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Today I was informed of the passing of a former classmate, teammate and friend from the Class of 1970.  It saddened my heart when I read the email from another classmate of 1970.  It was hard for me to grasp the loss.  Separation does make it easier to avoid thoughts but when confronted  with the news in an email it hits pretty much right on the mark.

It  was last month that I visited with Rex Rockhill and his wife Pam right here in Texas.  They were kind enough to stop and have a cup a coffee at a resturaunt here in Harker Heights.  Two hours have not passed quicker nor was there any problem keeping up the conversation.  I had a wonderful time.   I can only hope that Rex and Pam did as well.  Tripping down the memory lane with former classmates can be fun.  It is in stark contrast to the feeling imparted when considering the death of a classmate in an email.

I cannot remember the first meeting of my friend but I am sure it was in the fall of 1964.  We attended school in Lester,  Iowa that year.  Gosh it was an eye opening experience for this tow headed Norwegian.  We four communities congregating in Lester.  Lotsof new  faces from Alvord and Lester and the new kids from Larchwood and Inwood gathered and became used to each other.  Sam Moser was the big kid of the class.  Tall and dark headed he stood out amoungst the many blonde’s of the class.  Gene Bonyage was another member of that class.  Both would go down in the West Lyon annuls as great athletes but in my estimation these two did what I was unable to do. Stay married to there high school sweethearts.    They have remained married to the same person through these last 40 years.   Kudos to both couples.  I managed to stay married for a while but it took three times.  You know what they say.?  Third times the charm.

Anyway getting emails is a wonderful way to communicate.  IT is fast and simple.  When I opened the email on my computer I knew that it was from Sharon Moser.  I had a smile on my face.  She works in the elementary library where my nephew’s children go to school.  It is always nice to hear of good comments about the young boys.     But this email took the smile off my face quick.  Sharon informed me of our friend , Gene Bonyage,  had passed a day or so ago at his home with family and friends at his side.  He had fought the battle against colon cancer  and it had finally taken its toll on his body.  I am a cancer survivor myself and I have such tremendous empathy for the family of the departed.

Gene was a gregarious sort during high school.  Everyone liked Gene.  He was class President many times,  Emcee of several shows during high school ,  and part of the homecoming royalty our senior year.  He went on to graduate from college raise a family with his wife,  He went on to receive a Masters and a PhD. as the years progressed.  He ended up being a department head at a regional hospital.    I am sure that he was stellar in his work.  It seems so shallow for me to say that I will miss Gene.  I had not seen him since graduation.  That does not mean that I did not think about him.  He was a leading member of the 1969 football team that went 9 wins and 0 losses .  Sam Moser at his tackle position would open the hole and Gene would run through it.   I can say that I was a member of the team that had Gene Bonyage and Sam Moser.  Two of my heroes in life.  They did what I could not do.  They held a job and did not quit.  Both of these men are honorable men.

I have been thinking often of how I would like to be remembered after I die.   Well, if someone remembers me in the same light that I remember Gene Bonyage  then I would rest comfortably.  Here is to Gene Bonyage, a man that made my honorable men’s list, may he rest in peace and be with our Lord in heaven.

Comments (0) Jan 28 2010

I had mentioned previously that I was going to write about people that are to be admired.  Someone to look up to and consider a role model.  I could start off with my Father since he is the first role model.  I could also use my uncles on both sides of the family as role models.  I could also use the Father’s of all of my friends as role models as well….but I won’t.  Not today anyway .. today I am going to write about a man I met in a parking lot.  A man who looks 60 years old, acts like he is 40 years old, and is actually closer to 80 years old.

It was in the spring here in Texas when Willie and I first met.  I had started walking Kellen,  our son, the four blocks to the school in the morning and back again when school dismissed to give me some exercise, to build up some stamina,  and get out into the elements as a much needed break from the confines of the house while in recovery from cancer treatments.  My wife. Ellen,  had been taking Kellen to school in previous years when I was in Alaska working construction.   As I approached the school that afternnon  for the first time I am hailed by the school crossing guard.  She is a friendly sort named Ellen,  as it happens.  She is a wonderful little lady that is gregarious by nature.  Typical German stock.  It was here at the door of the pickup that the crossing guard was sitting in at the corner of the school parking lot that I met my friend Willie for the first time.

