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Ft. Lauderdale, FL. - I finally made it to Ft. Lauderdale for Spring Break. Only problem is, I'll only be here for less than 24 hours.For all of us who saw "Where the Boys Are" Ft. Lauderdale has always been a Spring Break destination.For me this time, it is not a destination, but a departure point. Sunday, Sue and I will leave the port here aboard Royal Caribbean International's "Independence of the Seas" for a 14-day, trans-Atlantic cruise to England, with stops in the Azores, Portugal, and Spain. We'll follow that with a week of seeing the sights of London and East Anglia before we head home.For that reason, I have pre-published the next two issues of Lee's Traveller and they will be automatically delivered to you on the appropriate week.You will not receive an email from me saying they are ready, you'll have to go to www.leestraveller.com on your own to see them.During this period I also will not have access to the internet so I will not be printing letters to the editor or be able to update you on what is going on with the reunion plans.I hope all goes well and all this works. If not, then I'll catch you up when I return.If you think you'll be able to attend this year, please let us know that too. It will help the committee make financial decisions. We are fortunate to have the ability to combine the three class years as we do so that expenses can be shared. If you've never been involved in planning an event of this size you would probably be surprised at the costs involved. Any contracts signed and committments made have to be honored so the committee has to make sure those expenses are covered. So the more participation we have the more we can do to ensure that the reunion will be a success. While you may be a faithful Traveller "weekly reader", there are many of our fellow classmates that still do not know about this site. And while Tommy has also set up a Facebook page for the reunion, we think it is best not to use that site to share personal information. So, please contact your class representative ASAP. And pass the word to any other classmates you may see or have contact with.Even if you do not plan to attend or are not sure if you’ll be able to attend the upcoming reunion, please send in your information. And please encourage other classmates that you may be in contact with to do the same. And check the Traveller each week for planning updates.We have many readers who went to school with the Lee group but for some reason did not "really" graduate with us. We haven't forgotten you.Please accept our invitation to attend our reunion this year. Some of you elected to drop out of school before you finished. Some of you moved away. Some of you got transferred to a different school district. It doesn't matter the reason, you are still one of us.So, whatever the reason, you're still invited to come party with us in August. Please contact the person who is the contact person for the class you most identify with, and ask to be put on their contact list for future mailings.
While trying to track down missing classmates for the reunion, we were saddened to learn that Mary Elaine Kemp of the Class of '64 passed away in November of 2007 of cancer.She lived in Mt. Juliet, TN.Sheb WooleyReunion GolfThe prom was a big success although some of the guys had red chins from slow dancing with girls with big hair. The amounts of hair-spray used created coifs with the consistency of steel wool. There were no public scandals that I recall though there were rumors that Sarajane Steigerwald and Judy Scarborough and their dates were seen in the parking lot sipping on Southern Comfort and Coke. As I say, these were only rumors and it could have been Escoe German and Bill Beatty and their crowd.After the prom, many couples joined groups that formed in various homes for late night parties and eventually breakfast prepared by some bedraggled mother. In Huntsville in 1965, the biggest challenge was to find a home without parents present and despite many efforts over the years, I never found one. Apparently our parents never left the house for our entire high school years. I believe that Linda and I went to Deede Locke's house with a group of six or seven other couples. By that time, I was so tired and happy that I have no recollection of the rest of the evening but the sun was rising when I got home. I do not believe that there were any adult beverages consumed at Deede's home, but I was fairly naive at the time.The next afternoon, a Sunday I suppose, there was considerable clean-up to be done. A substantial group showed up late afternoon and we absolutely had to complete the chore that evening since Monday was a school day. It took a while and several truckloads of debris were collected. I don't know where all the chicken wire went but around 8 pm we were left with several large boxes of random debris, including loads of green crepe paper. Randy Roman had his father's pick-up truck and one of was struck with a brilliant idea. In our class there was a particularly irritating guy by the name of Eddie White, whom you may recall. Eddie had bright red hair and may have been the youthful model for the boy featured in O. Henry's famous story "The Ransom of Red Chief" about a lad kidnapped by scoundrels. Known by the nickname "Red Chief" the boy was so obnoxious that the kidnappers eventually paid his grand-parents a tidy sum so that they would take him back. That was Eddie. And for some reason he took particular delight in tormenting Randy and me. He was a thorn for Mr. Hamilton as well. With the last load of trash Randy and I loaded up his pick-up truck and headed for Eddie's house which was, I believe on the western side of Lakewood. The house was dark so we quickly unloaded the boxes into his front lawn and began littering the whole place with party debris, cackling hysterically.As we completed our vandalism and headed back to the truck, a flashing red light appeared around the corner and the police squad car pulled up in front of the truck. The officer took a look at the mess and said "start picking it up boys." Well...this took a while and the cop leaned on his car patiently while pointing out any scraps we might have missed. After what seemed like hours, we got it done and went over to see what might await us. The officer gave us a lengthy lecture about citizenship and bad apples and suggested that we were probably a disgrace to Lee High. Randy kept giggling and grinning but the situation was getting a bit serious. "Okay, funny man, how about driving to your house while I have a little word with your parents" he said to Randy. We got to Randy's and his Mom, Betty, answered the door in shock. The officer told her the story and suggested she call my mother and work together to get us straightened out before our crimes became more serious. Now Betty Roman was one cheerful, zany mother though she acted shocked and horrified by our deeds. The officer left us there and as the door closed, Mrs. Roman burst into hysterical laughter - which continued for the better part of an hour. Okay, that was done but what about the consequences at school? It was only a few weeks until the end of the term and we heard nothing until senior awards day. Towards the end of the ceremony, Mr. Hamilton called Randy and I to the stage, read a proclamation to the effect that we, as student body president and senior class president, had served our school with high honor especially with our talents for "exterior decoration" in the service of school spirit. He did not explain the puzzling award but I still have the letter on Lee letterhead presented to us that day. Eddie White may never have known what had transpired, except for a few traces of green crepe paper missed in the dark.
The Bannecke's were very fortunate this week to experience a celebrity visit during the week of the Masters. For the golfers, Tiger Woods made his return to golf in Augusta. For the Bannecke's, we had the pleasure of a visit from the famous Dr. John Drummond who is shown in Entertainment Magazine this week. In an article and picture about Tiger Woods, John can be seen sitting by the ropes on the 16 hole.Those attending the reunion in August who bring their copy of Entertainment Magazine, can obtain a personal autograph. Ooooooohhh !!! John, and his good friend Dan Scott of Richmond, Virginia have been staying at casa de'Bannecke during Masters Week for the past three years. This year Dan's company rented our home with the caveat that we stay and visit with them while they are here. An annual Lee High mini-reunion has been enjoyed by all.
