Be aware, the "Message Forum" is NOT password protected.  Unlike profiles that are password protected, anybody who gets to this webpage can see what is written here.  Nobody can contact you directly based on this forum unless you reveal your personal contact information.  Use the "Message Center" for sharing personal contact information with another classmate.

This message forum is an ongoing discussion about anything and just about everything ... within reason.  One thing our class was good at was having opinions.  Almost 70 years of life experience certainly qualifies us as experts on most everything!   Ask a question ... give an opinion ... share some insights ... it's our web site, it's our forum.  That said, it's probably not a good idea to get into arguments about politics, religion, and the like.  While we're experts on everything, we also have a wide range of values and beliefs. This site belongs to all of us ... the whole range ... and we are not here to isolate, alienate, or subjugate anybody.  Of course insults, humiliation, sophomoric barraggadocio, and demented humor is expected behavior among some of us less mature people.
 

Jim Cejka

California's state song = 

Mitchell Heinrichs

My wife and I were dancing to a song last week and the words were my heart skips a beat when Im with you at which point she said hay thats called arrythmia and that can kill you so much for the dance

Jim Cejka

Arrythmias can be trouble, but not always. What most people think of as a skipped beat is actually the result of an extra beat, not a missed one. The extra beat, called a PVC (Premature Ventricular Contraction), pops in between regular beats but when it does, it's followed by a "compensatory pause", i.e., a little longer period before the next regular beat. That's what people feel, the pause. PVCs are very common, and can be caused by too much caffeine, stress (like for cramming for those final exams), falling in love, ala the song, or a lot of things. By thenselves, they're not a bad thing. 

Or Mitch, you could try another tactic. Highly conditioned athletes, marathoners, b-ball players, or any sport that requires endurance, have a heart beat that anybody looking at would say call 911. Their complexes are quite bizzare and the rate is very slow. I did EKGs and stress tests on the Milwaukee Bucks, including Abdul Jabbar. Even on a stress test, we managed to get his heart rate up from 41 only to 43. When they stop their athletics, their heart beats go back to "normal." You could always try to convince your wife that you are still in your highly athletiic condition. 

Mitchell Heinrichs

forget it I just won't ask her to dance any more 

Jim Cejka

Apollo 11 - Unbelievable then

Still unbeliveable now. We have gone from "Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe, non-computer graphics), to Robbie the Robot (in non-living color), to the real thing (+), all in our lifetime.

Wow. 

Lauren Dieterich

I have pictures of the landing that I took off of the TV of the actual landing, that are as good as the ones that you pay for. I made circuit boards for 33 years. One of our customers was Delco Electronics, some of which were for the Apollo program. Others were for the Viking program and a lot of other space projects that we never knew what the actual projects were. I have a circuit board, in my car, that I took off of the scrap pile that was for the Space shuttle. Then 3 guys from India bought the company. That ended the space program for us. Until then, we had a reputation of being able to build circuit boards that others could not. You just had to give us enough time to figure out how to build them.

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

I so clearly remember the first moonwalk - our older girl was then 3+. Looked out the window at the moon and said she couldn't see them. Oh my - long ago and far away.

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

I was fortunate to participate in a summer program for teachers - "STELLAR" at NASA-Ames in Mountain View CA. We worked with scientists who were developing life-science experiments for space. I was in the spacesuit lab, and there was a display case of spacesuit gear from past missions. The most exciting thing there for me was a glove with "Collins" printed on the cuff. It had been to the moon (almost) and back. A big highlight was Buzz Aldrin coming to meet and talk with us. When I saw televised footage of the moon landing this week, I had the same reaction as I did when I saw the actual one - shed tears! Nancy - I love your little one's reaction!

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

In the South Bay area, during garlic harvest season, in the early morning the smell of garlic permeates the air, coming all the way from Gilroy. That's when you know the Garlic Festival is coming soon. Such a fun family event, featuring every food known to humankind that can be made with garlic, from scampi to even garlic ice cream. This shooting - yet another one - makes me so incredibly sad and frustrated because nobody wants to do anything to regulate (or get rid of) these army weapons that always seem to find their way into the hands of  crazies who see themselves as some kind of Rambo to avenge any wrongs they may have suffered. California has pretty good gun laws, which is probably why this shooter went over to Nevada to get his.

Jim Cejka

Speaking of golf – Garry

I succumbed to watching golf on tv the other day (Hadn’t painted anything so there was nothing to watch dry.). Those guys/gals address or hit a ball and the announcers are whispering whether they’re playing a “fade” or a “draw,” like they’re doing it intentionally, and if it goes off course (like over the crowd),  the announcers just say the golfer hit it “a bit too far right/left,” or “that’ll be a difficult X shot,” like no big deal.

Now when I was playing golf, if I hit it right or left, my partners would say things like “Wow, what a hook,” or “you sliced that one into the next county,” followed by choruses of roaring laughter, while taking bets whether I would ever find that one, or if I broke someone’s windshield on the adjacent highway. 

