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

Another link to see how others are passing these times:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/18/join-our-happy-thread-things-that-bring-a-smile-in-these-hellish-times

Jim Cejka

Melody Jones (Parker)

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

Hah hah ha ha ha ha! 😂🤣 If you haven't seen the Home Page, go there now! And after a few hours, go back again for more laughs.

Jim Cejka

"(Woo, woo, wooo) (Woo, woo, wooo)
ooWell you we got the feelin', makes you come alive.
(Woo, woo, wooo) (Woo, woo, wooo)
We're gonna boogie woogie, we're gonna rock and roll, we're gonna jive.
(Woo, woo, wooo) (Woo, woo, wooo)
We're gonna make you loose, go where you have to go
(Woo, woo, wooo) (Woo, woo, wooo)
Gonna fill your head with music, satisfy your soul."

Marian Schopp (Bringe)

I'm happy I checked in. It's been a very long time. I didn't know how many funny, clever, hilarious classmates I have. Home page is great. 😁

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

Nkce to see you again, Marian! As we hunker down, I wanted to suggest a good (FREE) app for languages. It's called Duolingo. I installed it on my iPad and I've been learning Spanish on it for over a year now - a good language to know here in LA. I still can only understand about one word of each sentence the actors are saying on the Spanish soap operas (we have several on TV here). They should learn to speak very, very slowly, like they do on the Englsh soaps. But i can read the signs now! Like the one that says "Compro casas." (I buy houses.) Somehow I think if I were going to sell my house, I wouldn't call that number. 

Jim Cejka

And, the latest scientific headline, not involving a virus - 

"Uranus, No Joke, Is Leaking Gas"

as published in several recent articles. Apparently, they have re-snalyzed from the Voyager 2 flyby back in the 80s and have found that the planet has been leaking some of its gaseous atmosphere. (And some editor just couldn't resist that headline.)

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

Just returned from a little trip. And when it's exciting to get into the car and go to the recycling bins, you know you've reached a new low....

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

I dare you not to be smiling at the end of this:

https://youtu.be/MMBh-eo3tvE

Garry Sellers

So Melody - How are you handling the church situation now?  I see where one church's choir practice for 60 resulted in 45 cases of virus!

Terri - How is Jon doing?  Still on a ventilator?

Melody Jones (Parker)

Garry-all church activities including Sunday worship, is done digitally.  A good serrman on you tube can be seen under Spirit of Joy  Pastor Ed Thomas.

Jim, loved the gas joke, seriously.

My state just entered quarantine at 5 PM Monday.  So, Tuesday was day 1.  But I had to drive my granddaughter for an ultrasound of a clavicle mass, etiology unknown.  They made me wait out in my car.  Getting results on Wednesday.  Praying it is not anything serious.  My son is working from home.  My grandson is getting more hours at the pizza place, take out only.  He finally has his learner's permit but needs someone in the car when he drives back and forth to work.  My daughter works for a bank in NJ.  They called her at 10 P.M. on Monday and told her NOT to come in to work on Tuesday because someone in her office tested positive for the virus.  She is now working from home for the next 14 days. I'm doing spring cleaning.  Take care y'all!

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

Jeanne, I laughed a lot and shared your "Novel Sound of Music" video! As to church, I had to find a new church when we moved here almost 3 years ago, Of course I missed my old congregation of almost 20 years - so the past 2 Sundays I've been "going" to my old church online. The pastor does the whole service from her office, complete with music we can "sing along" with. The most fun was that we do a virtual coffee hour afterwards on Zoom, and I was able to catch up with many of my old friends. My 6th grade tutoring student had just introduced me to Zoom 2 days earlier. I know: who is the the tutor and who is the student? I teach them English, they teach me technology. Jon is still on the ventilator, and was supposed to be transferred to a rehab facility where they would wean him off the vent. But just now the Dr. called and he's had to go back to ICU because of decline in respiratory function. I am concerned on two levels: 1) the breathing and 2) the COVID patients are there! So we hang in there, taking things day by day.

Jim Cejka

"Caveat Emptor"

Everybody wants in on the latest fashion - face masks - right?

I saw an ad today (on Amazon) for a box of basic, medical type face masks - "Used, like new. . . ."

Hmmmmm

Garry Sellers

The witticisms on the homepage are offered in the spirit of fun during this incredibly stressful period.    What scares me is that we could have an old friend and/or classmate in trouble with the virus. It's hard to balance between having a laugh when we most need one and with caring.

Jim Cejka

Right on Garry - 

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, and honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."                      Leo Buscaglia

I believe many of us have found that touch, those kind words, and those acts of caring on this site Garry. Thanks for making it possible.

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

Jim, I echo your words. But oh, I desperately long for a real hug.

Jim Cejka

At least one place (Leon County, FL) has the right idea - 

Lauren Dieterich

Jeanne, regarding your post, yeaterday of giving a real hug. In 2 weeks from today, it will be a year since I got the phone call from my oldest daughter informing me of my son's death. I'd give anything to be able to give him one last hug. 

William Nelson

Jim, we saw a similar post from one of our grand-nephews in Idaho. He and his sibs have raised and shown llamas in their 4-H activities. He posted to "Keep a llama distance apart." Your poster would work for Louisiana, too. 

