James A "Jim" White

Roger Carl

Many kind wishes for all those sneaking up on the big 75 like me!

I think often of the good time seeing so many in Roswell last year.  I have had a couple of smaller 'body shop' repairs since the big one last year and all three have been significant improvements.  So much so, that we have talked ourselves into another little trip across the water.  A little apprehensive about airplanes and airports, but if we are delayed--so be it.  We have always enjoyed the low-key time of self-enforced leisure time in foreign realms.  Like most old men, I don't say a lot when I am home, but we do a lot more talking and remembering good times when its just the two of us.  As we have gotten older, we also are more likely to strike up conversations with hosts in restaurants and B&Bs.  We will be returning to spots in Greece where so many of those in the tourist industry speak excellant English.  So many have relatives in USA or have visited here that it is easy to have a few minutes of mutual admiration.  It really is a big happy world when we get to smile and joke with folks who are more like us than different.

Roger

William Samuel "Bill" Sloan

Greetings all,  Margie and I are currently dry and safe in Lakeland. My opoinion is we will weather Ian okay. We have stored up water and broken out the 2 burner propane camp stove which has been unused in the camping "box" for 10 yesars - just in case we have no power for a couple of days! Thanks Jim White for reminding me I should let people know we are fine.

I will provide a short story of our spring sojourn to Spain (April), Italy (May), and Germany (June). Spain -  flew to Madrid then off to Bilbao and San Sebastian Basque country. Very beautiful countrside, Great family restaurant close to Bilbao airport Gozkoetxe Jatexea, Goskoetxe Bidea No 1, Loiu, Spain 946.673.647.  Had a 50 Euro lesson on not tracking down the well hidden parking stations in Bilbao. We used Eurail passes for the 3 months. Back to Madrid with side trips to Toledo and Segovia, then Seville for most of Holy Week. In a BNB old town Seville pleasantly surprised by the 6 or 7 parades each day by each church/ religious organization from 2 in the afternoon to 2 in the morning with drums, trumpets, religious memorabilia and thousands of cheering people crowding the narrow streets.

Then to Malaga and the King's Way (catwalk) and side trip to Gibraltor which is very different from my last visit in 1985, Grenada and the Alhambra, Valencia was really special. I visited there in 1884 and 1986. Tasted my 1st mango sorbet (more later). Lladro Museum and factory, cathedral is special to me among all of the magnificent cathedrals in Spain. On to Barcelona and the Cathedral La Sagrada Familia among many other sights.

A planned short stop at Figueres on 29 April enroute to Italy turned into a 4 days stay due to the only challenge we had with Eurail passes and ticket reservation mix ups.. But this did allow us to travel to Cadaques and Port Ligat to see Salvador Dali's museum and home! St. Pertersburg Florida has a Daali Museum so we were very glad we "found" the opportunity for this side trip.

In closing for today - mango sorbet! I evaluate italian restaurants on how well they prepare and serve calamari - so now I have my referen e tool (taste) for ice cream/ gelato shops! Returning to central Florida this summer for mango season I have started preparing my own. The reecipe I really like is to add 3 or 4 tablespoons of Grand Marnier to the not quite frozen sorbet so the alcohol keeps the sorbet from freezing into a solid block. It also helps the preparation if the cook (blenderer) partakes a pre- and post- jigger of the Marnier.

More about Itlay later.  Hope you all are well! Bill

James A "Jim" White

FLORIDA NEWS:  Thank you, BILL SLOAN, for (1) letting all know you are okay and (2) letting us know a little about your travels. You, ROGER CARL and others have really had foreign trips all of us wish to experience. Okay, here is the news on Florida classmates. Actually, we only have news on two: BILL SLOAN who has already written and BONNIE KING, CHIP KING'S widow who MIKE TURNER and I both checked on. Bonnie is doing fine although the water just raised higher than her boat dock for the 2nd time (as of 2:00pm EST).

