Need a list that's right

Ok, need everyone who can spare the time to look at two lists.

1. The list of who we are missing still. We want to try to contact as many classmates as possible. There would be nothing worse than to miss someone, which leads me to the next point.

2. The actual class list, which I have been told is incomplete. Since we used a 87 Quiver, we're missing some folks. If anyone has the actual graduation list somewhere, please email me or Jennie so we can get this right.

"The Orb" is now "Jacob's Well"

Interesting piece in today's online version of the Star about the creation of "Jacob's Well", a replacement for the venerable "Orb" literary magazine.

Just like the Herald, I worked on the "Orb" all four years and learned a lot about not only how to create a publication (something I still do today), but also how to resource projects by raising money.

I still have the "Orbs" I worked on as well as a couple I donated money to after I graduated. Angela Parks always seemed to know mysteriously where I was and when I could be cornered for a donation. I later found out my mother was giving me up when she would run in to AP at Michael's Steak House.

AP long ago retired. She came to my mom's viewing. I had no idea the "Orb" had stopped. Maybe Debbie Penix Maynard can enlighten me when that happened.

Now, a new generation is learning how to run a magazine. I will probably send a check because I know I would not be where I am today without the journalism education I got at Harding.

The below stuff came from the Star's story. Some things never change.

Checks may be made out to Harding High School with “Jacob’s Well” written on the memo line of the check. They may be delivered to Marion Harding High School, 1500 Harding Highway E., Marion, OH 43302. Donors are credited in the back of the publication.

Patron level is $10-25, sponsor is $26-50 and benefactor is $51-100. To receive credit in this year’s issue, the donation must be received by Feb. 22. Publication will be towards the end of the school year. Donors will receive a copy of the publication.

The cost isn't that much. Conside giving back to the arts a little. Most of us have kids who have done their fair share of coloring on walls, scribbling bad poetry in the back of notebooks or shooting odd digital photos that make you say "I don't remember taking that photo".

Mortality

First, let me thank all of you, in the collective sense, for the notes and emails I have received since my mother's death Jan. 4. Watching my father read all of the kind comments really amplified how I think people want to approach life and death. His comments to many of the 200-plus folks who came through the funeral home that night is he treated each day he had with my mom as a blessing. Some of you were among those who stopped by, a bittersweet way to say hello after a long time apart.

Both of my parents dealt with the situation with a lot of dignity. My mom knew her death was coming, but it didn't stop her from enjoying the holidays and spending time with friends and family. My dad approached the whole thing from a place of serenity and calmness. All five of his siblings came, a testament to how my mom enjoyed being around such a large family.

This leads me to another huge family, our class. We have had some folks pass away, a lot more than I think any of us who don't live in Marion are aware. As Jennie and some of the rest of us started going through the list, I was shocked and saddened to see how many had passed or were seriously ill.

Names like Lisa Kegley, Chuck Copeland or Kevin Downing and others left our class rolls way too soon.

Others are very sick like Dean Stiltner who recently entered a nursing home as he has been fighting a serious spinal cord injury. You can catch up with Dean's situation at a Website his and Becky's family has set up at http://www.dean-update.us.

In this same vein, Becky sent me a note today with a link
to Eric Foos' obituary. Eric, who was the year behind ours, apparently passed Saturday.

Think the next time as you think how you don't want to get out of bed (me this morning), want a meeting to end sooner rather than later (me this morning) or get held up t work (me this afternoon) and say a silent thank you that you're still here with us.

Back to town again... not for a purpose I really wanted:<

You'll probably see in the paper on Sunday that my mother passed away Friday. She was 59 and had a long run with cancer the last 15 months or so.

I'll be making my way to Marion on Sunday and will be in town all week. We'll have viewing Tuesday night at Gunders from 4 to 8.

Reunion date set

According to Jennie, looks like July 12th is the date for when we all get together! Put a mark on the wall and looking forward to seeing you all.

Xmas is coming

All,

Many of us may be working our way toward Marion this holiday season. I personally will be slipping across I-70 after running the gauntlet of Washington DC traffic on the Friday before Christmas. I suspect I will need multiple adult beverages after that and trying to deal with family so if anyone wants to meet up during Christmas week, I'm game.

Just drop me a note at gregg.your@gmail.com.

In memoriam

Some of you may already know Valerie Allen passed away over the weekend.

Val was in the class behind ours and a lot of us got to know here and her little sister Tracy by being in band and working on the newspaper staff together.

Val spent a lot of the last several years ill and was working in the city schools as a teacher's assistant.

Something to think about the next time you hug your kids or get ticked off because the kid at Starbucks put two soy shots in and you clearly told him three.

At least you can do those things.