MISSION BAY HIGH SCHOOL

In Latin,Septem means 7, and September should have been the 7th month. But with July and August stuck in there for those Roman emperors, September is now the 9th month. So I always have to count on my fingers to figure out what the number of the month is. Or remember to add two to what I think it should be. Octo (as in octagon, or octopus, or octomom??) is 8, so it is the 10th month; Novem is 9, so it is the 11th, and Decem (as in decade, the decimal system, or decay [just seeing if you are paying attention]) is 10, so now December is the 12th month instead of the 10th. Hope that clears that up.

Well, I am working on this on a momentous day. I wonder how many of us had friends or family members, or friends of friends, who have or had some, even trivial , experiences or connections to what happened on that date.

One really bad day. I had three relatives in Manhattan on that day. For a while, one cousin couldn’t understand why he couldn’t get to his office. Another cousin had to walk almost all the way home to the Bronx. Finally, she got a taxi with a gay man she didn’t know. I don’t know New York, but I guess that was quite a long walk because she mentioned it and she does a lot of walking. I don’t remember the story of the third cousin. It’s possible the story came from one of her friends, but she was in a nearby building.

My cousin, Bill Gilmour, was a nurse at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. He said he was at work when he heard the noise of the first plane hitting the building. He ran outside with some others and then saw the other plane hit the building.

He also said that a woman in his apartment building worked in the tower, but was running late that day, so was not there when the building was hit. Later she was confused and kept trying to find out where she was supposed to go to vote.(It was an election day in NY).

My housekeeper, who has family in Tijuana, had a cousin who worked in the Windows of the World, the restaurant on top of one of the towers. They never found him.

Do you have any stories of how the events on 9/11 affected you or friends or family members? E-mail me and we can share it here. MARIE

We had a slightly smaller group this month than last time, but it was a great group. We were glad to see Bruce Livermore from the class of 1957 back again. A nice surprise was to see the Carolyn ('59) and Jimmy('58) King from Austin, Texas.

Class of 1956: LuAnn Easterly Giegler and husband Don (class of '54 in Ill); Betty Minga Brown; Patsy Davis Lilley; Ray A. Hacecky; David Castle

Class of 1958: Marie Gilmour Davila & husband Bob (class of '55 in Tx); Walter Andersen; Orpha Higley; Jimmy King & wife, Carolyn Ellison King (class of 1959); Pam Priest Lollis & hubby Wayne; Bill Swank & Jeri Lynne Swank; Judi Michael Shacklett & hubby John (class of '57 Grossmont Hi); Pat DeFore; Sheila Mura

Class of 1959: Bill Curtis & wife Mary Lynn Dudley Curtis (class of '62); Rosemary Pleger Jackson; Carolyn Ellison King & hubby Jimmy (class of '58); Ann Greenfield; Christiana Hughes Wagner; Barbara Grayson Bell

Rosemary Pleger Jackson; LuAnn Easterly Geigler Bruce Livermore; Ann Greenfield; Pat DeFore

Pat DeFore; Judi Michael Shacklett; Mary Dudley Curtis Bill Curtis; Jeri Lynne Swank & Bill; Pam Priest Lollis

Pam Lollis; Chrissy Wagner; Wayne Lollis; John Shacklett Bob Davila ; Jimmy King

Jimmy King; Carolyn Ellison King; Orpha Higley Orpha H.; Walter Andersen; David Castle; Ray Hacecky

David; Ray; Don Geigler; Betty Minga Brown; Patsy Lilley Barbara Grayson Bell; Rosemary

Marie Gilmour Davila -caught "on card", I guess" by Walter Andersen. Thanks, Walter. P.S., yes, it was cool in the room.

The story here is that Bob (the one with the purse) was born & bred in New Braunfels, TX; wifey next to him, spent many years in Texas to be near him. When we returned to San Diego and went to the first ever All-50's picnic that we had ever been to, we met Carolyn & Jimmy King who both went to MBHS. But Carolyn was born in New Braunfels, and Jimmy was from Austin. They live in Austin now, but came out for Carolyn's reunion (the class of 1959) and stayed on a week so they could come to the breakfast. They also paid a visit to Jim Yerkey (class of '58) who was in the hospital, but has since been released. Jim and Carolyn returned to Texas Saturday afternoon.

The All-50's Annual Picnic was held on Sunday, September 13, and we had a great day for it, nice and cool under "our" oak tree. For the pictures and to see who showed up...Click here... All-50's Picnic

Carol, who broke her leg on July 3 is doing very well. Her Facebook entry on August 25 says: " Saw my orthopedic surgeon yesterday. He took x-rays and said my bones are healing faster than expected. I can get out of my cast for short walks now! Things are looking up." Good for you Carol. Keep up the good work!

in and still able to get around enough to do fun things like visit Linda (Woods Odening). See how blessed I am?

I talked to Betty today, and she said that she was going to chemo only about every three weeks now, but the chemo is stronger.
She is still sticking it out though and is very upbeat and realistic about her disease. She is really fun to talk to, but I didn't get a chance to ask any more about her "new" kitchen. Keep Betty in your thoughts and prayers.

*****************************************************************************************************

Jim had returned to the hospital for an infection in his other foot, but he has now been released, and is at his son's home now. He has had some visits from classmates Pat Shea, who lives nearby, and from Jimmy King & his wife, Carolyn, who were here for the 1959 50th Reunion. Jim Yerkey had been an usher at Jimmy and Carolyn's wedding. Here's hoping that he keeps improving.

Pat is not in our class, but he & wife, Flo, come to the monthly breakfasts whenever they can.

We recently learned (actually at the August breakfast-from Pat himself), that he had suffered a cardiac arrest in March, at the bus stop at Mission Blvd. & Opal St. They still don't know who saw him and called 911, but he was taken to Scripps in La Jolla. A couple of stents and a pace-maker later, and he is back to the breakfasts, and hopefully to the picnic this Sunday. Flo said that he is feeling fine now, and is back to doing his thing with the Elks Club. Good going, Pat. We are pulling for you.

Since graduation there have been floods, hurricanes, fires...and, maybe the most disruptive of all, moving. If somehow you are missing any of your beloved Taroga yearbooks, all is not lost.

David Castle has 1955-1960 yearbooks on individual CD's. They are $25.00 each, which includes shipping and handling.

The annual All-50's picnic will be held this Sunday, September 13th at De Anza Cove. The time is from about 10 AM until about 3 PM.

Don't forget to bring your food, drinks (non-alcoholic only), chairs, sunscreen, camera, etc. Hope to see you there.

********************************************************************************

The Burn Institute is offering to install free smoke alarms for seniors living in San Diego County. You must be 55 or older, own your own home and not have a working smoke alarm. The program is available year-round, and installations are booked on a first-come, first-served basis. To find out more, call Gwen Lammers at the Burn Institute at (858) 541-2277, ext. 15, or e-mail her at glammers@burninstitute.org .

A series of free gardening classes is being held at the nurseries of classmate, Walter Andersen, in San Diego and Poway on Saturday mornings. For the Schedule of classes, please click on the flower above.

Please let me know if there is anything you want to add to the page, pictures, household hints :) , etc. Marie