The restrictions on movement shouldn't bother us too much, because we're basically stay at home folks anyway, but just the fact that now we must stay at home, doesn't make it as much fun. The Texas governor said that anyone entering Texas from Louisiana will be quarantined for two weeks. Our two youngest live in Katy, TX, so we attended our 4-year-old grandson's birthday party yesterday by FaceTime. We've had some health issues, so get out every couple of days to drive to a nearby clinic. We don't have garbage pickup in our rural area, so also have to make runs to the dumpster site every couple of days, but there's not much between here and there. Restaurants are allowed to serve carryouts only. We've done that twice now, to celebrate our 49th anniversary and my birthday. We tried online grocery shopping at Walmart, but then discovered we'd have to drive to a bigger town about 20-miles away to pick it up. There were several out of stock items on our list, too. The sheriff began a program last week for folks over 60; they'll make the pickups for us for free and drop them off at our homes. We might try that when we need to restock.

Our biggest worry is about Mary's sibs in Wisconsin. They're all older and three of the four have serious health problems. We've discussed what we'd do if one of them dies, but now realize we probably won't be able to attend a funeral if the worst happens. We normally make a three-week trip to see our family up there sometime between late May and early September. One of our granddaughters is getting married in mid-October, so we'll make the annual trek around that time. We weren't all that happy about the date until this virus took over the country. Now, it appears she was prescient in picking the date. Hopefully, things will be opening up by then.

We hope each and every one of you and your family stays happy and healthy. Wash your hands and stay close to home.

Jim Cejka

Bill - My son and his wife are in the Coast Guard in Miami, he's regular, she's reserve. Last month, when this isolation and stuff got rolling, and with rumors about call-ups and their duties rampant, they decided to bring their two girls and two dogs up to SC to stay with us. The logic being that we're much more isolated here and have better medical facilities. Anyway, the rumors only half panned out, he has to 'maintain a proximity' around the base (100 miles, should something hit the fan) and she did get called up but spent the time mostly at home waiting for the phone to ring (she's a hazmat/disaster specialist). The duty crisis, for them, was less intense than first thought, so it was decided to return the kids and dogs yesterday.

Never thought that returning grandkids and seeing my family would make me feel so 'illegal,' like a bootlegger or smuggler. There are now checkpoints at the FL border, checking everyone entering. My son had to get special permission from his CO ot leave his limit area (but not leave FL) and come to meet us. So, we ended up meeting them at the border (actually, my son cheated and we met a mile into GA), meeting at a gas station and swapping kids and dogs and stuff from one car to another. Seeing so many people wearing masks added to the atmosphere. They were stopped when they reentered FL but got through OK. 

The rest of the population is now discovering the world of the nerds (and it ain't too bad, really).

Jim Cejka

And here's another link on how to cope, by people who had a reason to - 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/ten-tips-scientists-who-have-spent-months-isolation-180974547/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200401-daily-responsive&spMailingID=42163524&spUserID=NzY3MzIwNTMzMTYS1&spJobID=1740124351&spReportId=MTc0MDEyNDM1MQS2

William Nelson

Jim,

There was a problem with the link, but I was able to open it after removing the last couple of sections of the address.

We won't run out of things to do for a long, long time. My ToDo list keeps growing. As we age and slow down, "The hurrier we go, the behinder we get." We've got projects to do around the house and outbuildings, and plenty of smaller projects, as well. I'm nearing the end of building a new workbench. I strained my back, twice, while working on it, so far. Bench tops, vises, etc. are all pretty heavy. That's how we wound up in PT, but the therapist says I can now do what I want and he'll check and probably release me a week from Wednesday.

The bench project has been going on for several months, because it keeps getting interrupted by other, smaller projects. I make jigsaw puzzles for the grandkids and great-grandkids and their birthdays seem to have come pretty close together for the past couple of months. I enjoy doing it, even when my back was at its worst, I can manage to cut out and finish them without much strain.

We've had so much rain (1¾" yesterday) that I haven't been able to mow the yard, and it's nearly an acre. I use a walk-behind mower, because a rider would simply sink. There are areas that won't support the walk-behind right now. It provides good exercise when I'm able to use it.

Mary has plenty of stuff to keep her busy, too, The most important is staying in touch with her brother and three sisters. They're all on their own with various stages of health issues. Only her brother has any way to get out on his own. Her eldest sister loves to walk, but doesn't drive. She's experiencing some impediments to taking her daily hikes around Watertown. She's the healthiest of the four. All live in some sort of senior residence and the other two sisters do have some health workers who check on them a couple of times a day. We keep hoping they all survive through the worst of the crisis so we can go and visit them again. It's really strange feeling that we can't visit any of them or our extended family even if we want to. For now, they all stay in touch by phone  on almost a daily basis. It does them all good. We're thankful we don't have any life-threatening issues and look forward to tomorrow as we complete each day.

Thanks to all of you for staying in touch through this venue and thanks to Garry for making it possible.

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

What's everybody doing, you ask? Coloring Easter eggs? Nope. Baking hot cross buns? Nope. Eating chocolate bunnies? Nope.This year I'm sewing face masks for the kids. Made a batch two weeks ago; another batch today, with a better pattern. This video was made by a nurse, so that seemed like a good bet:  

                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm_NmpdgWWA

Hoping not to be starting a new holiday tradition. Be safe everyone. 

Sandy Wachs (Oldham)

Happy Easter everyone.  We can't meet in person, but we can stay conncected through our web site.  Thank you Garry for the great penguin picture!  Enjoy reading all your comments.

Everyone stay safe, and remeber to appreicate all that we do have.