So, is the true test of how good you are whether people whisper as if you were actually trying to hit it like that, or they roar anytime you hit anything?

Besides, those pros and tourneys have thousands of people and cameras watching, and fancy electronic tracers that show within an inch where each ball goes. I believe I would probably have been a scratch golfer if I could just subtract all those penalty shots for lost balls.

Jim Cejka

 I thought I raised at least one smart kid. BUT, my son, who was just transferred to Miami, has decided to hunker down and ride out Dorian there. That's inspite of our invitation to flee to higher ground (our house) and the bribe of my wife's homemade brownies and cookies. 

Melody Jones (Parker)

Jim,

Keep an eye on the hurricane which is now a Cat4 and might not hit FL landfall, instead heading to GA and SC and NC...that's us.  However, we both are so far inland that we would only be hit by outer bands.  Stock up on water and food.  We have an emergency generator, just in case.  Good luck my friend!

Jim Cejka

I figure if the water gets high enough to flood here there would be a whole lot of problems elsewhere first. If it got this high, there wouldn't be too many dry places east of the Mississippi. Lots of luck to you too. You're biggest problem (or maybe it'll be a help) might be the winds blowing out the candles on your birthday cake. Have a good one.

Garry Sellers

Jim, Mel, Dave ... we've got extra bedrooms here on the Left Coast!

Heck of a way to celebrate a birthday Melody!

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

Every place has its disasters!

Jim Cejka

Right on Terri. As a recently rehabilitated ex-Californian, I'm not sure yet how to handle natural(?) disasters that aren't fire and smolke, or on shakey ground. Hopefully, I'm never too old to learn. 

Kenneth Pallaske

Happy birthday to all of my fellow classmates. Unfortunately,  I am unable to attend. Have a great time. I will be with you in spirit.

Garry Sellers

I just got a note with silly quotes.  One said, "My fondest memory of my childhood is not having back problems."  Substitute whatever ails you for "back problems."  While you're breaking bread with friends at the 75th birthday party, I'll be trying out a newly installed hip.  Hope you guys have as much fun as me!

e         

Jim Cejka

Garry,

If I remember correctly, through the course of this collection of historical and personal data, known as the "Message Forum," over the last several years, you have mentioned numerous implanted metal objects about your person. It seems you have more metal in your body than a modern car. I don't think Steve or Jamie had that much of a collection. 

Lauren Dieterich

I had planned on attending our mass birthday party. But, alas it's not to be. After my last plane flight, I don't think that I can handle spending almost 4 hours not being able to move more than my head and hands. That's how cramped the seats are for me. The only break that I had was to use the phone booth that is called a restroom on a plane. Used to be, I could go on a four flight without using the facilities. My prostate says that I have to go every 2 to 3 hours. I don't do 4 day road trips any more either.

   I have a calcified prostate ( same effect as an enlarged prostate ) The Doctors founded that when checking my gall bladder, which I no longer have. That was last year. This year, every time that I saw my Doctor, he found something else. I have COPD, we have to keep an eye on that. Then I had an echocariogram. My mitral heart valve leaks, we have to keep an eye on that; and, that valve replacement is major surgery and last but not least is arthritis in my back.

  Garry, I should be a bionic man like you; but, so far I've been lucky. Thank God for ibuprofen. If I live long enough, I'll need ankle, knee, hip and maybe shoulder replacement surgery. 20 years ago, I was told that I'd need knee replacement; but, to wait until the pain couldn't be controled.

   The reason for my last plane flight would be the only reason for any future flights. I wish that I wasn't writing this. It was for my sons Celebration of Life. He was in Maine for a job and fell into the river, next to the job. this was in April. They found his body 5 weeks later ( upstream ? ) on his birthday. You're not supposed to outlive your kids.

All in all, this has been the worst summer of my life. 

Jim Cejka

OK. OK, I can't take the suspense any longer. Ain't nobody going to report on the the big Friday night fish fry and 75 birthdays party? Some of us were at least there in spirit (or we were in spirits and thinking we were there, whatever). At least, where are this year's incriminating pictures?

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

Jim,

I'm sure Trudy will be posting pictures soon. We all had a lovely, festive time.

We missed you!

Jim Cejka

Yeah Jeanne. It sounded like fun, and fun is good. We're still tied up unpacking from our recent move. Seems like it takes longer every time. 

I can handle the 75 thing, and figure we can get older and, if lucky, reach 75. What I have trouble with is accepting that those people that we watched and grew up with also got older, or in some cases, gone. I mean, Opie, Annette, Rickie and David, Illya Kuryakin, the Hamm's Beer bears, to me can't get old or change, they're still stuck in the same brain cell they got put into 60-70 years ago.  

Barbara Blair (Brenzel)

The 75th birthday party was so much fun!  Great to see OLD friends!  The food was delicious and the games were fun.  I must admit that it is hard to believe that we are so old now.  Young minds & old bodies!

Jim Cejka

Barb,

Oh, boo. We haven't had a Friday night fish fry since we were back for the 55th. Here now in South Carolina, we get shrimp and grits. Not quite the same.