.leealumni.com Class of 1964 Page Hits This Issue e-mail ttowery@memphis.edu Staff Writers : Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly , Joy Rubins Morris, Cherri Polly Massey, Paula Spencer Kephart, Rainer Klauss, Bobby Cochran Staff Photographers: Fred & Lynn Sanders Contributers: The Members of Lee High School Classes of 64-65-66 |
Collin's Classic Collection of Crazy Classmate Capers By Collins (CE) Wynn Class of '64 Whiz Chiz THE SETTING - Starry, starry summer night on the isolated stretch of Jones Valley Road near the family cemetery just beside the road. Four or five 17-year-old boys are riding around in the Blue Goose trying to think up something to do. THE STORY - Goose stops at the cemetery and we all get out and stand around talking about girls (what else is there?) for a few minutes. Goose notices that Mike Chism has wondered away from the car and is some feet away over near the cemetery; in consultation with Mike (Agitator) Smith a plan is immediately hatched where the rest of us jump back in the car, roar away, and leave Mike standing there in the dark all alone in a cemetery with his pencil in his hand. Which, of course, is what we immediately do. Everyone knows that the best humor in the world is your friend's agony. Anyway, as we are speeding away, Chis (Mike Chisum), being the quick thinker he is, decides "hey, I'm not staying here" and jumps for the hood of the car. He gets just enough of a grip on the windshield wiper to pull himself up to where he is laying flat on the hood as we gather speed and rocket off into the night. For some reason, Goose chose that moment to stop and slammed on the brakes causing the Blue Goose to start skidding violently from side to side down the road. Unfortunately Mike's grip on the hood could not withstand the G-forces at work (ah, another physics lesson) so he continued on down Jones Valley Road at 30-40 miles an hour with only the thin fabric of his Levi's between his butt and the asphalt. Man, when he finally stopped it was a bloody mess. He had gouged out a spot on his left buttock the size of a large frying pan. He carried a scab for the better part of a year and probably still carries a scar today. If he had not been somewhat relaxed it would have killed him. In fact, I think we were all pretty well relaxed at the time. Affliction Lots of memories....funny, though! I don't remember much of anything having to do with academic instruction except the time I told my 9th grade science teacher I was color blind. What makes that a "life lesson" is I made the statement with a straight face and she actually believed me. We talked about my affliction several times in class over the next few days and I enjoyed my 15 minutes of fame. In later years, I would use this same approach in bars throughout the world. I, of course, am not color blind. The ability to lie with a straight face is an acquired skill. ____________________________________ |
Remember girls when our Moms told us to stay away from those bad soldiers at the arsenal? Well,thanks to Shelly Peters, I married one. We first went to Germany for a year and then to Indiana. We live about 40 miles from Chicago and at the tip of Lake Michigan. Its a great place to live except in the winter! Things I miss most The Dip Dogs At Zesto's Mullins hamburgers Real Open Pit BBQ Warm southern nights June Bugs on a string True Southern hospitality Going to THE MALL Football games on a Friday night Monte Sano Mountain where we could go in the summer to cool off My old church 1st Cumberland Presbyterian on Andrew Jackson Way _______________________________________ |
More Musical Memories Sought This week we bring back our Musical Memories feature. This week's song was a hit in 1963. Click on the record player below to continue. When you get to the song, record your comments for your other classmates __________________________________________ |
Collin's Classic Collection of Crazy Classmate Capers By Collins (CE) Wynn Class of '64 Whiz Chiz THE SETTING - Starry, starry summer night on the isolated stretch of Jones Valley Road near the family cemetery just beside the road. Four or five 17-year-old boys are riding around in the Blue Goose trying to think up something to do. THE STORY - Goose stops at the cemetery and we all get out and stand around talking about girls (what else is there?) for a few minutes. Goose notices that Mike Chism has wondered away from the car and is some feet away over near the cemetery; in consultation with Mike (Agitator) Smith a plan is immediately hatched where the rest of us jump back in the car, roar away, and leave Mike standing there in the dark all alone in a cemetery with his pencil in his hand. Which, of course, is what we immediately do. Everyone knows that the best humor in the world is your friend's