He was a slight built man about 5 ft. 8 in. tall.  He was a dapper dresser.  His white cotton shirt was pressed and creased in all the right places.  His blue jeans were not wrinkled and his shoes were shined.  He had close cropped gray hair with deep dark brown eyes that danced with delight when he laughed.  One could see from his movements that his once athletic frame had seen many a baseball, softball, or city league basketball games.  Some things are not easy to hide.  When Ellen introduced me to Willie as the husband of Ellen Hage he reached out his hand in greeting.  I could tell from the grip of his long supple hands that Willie had a quiet confidence of a man who appeared happy and adjusted.  His smile was warm and quite disarming.  His confidence and friendly nature made quick work of any nervousness or awkwardness upon first acquaintance.

It became the habit of the “parking lot crew”. as we later jokingly referred to each other, to arrive early  just to get in some extra chat time before school was dismissed at 2:45 pm.  Willie is a retired car dealer and Korean War Army Veteran.  Since both of us are retired we had a natural commonality.    It was during these conversations that our friendship blossomed.  While waiting for my child to get out of school I meet a man, who most likely I would have never met had I not had cancer, who would become one of those men in my life that I would like to emulate.  Willie is an honorable man.  High praise  that I limit to but a few.  He really is a man that does what he says and says what he does.  A personal philosophy that I have adopted and find it refreshing to know someone of the same ilk .

More on Wille tomorrow.

Comments (0) Jan 10 2010

As is my habit I tend to read blogs and news articles during the early morning hours.  Recently,  I have been introduced to some bloggers from my home town that has broken me of the habit of  reading the headlines of the New York TImes.  Now I go to the glimpses of moments in time from other bloggers such as myself.  Often times these blogs evoke happy and sad moments.  The happy memories make you feel good and the sad memories are bad because it usually involves pain and suffering.  The latter is unavoidable,  using a blog to impart a feeling of loss or suffering is good therapy for the healthy contributor of the blog.  It is also good therapy for this reader.  At least that is my story and I am sticking to it.

Having met recently with a classmate I have been reticent to post on the meeting because of my inability to post pictures of the lunch date.  My wife is at CES(Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas this week.  She is the webmaster in this blogger’s world so that is not going to happen until she gets back from Vegas,  but I am looking forward to posting the meeting and how much it meant to me to have been able to spend time with such a great couple.  I will save the gushing for the real post but suffice to say “ecstatic” only touches the tip of the bountiful harvest of feelings gleaned from the long awaited meeting.

But getting back to reading old blogs…The memories that these recent blog sites bring out in me when I am perusing their archives gives me fodder for future posts.  I certainly am not going to write about the early years since not much was said about those times.  Grandpa Erickson died before I was born and Grandpa Hage died when I was approaching 10 years of age.  No memories of them …really…?  Lots of Aunt and Uncle  memories.  I am thankful.  Cousins on both side of the tree are in abundance.  Farm life…oh yes!!  Looking back it was wonderful and I lived through it.  How …?  Lucky would be the first thing to come to mind.  Blessed is the last thing…I know!!!

I am slowly working towards some subjects that are of interest to me to add to my post count.  There are important people in my life that have made a difference to me.  None of the important people would be considered famous but that does not mean that they are of no less import.  I met a Supreme Court Justice in Juneau in 1973.  He was famous in Alaska.  Pretty good athlete but was on the way down hill physically.  You know the type… the body’s spirit was more than willing but the body’s engine had lost a lot of compression and  could not get a head of steam.  Even though he made court rulings and made an effect on the life of Alaskans he really had no effect on me.  Hmmm ..Let’s see…? slow, short and old?   I am now of that same condition albeit not short… he still has no effect on me other than to marvel that he was still “able” at his age.

So… maybe my life was not full of famous people…. do I consider it bad?  No!   Would I like to hang around Tiger Woods these days? He famous these days.  Not a chance!!   He didn’t do anything that I didn’t do or attempt to do.  I cheated on my first wife.  I spent twenty years hating myself.(so will Tiger!)  I made phone calls to women.!?  I stayed out late and partied!!  But I did not have children and I did not have any money.  Which,  in retrospect,  is probably why I did not do worse things.  It always cost more money than I had.   Mitch Album wrote a book about his meeting with a man who got old and died.  He spoke of the way that this man had lived his life and his involvement with that man.  The story brings out the good things in this not so famous man’s life.  That is what reading blogs is about for me.  Bringing out the good things on the not so famous.  I have lived a life that was full of bad things and I should have known better.  I had a lot of not so famous people to use as a guide.  Even though I choose a life that may have been less than stellar I had wonderful not so famous guides with which I could have used to guide me along the way.  It is with these memories that I will,  in future posts,  start writing about the guides in my life.  All of them are not famous but some of them may be infamous.  Time will tell,  when I write(read) them the “riot act”,  on my blog.  HA!

Comments (0) Jan 09 2010