I want to thank all of you for the rights to crash. I had such fun, particularly love that Friday night and the setup Saturday allowed for so many more casual conversations to take place. I'm still coming off of the reunion high and now hope for 3 days of sleep. Susan, Sharon, Teddy, Penny and I started the planning conversation for our follow up next year. I hope all of you will consider coming to enhance our gathering. If you're on Facebook, Susan Wakefield Burchett has already posted her photos. I say: KEEP 'UM COMING! I sincerely hope to see y'all around BEFORE any future reunions. xo, Lisa Steed

Lisa, I am so glad that all of you 75'ers joined us. It really helped make it a special time. I've always wanted to include 73 and 75 especially and this was the perfect year to even expand on that some. So many from the classes of 69 thru 79 had the opportunity to hear Odessa perform back in the day. They are so awesome still!
Thanks, Lisa, for all your help with the Silent Auction! It was a huge success and I think got some folks together in a fun way.
The decorating and other informal gatherings are always a blast, so I hope more will think about being in Nac for Homecoming weekend each year. We do the football game, Shawn's place, Sat lunch, then Sat evening at Banita Creek Hall each year, so let's plan on it this fall. And it is lots cooler!
As you could see from the slideshow, I came across many of our teachers' and parents' final resting place when I was at Sunset to photograph Dave's tombstone. I thought it would be nice also if those of us with folks and teachers at Sunset Cemetery wanted to go over and put some flowers out this fall also.
Oh my gosh, here I am already planning another get together! Somebody stop her!!
I will def help y'all with your reunion. Just tell me what you need me to do. I think you will def get some takers from 74 to be guests at your reunion too. Many classes are moving their reunions to the fall, but we like to do the summer reunion and then do homecoming ALSO!!!
Thanks again to Lisa and Susan for the great pix they gave me. Lisa gave me a really special one and I will work on it with photoshop and put it on our site today. You will get goosebumps when you see it.
Lisa, thanks also for the special surprise you gave me. That is too too much. I will treasure it always. It's going on my wall of honor at work when I go back tomorrow!
Love you guys. Class of 75 rocks too!!

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone involved with putting the reunion together—especially Jan. I know how much work that had to go into it, and you all did a fantastic job.

I also wanted to say that I enjoyed seeing and talking to everyone that I got a chance to.

Unlike most of you, this was my first reunion, and since I didn’t graduate, it has been a few months over thirty-seven years since I saw most that attended. I didn’t know quite a few, and quite a few didn’t remember me.

Fortunately, I went to a get-together at Shawn’s last year and that lessened the anxiety a little, but I must confess I was extremely nervous. I gave the keynote address to the Mystery Writers of Americas convention last year in New York and I wasn’t that nervous.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I also appreciate every one making her feel welcome.

If anyone wants to get in touch with me, I am on My Space and Face book under John Foxjohn.

Also, my web site is www.johnfoxjohnhome.com

My e-mail address is johnfoxjohn@yahoo.com

Hello All!

It's been a week since we began gathering in our beloved little town and I want to take this opportunity to say thanks again to all of you who were there. And to say again to those who couldn't be there how much we missed you.

I appreciate the kind words from all of you, but YOU are all the reason this reunion was a success. I can order the barbecue, arrange for a venue, and throw some pictures together along with a few Jimmy songs, but it takes all of you coming together with your sweet spirits and encouraging, accepting attitudes towards each other to make it a true reunion.

From the minute Joe Weaver showed up on the 6th floor on Friday night to the coaches and Mrs. Smith-Harvey arriving on Saturday night, it was all just so special for me.

And TERRY GERMAN, or Bob Willis as he is apparently now known, what a treat to see this guy after all these years.

Robin, you truly astound me with your all-around zest for life and wonderful story-telling ways. The dumpster dive will go down as one of my all-time fave Robin stories.

And to answer John's question about Louie Gohmert--he was my Sunday School teacher at Green Acres and Cal and I have been friends with him and Kathy for many years now. When Jimmy told me last summer that he was going to DC to lobby against illegal song downloading I knew he and Louie had to meet. And when I found out Louie was going to be in Nac over the weekend during our reunion, I knew I had to invite him to give a special presentation to Odessa. So, I'm really not a miracle worker, we just lucked out on the timing there.

And I did invite Charlie Wilson also, but he sent his regrets. Talk about a cool photo op if he and Louie both had been there! Oh well, Louie was the first to tell me when he left that he would be there in 5 years, so y'all don't let me forget to invite him. And maybe Charlie will come in 2014 too!

Odessa--Dickey, Don, Jimmy, Ronnie--you guys were awesome. I can't remember a performance I've ever witnessed that was so special and meant so much to so many people. I can't even begin to say thanks enough to all of you. And Monte, as some of us have said on Facebook, we missed you! Maybe just one more performance with all five of you in 2014????

To Cathy Sanders, Mike P, Garry and Evelyn, Jimmy, and Terry German, all who traveled -- I hope it was worth it.

Cathy, you and your husband are so cute and I'm glad you got to come home again. You look so awesome and are still just as sweet as ever.

Mike, you are truly 'the right stuff' as they say and I couldn't be more proud that you are in my family tree.

Garry and Evelyn, y'all are just too sweet together and I am so glad you found each other. I hope Evelyn enjoyed our little neck of the woods and that y'all will get to come home for Homecoming each fall. Can't wait to see her pix. She's my girl with that camera!!

Jimmy, what can I say? You are truly a blessing to so many in our class and you get to write songs that in many ways speak of your growing up in a small town. So, vicariously we can all feel special through your music and your appreciation for our upbringing and roots. To those of you who don't know, the song on the video that I took its title from "Was It That Good" was written and sung by Jimmy. The story behind the song: last winter I was working on an article about him for the Daily Sentinel and the NHS Alumni Assoc. He tells it that we were talking so much about the old days, that he wrote that song about those days. So, that's really a song about all of us. Now, Jason Aldean or Kenny Chesney just needs to record it and we could all say, "That song was written about our high school days." And, yes, I remember, and it was that good, Jimmy!