agony. Anyway, as we are speeding away, Chis (Mike Chisum), being the quick thinker he is, decides "hey, I'm not staying here" and jumps for the hood of the car. He gets just enough of a grip on the windshield wiper to pull himself up to where he is laying flat on the hood as we gather speed and rocket off into the night. For some reason, Goose chose that moment to stop and slammed on the brakes causing the Blue Goose to start skidding violently from side to side down the road. Unfortunately Mike's grip on the hood could not withstand the G-forces at work (ah, another physics lesson) so he continued on down Jones Valley Road at 30-40 miles an hour with only the thin fabric of his Levi's between his butt and the asphalt. Man, when he finally stopped it was a bloody mess. He had gouged out a spot on his left buttock the size of a large frying pan. He carried a scab for the better part of a year and probably still carries a scar today. If he had not been somewhat relaxed it would have killed him. In fact, I think we were all pretty well relaxed at the time. Affliction Lots of memories....funny, though! I don't remember much of anything having to do with academic instruction except the time I told my 9th grade science teacher I was color blind. What makes that a "life lesson" is I made the statement with a straight face and she actually believed me. We talked about my affliction several times in class over the next few days and I enjoyed my 15 minutes of fame. In later years, I would use this same approach in bars throughout the world. I, of course, am not color blind. The ability to lie with a straight face is an acquired skill. ____________________________________ |
We Are FamiLEE! |
Est. March 31, 2000 38,005 Previous Hits April 7, 2003 Editor:Tommy Towery http://www.leealumni.com Class of 1964 Page Hits This Issue e-mail ttowery@memphis.edu Staff Writers : Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly , Joy Rubins Morris, Cherri Polly Massey, Paula Spencer Kephart, Rainer Klauss, Bobby Cochran Staff Photographers: Fred & Lynn Sanders Contributers: The Members of Lee High School Classes of 64-65-66 |
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How I Ended Up In Portage,Indiana by Cecilia Levan Watson |
It was great to get a call from Bobby Cochran, '64, (left in the photo above) to advise me that he was coming through Memphis last weekend and to see if I could have lunch with him and his wife Sandy. We met for a hamburger on a Sunday afternoon, and although the $8.00 hamburgers we had at Houston's where a little more expensive than the 10-Cent ones we used to have at Mullins, it was still fun to sit and visit with a classmate and talk old times. Thanks again for all of the e-mail about my mom. She is about the same as before, not in pain and not upset about where she is, and that is all I can ask for at this time in her life. I appreciate your concerns and prayers. T. Tommy _______________________________________ |
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Flying Limp Fabric I By Collins (CE) Wynn Class of '64 I have read several interesting stories lately having to do with flying machines. I too was bitten by the soaring sickness at an early age. My Dad arranged an airplane ride for he and me in 1954 when I was eight years old and it was a thrill indeed. I can still remember the spectacle of looking out the window at our tiny little house so far below. After that, like several others I have read about, my experience lay dormant for 10 years. Immediately after graduation in 1964 I found myself at Fort Rucker undergoing military training as an Enlisted Crew Chief on several different aircraft most noticeably the then hottest thing going - the UH-1B (the original and famous Huey). I was also trained on the L-19 (or 0-1A) Bird-dog and the U-6 Beaver. The L-19 Bird-dog is one of the aircraft Tommy referred to in his piece - it was an overpowered in-line two seater and was designed to carry the pilot and an artillery spotter and was used to perform some other liaison type missions. The aircraft fuselage was about two feet wide and the windows opened out and up from well below the seat and hooked on snaps located under the wings - as you might imagine the view was incredible - it was like standing outside. After I was commissioned in 1966 I was not permitted to continue my crew duties but I was allowed to wear my Enlisted Crew Wings on my officer uniform and I did so with pride - a unique arrangement (throughout my career I knew of only one other officer who had that privilege). Off and on over the next 15 years I was involved in operations with several small light military aircraft including the banana shaped U-21 and the Bell H-13 (the one from M*A*S*H). A friend of mine tried his best to teach me to fly the H-13 and the jet