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Page High School Reunion – 55 Years Later
Posted on September 19, 2019 by Dr. Steve Martin
Ever thought about high school and all the “stuff” that went on back then? This Saturday the Page High School class of 1964 will gather for their 55th reunion. WOW, where have all those years gone… so rapidly. Seems like only yesterday we were being welcomed to this new school by all the teachers and principal Luther Medlin. Everything was all dressed up for us nervous newbies. It was the beginning of a very special time which changed our lives… as we “matured” from sophomores to seniors.
Before long we settled into some sort of routine… meaning we could find our classes and get there on time. We started making new friends, hanging out with old ones and trying our best to fit into this new adventure. Things began to gel when we bought our first Page shirt, participated in the pep rallies, went to our first football game, the first basketball game and received our first grades… now we can do this high school stuff. But more than that we started building our identity as a Page Pirate. Remember the Beach Boys singing “Be True to Your School”? The pride in that identity only grew stronger as we moved through the years, made more friends, and enjoyed more and more being a student at Page High School. As juniors we could go off campus for lunch… making those mad dashes to What-A-Burger or McDonalds. Shirley got a pile of speeding tickets at lunch.
There were, to say the least, extracurricular activities. And I am not talking about sports, band, or other organized activities. I am talking about the cruise’n which took place at the the Boar and Castle and moved to the Hot Shoppes and back. Most of us liked to go there and hang out… trying to see a girl… or a guy… or be with our boy friend or girl friend. The pan rolls and butter steak sandwiches were their speciality to many. And who could forget the “Castle Sauce”. Keep a bottle in the fridge all the time. But most of all many were car people back in that day. Some had some very special cars, rods, sport cars, glasspack mufflers were the music of the cruise. So sad to know today that the Boar and Castle and the Hot Shoppes are no longer around. Nor is the old Guilford Dairy where we would get those wonderful banana splits, hot dogs and milkshakes.
For some of us our future wives or husbands were found at Page and/or the Hot Shoppes or the Boar and Castle. For others relations fell apart after graduation and people moved on to work or college. But some people remained in our lives to this day… very special best friends. Out of all the happenings in and around high school, relationships built and kept are the height of that adventure.
Now that we look back on those days, there is much we can’t remember. Shirley was reading through the notes in her annuals tonight and said she could not remember some of the stuff they were talking about. On our 50th reunion we remembered and honored those of our class who had passed on. Way to many. The 5 years since we have lost even more. Some of our graduating class have their names inscribed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, DC… many before they were even 21 years old. Very sad and so unnecessary.
Since our 50th reunion a group of ladies, we have named the “Page Ladies Lunch Bunch”, have gathered most every month to go out to eat lunch. It is a time of remembering the old days, but mostly it is a group of Page ladies who care about each other and meet to support one another through all the happenings of life. It helps us remember those days, to feel young again, and to join our life stories together. High school was about much more than education… it was about who we were and would become… who we cared about and who cared for us. It was about then and now… and what has gone on all the years in-between.
Each of us will come to this reunion with different memories and expectations. Hopefully it will be a time of good remembrances that will leave a smile on our face and a warm fuzzy in our heart. See you there.
GO PIRATES!!!
Grace and Peace
Steve Martin & Shirley Bruce Martin
A special thanks to those who produced the graphics I am using.
Send this blog to as many of your Page friends as you can… so that more may take that little step to be present and enjoy the renewing of friends.
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Up Close and Smelly
Posted on September 19, 2019 by Dr. Steve Martin
The image of God as a shepherd runs throughout scripture. What exactly does a shepherd do? It’s a job description that the ancient Israelites would have been familiar with, as would much of the world throughout history, when society was more agrarian. But in today’s world of agribusiness, when only a few farmers spend time on the land or with animals, we have become increasingly distant from this image.
Very few animals get to wander in green pastures these days. Instead they lead miserable short lives in factory farms. This image of God as a shepherd calls us back to a better way, a more beautiful life for the sheep and the shepherd.
I picture an Irish man with gray-flecked hair, wellington boots, a worn tweed jacket and a wool cap. He has a few sheep dogs running around his heels until given some subtle signal to run ahead. The sheep, from a distance, are white fluffy dots in a country landscape, little clouds in a sea of verdant green grass, the quaint local pub rising from the distance like an oasis. That’s the fantasy.
But get up close and sheep are a different matter. They are not white but usually dirty and soiled. Their coats are not soft and fluffy so much as tangled and matted. You wouldn’t want to snuggle with them. They smell. They make weird noises. Lambs are cute. Sheep not so much.
But if the shepherd is God, then you know who we are. The sheep. Lovely from a distance, but messy, smelly and a bit dim-witted when you get up close. And yet, God gets up close. God came to earth in human form, to once again be a shepherd who walks with us through all the valleys of life.
Dear Lord, we understand as a shepherd cares for his sheep, we are loved. Lord, help us love this earth and the creatures we share it with. Let us return to green pastures, in and through Jesus. Amen.
Grace and Peace
Steve
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The Journey 