David Buchholz

Phil, I loved the Byrds—until I saw them at the Fillmore in the late sixties and they were so stoned they forgot the lyrics to "Mr. Tambourine Man."  And then there was always George Harrison's "Blue Jay Way", and another Beatles ditty, "And Your Bird Can Sing."  (Not that many songs begin with a conjunction).  The band would have to have at least three baseball players, (Phil, tell me if you know these without cheating), the great Milwaukee right-hander who threw alongside Warren Spahn, Mark Fidrych, and of course, the most obvious, a catcher who managed the Cincinnati Redlegs.

As far as hearing aids go...my hearing aids are tuned to the higher notes, those sounds I don't hear any more.  Now when I play my acoustic guitar, the top two strings sound amplified, the bottom sound acoustic.  It's like having two guitars at the same time.  

Nancy Messer

Margery - I do watch as many of his as I can - and record them to be able to keep watching!  Thanks for remembering him.  Westerns are my favorite and I watch a ton of them.

Barbara Kahn (Tepper)

Larry - First of all I love that you remember my name - Barbie K - nobody here knows I was called that.  I was named that long before the doll every came into existence.  Anyway, my family still calls me that and my little grandnieces that I saw on my recent family reunion trip all were calling me Barbie.  My nieces call me that too.  I always sign "Aunt Barbie" but nobody seems to ever use the "Aunt" part.  

I fear that my husband will use the hearing aids less and less after he retires at the end of the year.  Sometimes, when he can't hear me and I've already responded to Huh? and What? I just say "forget it".  

Nancy, I can understand not wanting to be bothered with them but Roy feels it's easier at work to have them in. At home, not so much....before he lost his hearing he didn't pay all that much attention to what I said anyway.  These are very small and nobody notices them at all. They're tucked behind and into the ear with only a very thin wire connection, But in the pharmacy you're close to the people you're working with but he's not so close in court.  He has a microphone so they can hear him.  

Philip Spiess

Okay, Dave, no cheating, because I don't know sports data, trivia, or "fun facts" very well.  But here goes:  I remember Warren Spahn, but have no connection here (uh, was he with the Cardinals?); Mark Fidrych, I think (it suddenly dawned) was nicknamed "The Bird"; and, of course (now we go back to when I actually attended games at Crosley Field), the last has to be "Birdie" Tebbetts.  Two out of three?

And how (starting with a conjunction) can you forget the words to "Mr. Tamourine Man"?  There weren't that many.  Talk about leaving no tern unstoned!

As to your hearing, to everything there is a season (tern, tern, tern!).

David Buchholz

Phil, Warren Spahn was a pitcher for the Milwaukee Braves.  The right-hander (Spahn was a lefty) that pitched on the same team was Lew Burdette.  

Philip Spiess

i get it -- Bird ette?  But did I get the other two right?

Dexter Roger Dixon

Nancy:  I remember you got Robert Middleton's autograph for me.  I kept it for many years, but through the many moves I have had throughout my life, that autograph was lost.  When I discovered it was missing about 10 years ago, I was heartsick.  It was one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia.  He was a fine actor, especially in villanous roles.

Nancy Messer

He was usually the bad guy and got killed off many times.  Even when he was a good guy he often got killed off.  When he was in town he always stayed with us and it was always a lot of fun.

Steve Sanger

Dave - Two more suggestions for your baseball birds band:  the Reds first baseman who filled in for the injured Ted Kluszewski and became an all-star;  the hall of fame Brewers shortstop/outfielder of the  1980s.

David Buchholz

Steve, OK, Burdette and Fidrych pitch, Tebbets catches, George Crowe plays first and Robin Yount at short.  Help! We need to fill out the rest of the defense.

Nancy Messer

Although they don't have bird names, put Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson in as coaches.  They'll find the defense for you.

About 6 hour after adding this I realized Frank Robinson would qualify as a bird!

Larry Klein

Dave - I think "Jay" Bruce could handle right field.  And let's not forget that we also have chirping crickets, frogs, and my stereo "dial tones".  That should open the door for my center fielder - Gus "Bell".  Carry on!