powered OH-6 but I could never get the hang of hovering - although I did pretty well when airborne and underway, I always overcompensated near the ground and could not get the aircraft to remain stable - after a while I gave up and went back to small fixed wings and built some hours in the Cessna 172 although I never did complete pilot training. Except for some routine transportation I was inactive in aviation for the next 10 years or so but I made a drastic military career change as a Major in 1981 - at the ripe old age of 35 I volunteered for Special Forces and Airborne (parachute) duty. All of a sudden, before I could change my mind, I found myself running along the roads of Ft. Benning, Georgia at five in the morning in front of 300 young and hardy 20-year-old airborne trainees with our instructors screaming "if the old bald headed man can do it (meaning me) then the rest of you can do it too (meaning them)". As a field grade officer at the time and senior member present, I did not have the option of not being successful. It was a mentally and physically demanding experience in the extreme but not necessarily an unpleasant one - I can still hear the cadence songs we sung. C-130 rollin' down the strip; Airborne Daddy on a one-way trip; Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door; Jump right out and count to four; If my main don't open wide; I've got another one by my side; If that one should fail me too; Look out ground, I'm coming through; Tell my girl I did my best; And, bury me in the 'leaning rest' When our training was over and it came time to actually jump, I am not ashamed to say that I was completely terrified. As we boarded the C-123 that morning I was convinced I was about to die and remember thinking only of my two sons hoping my insurance would be enough to see them through. To make matters worse, as the senior member of the class I was awarded the heart stopping honor of jumping first. One of my Sergeant instructors pulled me aside and said, "Sir, I just want to remind you every trainee out here will be watching every thing you do today". Of course, before pushing me out the door, my instructor made me stand in the ready position in the open jump door at 1500 feet and 100 mph for at least 10 completely unnecessary minutes just for the fun of it (his, of course). Actually, that procedure (senior person first in the door) was intended as a confidence builder for the other 40 or so trainees aboard. Although I was duty bound to jump, they were not. (The US Army teaches emergency action procedures in case someone has a parachute malfunction but I remain convinced to this day that the purpose of the training is solely to give you something to do until you die on impact.) What an absolutely indescribable thrill - I was immediately hooked and took every opportunity to jump wherever and whenever I could and I stayed on 'jump status' for the remainder of my career until I retired in '93. To me, the original feeling was one of total disbelief - first, you think you're going to die-but, hey, then you don't. Once I got used to it, it become a matter of pride and precision. I went on to become first a Senior Parachutist then a Master Parachutist and an Army Jumpmaster (instructor) and ulltimately served as the Commandant of a military course teaching new Jumpmasters. Over the next few years, I earned the Parachutist Wings of both the Republics of Italy and Portugal. For a while I held a record of sorts in Army parachuting - in front of 20 witnesses I once made 15 parachute jumps from a Army aircraft in two hours and 45 minutes flat - such a pace is practically unheard of - it was possible only because I had control of the aircraft and crew, the riggers and parachutes, and the drop zone. But, there is always another level - in 1985 I began free-falling (or sky diving) along with our '64-'65-'66 classmates and my close friends John Fulda and John Scales - but that's a story for another time. (Just keep in mind this is the same guy who was "borrowing" coke bottles to sell for cigarettes in a previous story.) _____________________________________________ |
