NOTE: I should have mentioned this before now, but if you will click on any photo, you will be shown an enlargement of it and all of the others in the post.
If any of you guessed that the other "adventurer" I mentioned in the last blog was DENNY HILL, you were right. However, I also heard from another classmate that must be added to the list as well. His update follows this one from DENNY.
"What is up is basically that I just keep on trucking.
This summer I spent my usual month in Berlin,
and two months in Warsaw. In Berlin I wound up making friends with the
bartender and the cook at my favorite Kneipe (tavern or pub), which is "Zosch". Many nights I stayed
until after they closed around 3am, and hung out, drinking free beers with the
bartender and his friends after hours, usually until 4am or later, speaking only
German, joking, telling stories, etc. It is amazing how fluent one becomes
after enough beers. (The picture at right is the Zosch he speaks of, and Denny is the one on the end in a blue shirt next to the red candle.)
In Warsaw I made a breakthrough. For several
years I had noticed that on my Rynek (my "market square) there was a compact
group of 6 or 7 degenerates who seemed to be the "regulars" at the
local "watering hole" (pub). I wrongly thought they must be a
snobbish group, and I wrongly thought they spoke only Polish. But this summer
somehow I managed to be inducted into this group, and now we are all friends.
They are very friendly, extremely funny, making
jokes all the time, and quite helpful to teach me raunchy expressions in
Polish. Here is the composition of the group (aside from me, the math prof.):
1. A
garage mechanic (speaks Polish and English)
2. A taxi
driver (speaks only Polish, except when drunk, at which point he speaks any
language)
3. A Polish
couple (he speaks only Polish, but she speaks Polish and Italian)
4. A
Japanese who is in Poland because he represents some big company from Tokyo
which plans to build power stations in Poland to make electric power. (He
speaks Japanese and English)
5.
Another Polish couple (he speaks fluent Polish, German and English), she
is the lead dancer in the Warsaw version of a "Moulin Rouge" type of
"Review" (she speaks Polish, English, and can do a 180 degree
split standing on one leg)
6.
Another Japanese who is the CEO of all of Mitsubishi in Poland. (He
speaks Japanese, Polish, and strangely, Arabic)
Now I am in Shreveport, Louisiana, visiting my
mother. But on Friday I have to
return home in Port Jefferson, NY, to resume teaching, etc." Best regards, DENNY
**********************
Another candidate for our daring senior citizen list is BILL KING. He wrote the following and sent photos of what might be described as his hobbies:
"I have attached some
pictures that depict the aging process for me. The red Harley was at one
time my most enjoyable and relaxing mode of transportation. Then after I became
a little older and not so confident in riding the Harley, I had to resort to a
little more manageable mode of
two wheel transportation, my red 1954 Cushman
Eagle. The Harley had to find a new home, but the Cushman is still with
me, easier to handle and fun to ride. Now I am becoming a little more
comfortable with four wheels under me so I have discovered my 1957 Ford
Thunderbird is a little easier to keep upright, besides 1957 was a great year. I
have never gotten flying totally out of my system and will take a ride anytime
one is available so a couple of shots of my ride in a hot air balloon in
Albuquerque, NM that was fantastic.
Hope everyone is having fun."..BILL
*****************************
Class President JAMES HAYS sent the following (and is also on our daring senior citizen list):
"I still work for a living supplemented by some retirement which I re-invest, mostly in old guns. I still fly and just made a trip in my 1941 Culver Cadet airplane to Iowa for the Antique Airplane fly-in this past weekend. I also am the Brown County Health Officer 'counting cockroaches' in restaurants. Lots of fun. I am also active in the Texas State Guard (hurricanes, homeland defense, NON-FEDERAL) from which I plan to retire this year, getting too old!!! Lost my ex-sister-in-law to cancer, Judith Hampton Martin, last month - a sad year. (So sorry for your loss, James.)
(I know this is not your Culver Cadet, JAMES, but that's you in the cockpit.)
NYDAH ELLET is still in a nursing home and really enjoys getting and answering cards and brief letters. Address: Kensington Care Center, Rm 11, 849 N. Aurora Rd., Aurora, Ohio 44202. She can't handle a telephone well since her accident but writes well. Drop her a note."..JAMES
*******************************
I hear from JUNE HASH CURRY frequently. She says she doesn't do anything exciting. Most of us don't, June. However, she does play bridge twice a week. Keeps those brain cells growing! She also has two rescue dogs. I forget both of their names, but below is the cutest picture of the last one she got. This was not long after she and her son Chris brought the little one home, and it was terrified of men. Hiding behind the pillow! I think her name is Tracie.
*********************************
A good friend of mine in Ballinger who has been a realtor for 30 years wrote me that a millionaire from out of town had moved there and bought quite a few of the buildings in downtown. These buildings were the old Lynn Building, the old Western Auto, the old First National Bank next to Ballinger Florist, and the Texas Theater. Dot said he is restoring all of them and plans to have a water purification system put in. She also said that the EPA keeps fining the City for not complying with regulations, so they (the City?) are putting in a "reverse osmosis" water system. She then went on to say that the City is in compliance with the EPA -- surprise! As someone who has lived all over the U.S. in my lifetime, I have to say I never experienced worse municipal water anywhere! I hope this rumor is true.
8th St. & Hutchins Avenue
This was back in March, and I haven't heard more since then. NANCY THOMPSON BAKER was aware of some work being done on downtown businesses, but not much more. If anyone knows anything about these renovations, etc., how about letting me know?
That's it for now. If anyone thinks of something to share with all of us, just send it to me. I have not started volunteer work here yet, so I have more time on my hands.
Peace and love,
Marilyn