Terry German, how special to see you again after all these years. It took Odessa reuniting to get you there, but gosh, were we all glad to see you again.

Many, many of you traveled from Dallas, places in Texas and Louisiana, and I say thanks for your efforts and hope your hotels treated you well. We loved the 6th floor and plan to always stay there whenever we have our get togethers from now on.

To our locals in Nac, so glad to see all of you. Help us get the word out that we will be getting together often and we'd love to see any and all whenever we do. Homecoming is Oct 2, so let's start planning on it right now. The football game, Shawn's after, perhaps a visit to Sunset Cemetery to take flowers on Sat morning, lunch at Clear Springs, a quick shopping trip to Gail's cute little store, then party at Banita Creek Hall on Sat night. Oct 2 and 3, be there!!!!

And in keeping with the 'let's get together more often sentiment' Bob Peppard called me yesterday, saying they have just finished a lakehouse on Lake Tyler and inviting us all to get together there BEFORE THE SUMMER IS OVER! So let's pick a date and plan on it before he and Lindy change their minds. I'm thinking August........

Shawn, you rock! I love your little corner of the world and enjoy our visits there each time I'm in Nac. Y'all go by there whenever you get a chance--they are open 24-7 so you can get a taco any time the mood strikes. I think they even stayed open last fall as Ike roared through! Your staff, the food, everything was just awesome. I know it was hard work for you and I for one cannot say thank you enough to you for hosting us.

Cindy, the decorations were beautiful. The owner of Banita Creek was heard saying he didn't know the place could look so good. You outdid yourself with the placemats and napkins. To Cris, Rose, Lisa, Karen L, Merry Ann, all who made centerpieces, helped decorate or just admired how awesome it looked--thank you all!

And Judy--my oh my--you outdid yourself with organizing the silent auction. It was so much more than I've ever seen done at a reunion and was so much more successful because of your efforts. Thanks to your team--your sister, your friend, Lisa S, Gae, Carol, Gail, Karen L, Brenda G, all who donated and all who bid. Wow is all I can say. I will be contacting the NHS Alumni Assoc next week to find out how to get them our $1000 scholarship money honoring our deceased classmates. And we now have seed money left for our next reunion! Thanks to you and your team again.

To my favorite classmate, Cal, thanks to you for being so supportive in all this. I couldn't have worked on the slideshow, made plans, set up this website, traveled here and there for meetings, done any of this without your help and understanding. From keeping my computers going, to taking the kids out to dinner, to just sitting and listening to me vent when I encountered some issue, to watching that video over and over too, you are my rock in all things. I love you.

I guess that's about all for now. I'm heading to Dallas to take pix at a friend's wedding today and tomorrow. It's an OUTDOOR wedding, so y'all think about me tomorrow at 4, while you're lounging by the pool or in your nice air-conditioned houses, or on the nice cool lake. It's supposed to be 103 in Dallas!!

Thanks to all of you who took pix at the reunion. If you'll send me discs I can put them on tylerpaper.com and/or walmart.com and we can all share them. I will put mine on walmart.com next week for those of you who are having trouble downloading from the tylerpaper site.

Send me a date for a Tyler weekend at the Peppard's lakehouse and we'll plan it. Bob says I just have to get some folks there--they will do the rest, so I'm all about that!

If I've missed someone know that I love you all and can't wait to see you again soon.

Jan

THE CLASS REUNION . . .

Every 5 years, as summertime nears,
An announcement arrives in the mail,
A reunion is planned; it'll be really grand;
Make plans to attend without fail.

I'll never forget the first time we met;
We tried so hard to impress.
We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars,
And wore our most elegant dress.

It was quite an affair; the whole class was there.
It was held at a fancy hotel.
We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined,
And everyone thought it was swell.

The men all conversed about who had been first
To achieve great fortune and fame.
Meanwhile, their spouses described their fine houses
And how beautiful their children became.

The homecoming queen, who once had been lean,
Now weighed in at one-ninety-six.
The jocks who were there had all lost their hair,
And the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks.

No one had heard about the class nerd
Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon;
Or poor little Jane, who's always been plain;
She married a shipping tycoon.

The boy we'd decreed 'most apt to succeed'
Was serving ten years in the pen,
While the one voted 'least' now was a priest;
Just shows you can be wrong now and then.

They awarded a prize to one of the guys
Who seemed to have aged the least.
Another was given to the grad who had driven
The farthest to attend the feast.

They took a class picture, a curious mixture
Of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties.
Tall, short, or skinny, the style was the mini;
You never saw so many thighs.

At our next get-together, no one cared whether
They impressed their classmates or not.
The mood was informal, a whole lot more normal;
By this time we'd all gone to pot.

It was held out-of-doors, at the lake shores;
We ate hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans.
Then most of us lay around in the shade,
In our comfortable T-shirts and jeans.

By the 40th year, it was abundantly clear,
We were definitely over the hill.
Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed,
And be home in time for their pill.

And now I can't wait; they're setting the date;
Our 60th is coming, I'm told.
It should be a ball, they've rented a hall
At the Shady Rest Home for the old.

Repairs have been made on my hearing aid;
My pacemaker's been turned up on high.
My wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled;
And I've bought a new wig and glass eye.

I'm feeling quite hearty, and I'm ready to party
I'm gonna dance 'til dawn's early light.
It'll be lots of fun; But I just hope that there's one
Other person who can make it that night.

Author Unknown