Bonnie and Chip King about three months before Chip died. Bonnie, like Chip, has personality to the ceiling. They were competing radio hosts when they met. Bonnie once told me that when I am in Palm Springs, look up the Prince of Palm Springs and tell him "Hi". One night this entertainer (sorry, I forgot his name) that bills himself as The Prince of Palm Springs was entertaining at the American Legion Post we were at. He was up on the stage so I walked by with a napkin that read "Bonnie King says Hi." He jumped off the stage, came to me, and immediately dialed Bonnie on Facebook Messenger Video and she answered. It was really funny and thrilling to all of us to have connected.

MIKE TURNER, who lives in San Diego, and I connected twice while I was in Yuma (where I also met with MARY MAULDIN GARCIA). Mike lived near Chip in Roswell and they were lifelong friends, as he and I are.

As for the other class members that are FLORIDA RESIDENTS, I tried to call all of them but no answers or disconnected numbers. If you know them or where they are, please advise us.

JOHN SMITH

SHARON DAUGHENBAUGH SMITH

NANCY GARDINER

GEORGE GARDNER

RAY GRIM

EDDIE MARQUESS

KAREN McCARTY FINK MESINNA chose to exit Florida before the hurricane for a 2nd Honeymoon Trip (in two months) and is in far northeast United States.

BILL SLOAN already reported in

SCOTT ALDEN (DECEASED)

Hey, everyone, when BILL SLOAN moved across town recently, he changed his information on our website. Please follow his example. We had somewhere near 150-200 cards we mailed for the 55-year reunion that were returned due to wrong addresses. Please check yours. Everyone keep safe and healthy.

James A "Jim" White

MARY HUSEMOLLER and her husband, BILL, were kind enough to come visit Kathy and me at the Wines of the San Juan (Turley, NM). We had a wonderful visit and since they had been under-the-weather recently, were glad to go out in the country for a glass of wine and to dance. I have some videos with MARY getting jiggy which I may post sometime. :-)

JIM - MARY (still looking too darn cute for her age) and BILL.\

Yes, MARY and BILL enjoying the two bands we had that day. 

James A "Jim" White

HOW EMBARRASSING!!  Kathy and I visited RODNEY WESTENBARGER in Idaho recently and he showed me a couple pictures of TERRY BOONE and I being weird. I am not certain which reunion, probably the 20th, or WHY we had our shirts off, but here we are in all our goofyness.  Do you have any embarrasing photos to post?

Jim showing he is fatter than Terry. Even Craig Sutherland in the background had to turn his head.

Rodney Westenbarger - Jim White - Terry Boone trying to give the "stink" eye.

James A "Jim" White

James A "Jim" White

With help from Elizabeth Gwartney a few years back, I want to say Happy Birthday Terry Boone. We loved our time in Las Vegas (i.e. Cliff Sanders, Jim White, Jim Brown and Terry Boone). 

Dennis R. Hunter

Jim doesn't look like the right depends are fitting correctly ... HA!!

Richard Marcum

Jim, in response to your question as to why there is not more responses, let me put out my personal reasons for not engaging this site more.  In spite of the fact that you have done a great job bringing back memories.  The problem is that many of our memories of those day are not good.   Did I have any issues with my fellow students at RHS?  No! not one?  But I resided in Roswell for only 9 months.  My father was hired by the new and worst football coach in the world...Jim Eddy.  And like Jim Eddy, my father was a complete and total looser. My friends, Jon Twibell, Paul McDonald, Louie Bagwell, Gary Sedio and many others who played on the RHS Coyote'  football team can attest to that fact.  Just ask any of them about Camp Sparetime.  I have not one single good-memory of my father...I hated the SOB...and the Viet Nam war...and the draft...by Pres. Jack Kennedy...Pres. Lyndon Johnson...etc.  Let me go on the good side of things, I met some amazing teachers...Mrs Loraine English tops my list.  Classmate John Wolfe, (who I watched live on stage in Dallas, Tx  in Evita, some 25 years later) and I were in the same English class when she walked us through Shakesphere's MacBeth  One day as she was lecturing she looked at the trash can and saw that it was over-flowing...so she stepped into it and start stamping in down, while giving her lecture.  During a class exploration of MaBeth, she assigned me to do the voices of the three witches..  "double bubble...toll an trouble....".   I tried to make the weirdest old witch sound that I could.   Within a week Karen Funk agreed to go out with me.  Those memories are great.  Getting totally and unconsciously knocked out when we played El Paso Ysleta High School on the very first kickoff,..and my faither insisting that I get back into the  game, so as to prove that His son was not a coward are what plagues me to this day..  I am sure many of you have similar mercy conflicts.  But such is life.