From Our Mailbox Subject: Cherry Point, North Carolina Joy Robins Morris Athens, AL Class of 1964 In response to Ricky Simmons career and his stay at Havelock, N.C., our son-in-law and daughter were stationed at Cherry Point (Havelock) for nearly four years and they loved it. I traveled to Havelock several times and always enjoyed my visits there. The surrounding towns were wonderful excursions for us and my sister lives in Myrtle Beach which is about a four-hour drive from Havelock. Our youngest grandson was born three months premature in the hospital at Wilmington, N.C. Our oldest grandson was born at Cherry Point and received great care from everyone at the hospital. Being in the Marine military family, our daughter and son-in-law could not have been stationed at a more ideal location. They have been back in North Alabama a little over a year and we all miss the base at Cherry Point. I don't know how it got the name the "Pit" but I can tell you from recent experiences it is definitely not the "Pit" but the "Heart" of a wonderful Marine base. _____________________________________________ Our Guest Book was signed by: Trudy Samples Clark From: Huntsville Year of Graduation: 1965 E-mail: djtrudy@aol.com _______________________________ Barry E. Davis Jr. From: LaGrange, Georgia E-mail: officerbed@yahoo.com Year of Graduation: 1973 _______________________________ Carey Hall From: Huntsville E-mail: careyhall1@netzero.com Year of Graduation: 1966 ________________________________ Lois Ann Uptain Adams Wow! Just heard Saturday from Esco (German) about the site. I retired after 30-odd years of federal service. Now work as a consultant for several companies in Hsv. Its good to remember all you folks! From: Huntsville, AL E-mail: adams@hiwaay.net Year of Graduation: 1966 _____________________________________ Ronnie and Belinda Cribbs Ronnie and I married two weeks before graduation in 1967. We have two sons Charlie (Charlie's Roofing of Huntsvile) and Daniel (employed by Fritolay in Huntsville). Ronnie is retired from Dunlop Tire Corp. and is Charlie's sidekick. He asked for a day off recently and Charlie said "Dad it is just too busy". I am a sonographer at Jackson County Hospital where I have worked for twentyone years. Our favorite titles are GRANDMA and PAPA RONNIE used by our six grandchildren. We love the web site! From: Orig. H'sville/now Woodville AL E-mail: cribbs@nehp.net Year of Graduation: Ronnie 1965/Belinda1967 __________________________________ Subject: Re: Brick Status Nancy Robinson NancyCRob@aol.com LHS PTA President Hi Tommy, Huntsville City Schools has committed to doing the brick placement for us. We were told it woiuld be after Spring Break. Spring Break was last week and we're waiting to get on their calendar. I'll let you know when I have a firm date. Saw J.R. Brooks last week. He claims he knows you. __________________________________________ Subject: Photo George Lehman Williams Class of '64 GWMOPAR@aol.com Tommy - Where did you get that photo? I have a correction - I actually said - " Hey Kinkle, hold my beer and watch this". If Mrs. Parks reads this, I wonder if she remembers what a good student I was. I must confess, I listened in class so I would not have to do homework or study. There were just too many beers to drink, to many cars to race and to many women to, well, lets just say there wasn't enough time. Speaking of time, it has been almost four months since we lost Moses and I for one miss him. _____________________________________ |
May 17, 2003 Click on photo above if you might be interested in going. We need to start seeing how many classmates are interested. _______________________________ |
Classmate Segway Challenge The Most Illustrious Editor rode/drove a Segway on April 2, 2003 at a technology trade show here at the university. I stake the claim that I am the first of any of my Classmates of '64-'65'-66 to do this, but am sure that some of you will challenge that claim. Are their any takers? Who else refuses to let technology intimidate you and can take my title from me? If you want to claim the title, send me the date and place that you drove one. ________________________________________ |
Scholarship Contest Fails To Attract Winning Entry by Tommy Towery Class of '64 Despite all our hard work to collect pledges, establish a fair set of criteria that would foster the beliefs we have in the "Spirit of Lee High School", and create a web page and application form, no winnng entry was received. Hence, the scholarship committee elected not to award a scholarship to a graduating 2003 senior. The committee is now evaluating the structure of the essay contest to try to decide if future attempts to award a scholarship have merit. The bottom line is that we only received one entry for the contest, and it was postmarked on the last possible day. It was the unanimous decision of the committee that the one entry that we received failed to meet our basic criteria for either grammar or for content. We were told that the applicant only knew about the contest because she was the daughter of a friend of one of our classmates. Not only was the criteria and application published on our web site since November, but also a dozen printed copies of all the information was sent to the Guidance Counselor's office at Lee to be given to worthy students. One member of our committee is writing to see if any assistance or effort was ever made by any of the staff at Lee, especially by the guidance counselors to