From Carol Pickell (Backman)
While thinking of the upcoming 50th Reunion, I found this poem I wrote for the Senior Banquet at the Peter Pan Inn 50 years ago. It brought back a lot of memories for me and nostalgia too, almost like a message that was sealed in the cornerstone of a building to be opened 50 years later. I hope you will share it with our classmates on the web site. You might be interested to know that I spent the better part of my life as a high school math teacher.
A moment of pleasure is a slippery thing
An ounce of enjoyment is fleeting
The treasures of life will lose their glow
While our memories outlive time's beating.
No doubt
The very things we gripe about
Will some day bring our laughter
So why not search our souls a bit
To provide for times hereafter.
Remember the night we sliced up Blair
On their own court none the less
And when their cagers came back to go it again
We sent them home in double the mess.
Remember the fire that threatened us all
And forced us out of the school
The heat it created never abated
Till the rally that followed was cool.
Do you recall the magazine drive
That smashed all records around
And would you ever take back the smile from Mrs. Mac
When she conducted her choir fully gowned.
A moment of pleasure is a slippery thing
An ounce of enjoyment is fleeting
The treasures of life will lose their glow
While our memories outlive time's beating.
Could you every forget the formals at Christmas
The dancing, the spirit, the queens
The joy in each boy as he gazed at his date
And got new ideas about what Christmas means.
And did you ever adlib, or spout out your heart
At an evening of corn called the Pow Wow
Did your innocent heart flutter with each word you did utter
And your head get as swelled as a she cow.
Remember the days, even weeks, that we spent
Preparing to make Northwood a sensation
We cleaned and we polished, til almost demolished
So our alma mater would pass evaluation.
No doubt
The very things we gripe about
Will some day bring our laughter
So why not search our souls a bit
To provide for times hereafter.
Let's bring to mind the people we know
That made us the swingers that we are
The teachers who teach us, nag and beseach us
Each deserve a one-way trip to Mars.
Can we ever lose track of the remarks they crack
Those lovable bunch of educators
Each one in his way has packed every day
With lots of full-brain renovators.
When old and bent, for these, our memories we'll tap:
Mr. Warren's eyebrow, Mrs. Curley's sharp wit,
Mr. Alford's tendency, Dr. Merritt's quip,
Mr. Miller's Jerry, and Mr. Christensen's cap.
Mr. Ahlberg's love notes, Mr. Stennetts' Southern drawl,
Ms. Lynch's term papers, Mrs. Disney's chow mein,
Mr. Higgins' collateral reading, Dr. Moses' feeding,
Ms. Ruddle's grading, or Mrs. Biggs' crawl.
Coach Hoagues's speeches,
Mr, Ryburn's notebooks,
Spaghetti on Mondays,
Mrs, Marks' looks.
Semester exams,
Book reports,
Friday games,
Fun--all sorts,
The cafeteria noise,
The three-thirty rush,
Our buddies, our boys,
The eight-forty crush.
Hard times
Hurt pride
Satisfaction
Deep inside.
Work
Glee
Joy--we're free!
Memories.
A moment of pleasure is a slippery thing
An ounce of enjoyment is fleeting
The treasures of life will lose their glow
While our memories outlive time's beating.
Post Script:2010:
It's 2010
And we're back again!
From a 50-year-long journey
That went far too quickly.
Through hopes and dreams
Life's Challenges and tears
Let's raise our cups to our Reunion
After 50 amazing years.
High school seniors no more
But senior citizens we're nifty
And looking forward to
Meeting again in 2060!