Rick

James A "Jim" White

Susan Slepicka (Halvorson)

I,m alive and well ..I don,t keep in contact but I do like to know what is going on with you all..stay well and I do have good memories of Roswell and all of you.. 

Friends from long ago

Susan

James A "Jim" White

A super Thank You to SUSAN SLEPICKA HALVORSON checking in a letting us know she is alive. While in Denver, Kathy and I have tried to contact Susan. JUDI ADAMS MORRIS and ELIZABETH GWARNEY LOWNEY also tried to find her in downtown Denver towers. Susan, and everyone else, please update your profile and contact information. We had nearly 200 reunion announcements returned to us for incorrect addresses.

Once again, my most trusted obituary finder, JON PELLEGRINI, has helped us find and report on the passing of MARY ROSE ESCAMILLA GRAHAM in 2020. Thank you, Jon. If you knew "Rose", please tell us a story.

LAURIE SHUEY ANDERSEN has relocated but not certain where, for certain. She has been terribly busy trying to find a new care facility to move, keeping her home up to date, having her husband's Sunbeam Tiger restored, trying to bury her husband at sea, and the continual health problems and billing corrections that must be made. Why don't you try it sometime with only the limited use of one arm? Laurie, or prayers are with you.

Yes, we wait with baited breath to hear if RICK MARCUM has a new novel coming out or if one of his has been adopted for a limited TV series.

And where did that dang TERRY BOONE go recently? Was it Peru, Chile or someplace else far down south? JIM BROWN decided to stay and work on his museum rather than go on this fun trip with Terry.

I phoned to get an update on JILL WEBSTER REED but have not heard back. Her alzheimer's struggle has really been a battle for Jill and Harold.

Kathy and I are in Yuma for one more week. Between physician appointments and more, we (sadly) could not connect with MARY MAULDIN GARCIA. MIKE TURNER, we will be in El Centro for one day (Nov 8) IF that is close enough for you to come and visit. Of course, BARBARA BUZBEE has been hard at work to help us figure out our airport delimma when we get to Palm Springs. Thank you, Barbara, and looking forward to seeing you again. We will be in Illinois (Scott AFB) to visit with our AF son, Kevin, who just returned from deployment. Kevin and Sandy think we are just coming to see our 5 darling, cute, smart and fun grandkids that he fathered. Do your children think the same, you only visit to see the grandchildren? Then we fly to Seattle to see our other 3 grandchildren .... er ... I mean our other two children.  :-)

Christmas will be in Palm Springs this year, then Quartzsite for 3 days (if you know what that is about), then New Years in Yuma before we start the long haul to visit MARDI GONYEA NICKLIN (near San Antonio) then onto Galveston Island for the spring where we hope to catch up with BOB and KAREN REAM, LOUIS BAGWELL, BARBY MITCHELL STAGNER, KAREN PATTERSON NICHOLS, RHONDA BERNING, HERKY VEACH and a few more classmates who I can picture now but with my mind, do not recall their names. Why don't you drop the class a note and let us know what is going on with you.

James A "Jim" White

Happy Birthday KAREN MOORE WILSON, NANCY TRAYLOR NIVENS and ROGER PRICE.

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R. E. Herky Veatch

Jim White, I want to thank you for keeping everyone abreast on the goings and comings of all our classmates. It is only since we are getting up in age that we need to go back to our upbringing. 

Love you and Kathy. Can't wait to see you this spring. We found a petter place to meet here in Kemah. I know you two will like it. It does get loud!