Helen Sayrs (Hurley)

Just want to thank everyone who put this together.  Brilliant idea, brilliantly done!  --Helen

Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Helen - what a perfectly wonderful picture!!

Nelson Abanto

Okay guys,

It's time to breathe new life into the website.  We all put up our first wave of photos and told our first stories.  Now it's time to keep adding.  Let's start putting up more things about what is going on now.  We have done the documentary stuff, let's move on.

I have just put up a couple of absolutely riveting photos of me climbing in Colorado (I know that you know when I'm kidding).  Now is the time for photos of what's going on now.

Nelson

Ira Goldberg

Following your and others'  beautiful updates and photos, I found a recent picture from my current stay at daughter's in Corvallis. It's on my profile page. The significance is that she and a friend, having both lost a parent this year, sat on the banks of the Willamette River watching a double rainbow grow...rain free...as if to say hello from beyond. Then, to underscore the spiritual nature of that evening, two herons landed nearby, but across the water, symbolizing a connection to a mom and a dad. Anyone else experience moments like that?

Laura Reid (Pease)

Nelson, I LOVED all your current photos of climbing, skiing and fishing.  It is so great to see you enjoying your wonderful life with your family.  And thank you for your service to our country.  We have a lot of vets in our class and I am so grateful for all their service.  Our oldest son, Jamie, is contracted by the V.A. Hospital in Denver.  He is a doc of social work and does suicide prevention and PTSD studies on vets from all wars.  My husband was in the Navy and we, as a family, have a special place in our hearts for those who served.  Thank you to all you vets, Laura

Nelson Abanto

Thank you, Laura.

Your thoughts are very much appreciated.

Nelson Abanto

I just finished doing my dailey "catch up" on this sight.

You all always put a smile on my face and a warm feeling in my heart.

You also make me think and ponder your comments.  They are profound and require several days to come up with responses.  Phil,  I owe you one on our last "Wagner" exchange.  I'm about six comments behind on Judy's posts.

What a group!

David M. Schneider

Hey Buchholz:  McGuinn and McGuire just a getting higher in LA you know where that's at!  Cut the Byrds some slack, dude.

Gail Weintraub (Stern)

Nelson, I love your recent post about adding new life to our website. It looks like it has gotten some traction. Thanks for suggesting....And, in your Post #592, you pondered weighing in on the topic of grief. I hope that you will. I think that we classmates have a lot to share on this subject. 

Larry Klein

Everybody - I'm sure part of the "slowdown" in activity on this site was due to the technical problems, slow loading, etc.  I just received an email update from Class Creators that those tech problems are now resolved.  Seems correct, as the site is loading and responding much quicker now.  Game ON!!

David Buchholz

Hey Schneider, I traded in my love for the Byrds for Frankly Speaking. Ever heard of them?

Bill Katz

Dr D:  and no one getting fat except Mama Cass!

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

Okay folks, the thread on tinnitus seems to have petered out. Let's take it to EYES. Ten years ago at our 40th reunion, I unashamedly (is that a word Phil?) cornerd "EYE DOC" to get his opinion on a procedure that my doctor had planned for me.  The procedure involved using two types of lasers to drill holes in my irises to reduce higher than normal intraoptic pressure. Dr. Dave sent me to see one of his ppl who confirmed the procedure would help. 

Anyway, after seeing my doctor EVERY SIX MONTHS for ten years, the problem was still there and my "my angles are narrowing".  I saw a glaucoma specialist who said that the lenses of my eyes are thickening around the edges and causing the high pressure. Bottom line, I'm having cataract surgery in August. Has anyone else had this procedure. 

Although the only thing that freaks me out about this is that I won't be able to wear eye makeup for a while. What's bothering me is that both my parents had cataract surgery which went well, but they were much older than 67, when they had theirs. Hummm! Then I think about my grandmother who had cataract surgery in the 1950s and had to lie flat for days with sandbags beside her head.  

Has anyone else had cataract surgery?  Just wondering. 

Just an aside, my eye doctor had just taken over the practice of the eye doctor who had been my parents' doctor. She tells me that since that procedure she did on me in 2004, she has been dubbed "The iridotomy Queen".