recruit entrants for the $500 scholarship. In my own desire to still give something back to Lee, I contacted one of our classmates, Janice Tittsworth Barnett from the Class of '65, who works in the Lee library and offered to donate the money that I personally pledged to the scholarship fund to the library instead. Janice replied: "I am Janice Tittsworth Barnett, Class of '65, and now in my 16th year at Lee as one of the two librarians. I met (re-met?) you in 1992 when you came to Lee to gift the library with three copies of your book. I am a weekly reader of your alumni newsletter, and really appreciate the effort you continue to put forth to keep us all aware of the joys we experienced at Lee. Thank you. The library welcomes any monetary interest in its budget! As the average book price is in the $25.00 range and already promised a bare-bones budget for the next school year, your donation is most welcomed. You may mail your check to Lee, specifying it to be placed in the library account, and we will take it from there. If there is a special interest area you wish for us to purchase, you may include that in your letter, too. Checks may be made out to Lee High School and specified in the lower left hand corner that it a donation to the library. Besides, I can intimidate the bookkeeper into making sure the funds are put in my account. All gifts are sent thank you letters, plus when the materials are cataloged in the computer a note listing the "gifter" is put in the data base, plus all gift books receive a book plate inside the front cover noting the source of the book. You may specify the wording on the book plate if you wish or rely on my good taste(?) in wording something appropriate. If you would like to create a book plate yourself, that's fine too - you know, providing it 's no larger than 8x10 or so ... newspapermen can sometimes go on and on and on...! " I feel that, for me, this donation will serve the same purpose as the scholarship idea; and after thinking it over, perhaps benefit more students than just the one that would receive the scholarship. I am considering the idea of a book plate that will state that the Classes of '64 '65 '66 gave the books. I am not asking anyone else to do likewise unless you want to, but I believe this would be an honorable alternative to the scholarship idea. We had over $750 pledged to the scholarship fund, and I am sure that the library could use any or all of the money pledged. I am in the process of creating a bookplate which contains our website logo. I will be happy to share what I find out with any other of you who would like to join me in this alternate plan. Checks should include Library Gift in the memo block and mailed to: : Lee High School 606 Forrest Circle Huntsville, AL 35811 _____________________________________ |
Have We Printed This Before? God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference. Now that I'm 'older' here's what I've discovered: 1. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it. 2. My wild oats have turned into prunes and All Bran. 3. I finally got my head together; now my body is falling apart. 4. Funny, I don't remember being absent minded... 5. Funny, I don't remember being absent minded... 6. All reports are in; life is now officially unfair. 7. If all is not lost, where is it? 8. It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser. 9. Funny, I don't remember being absent minded... 10. Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant. 11. I wish the buck stopped here; I sure could use a few... 12. Kids in the back seat cause accidents. 13. Accidents in the back seat cause kids. 14. Funny, I don't remember being absent minded... 15. It's hard to make a come back when you haven't been anywhere. 16. The only time the world beats a path to your door is when you're in the bathroom. 17. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he would have put them on my knees. 18. When I'm finally holding all the cards, why does everyone decide to play chess? 19. Funny, I don't remember being absent minded... 20. It's not hard to meet expenses... they're everywhere. 21. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth. 22. These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter...I go somewhere to get something and then wonder what I'm here after. 23. I AM UNABLE TO REMEMBER IF I HAVE MAILED THIS TO YOU OR NOT! 24. Funny, I don't remember being . . . . . absent minded... ________________________________________ |
Missing Traveller Staff Member - I have been trying to contact Cherri Polly Massey, Class of '66, and she doesn't answer my e-mails. Either she is mad at me for not paying her enough or something else. If anyone has a phone number or street address in Arlington, TX for Cherri, would you please e-mail it to me. Thanks....Tommy |