Herky

Roger Carl

I agree completely with Herky --  Jim has done a Herculean job trying to rally this group of wayward cats!!

Our first big outing in three years  Bo Greece was a big success.  No problems in airports and no encounter with the Covid monster.  We loved the food, the people and the sites.  It may be the last time with a rent car since most rental companies don't deal with those of us who are now mostly at that magic 75-year mark.

Thinking about driving in foreign countries using a GPS, Google Maps, prompts me to get on a little soapbox.  Google Maps changed everthing when it became available.  It was wonderful to not need the detailed road Atlas and a stack of Michelin maps.  Just look it up, program it in and away we go.  Ninety-plus percent of the time, that works and all is well. 

But there are times that I regret being so trustful of its guidance.  One of those times on this trip we were beginning to worry a bit as we slowly drove on a rough, one lane, partially-paved track through an olive grove in the big middle of nowhere.  It probaby was the shortest, or most fuel efficient route, but please just give me the option to stay on paved roads with a center stripe. 

A few years ago we ended up in a small Italian village where the street just kept getting narrower.  The stone walls made us fold in the rearview mirrors and then we had to just stop-seeing that it was still getting tighter.  Then I had to try backing out without the side mirrors. but fortunately a couple of amused local residents were happy to assist me with smiles and hand signals.  It cost $200 for the extra scratches on the bumpers.

So anyway, I will get off that little soapbox and just say it really is great when you survive life's little challenges-isn't it?

Safe travels,

Roger

Terry Michael Boone

Roger,

I can relate to your experience driving in a foreign country and trusting your GPS.  I was in the Lake District of England a few years ago and wanted to go see Hadrian's Wall-a northeasterly direction.  The trouble is there was no direct route, so I just took off trusting my Garmin.  After a while the two-lane blacktop turned onto a gravel road.  I was driving along when the gravel road disappeared and I suddenly realized I was on a small dirt path in a field surrounded by sheep.  I figured I had taken a wrong turn and was now lost, but decided to continue following the Garmin directions.  I drove about 5mph up and down hills for about 10 minutes, occasionally honking my horn to get the sheep to move off the path, and eventually came to a black top road and recognized a town that was not too far from where I was at.  All ended up good-besides getting to Hadrian's Wall, I got an unexpected adventure!

Jim White, 

We all owe you a debt of gratitude for all the work you do in keeping the class informed and together.  You are appreciated.

Please don't retire!

James A "Jim" White

James A "Jim" White

James A "Jim" White

James A "Jim" White

James A "Jim" White

Dennis R. Hunter

First let me say thanks for the Birthday "Shout Out" ... getting closer (next year) to that ripe old age of 3/4 of a century is a milestone that many of us Veterans don't get to!

On Veterans Day 2022, let us all reach out and say "Thanks for your service" to the millions of living Veterans today from as far back as WWII and including many from the Korean War and of course the Vietnam War.  However we have many that are Veterans of the most recent ones like Gulf, Iraq and Afganistan War's.  When the World had needed us, the US and it's allies have always made sure they are there to support FREEDOM!  And please, take this day to also pray for those that are still fighting or supporting their coutries like Ulkraine in conflicts/wars that were not of their making! 

Happy Birthday Sharon too!!!

Sharon Wishard (Christian)

Jim thank you for the Happy Birthday wish, and to say I enjoyed doing lth 50th Class Reunion. I Wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving!  Happy Birthday, Dennis!

Karen McCarty (Messina)

Just a short note to classmates to let you know we had no damage on the East coast of Florida from the tropical storm Nicole. We had winds up to 40 mph with lots of rain but nothing of substantial damage. It took more of a toll on our dog who decided she did not want to go out in the wind and rain to go potty. Fortunately, Amazon had delivered rain gear the day before so the day was saved!  My heart and prayers go out to the people on the east coast of Florida who lost homes due to wind and storm surge.  Always difficult to cope when a home is lost even if insurance covers most of the loss.  Hopefully this season of hurricanes and storms is over!