HOW ABOUT SOME CHUCKLES

     Dorothy Long Huffman, BHS-53, is our class facilitator and much more. She holds us together and does all, I mean all, the "behind the scenes" work that is necessary for keeping us "alive" as a group.
     At our recent reunion, Dorothy asked the Kornerman to read the mail received from those who were unable to attend our event. She also included a poem she wanted me to read. I breezed through the mail BUT.........the poem?.......that was something else.
     I've always felt composed and confident when speaking and probably approached this the same way. However, about halfway through the poem or less......I completely "lost it." Hiding was impossible. My attempt to finish up was a complete struggle. I honestly don't know if the attendees got more of a kick out of the poem or the fact I was such a bomb.
     Nobody seems to know the author.  I wish I could take credit for writing it.......it is so good, so apropos, so fitting for such an occasion.
     If you have a reunion coming or.......even some other kind of event that it would fit, I highly recommend you make a copy of this for possible use.
     Here it is:
     Every ten years, as summertime nears, an announcement arrives in the mail. A reunion is planned, it'll be really grand, make plans to attend without fail.
     I'll never forget the first time we met, we tried so hard to impress. We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars and wore our most elegant dress.
     It was quite an affair, the whole class was there. It was held at a fancy hotel. We wined and we dined and we acted refined and everyone thought it was swell.
     The men all conversed about who had been first to achieve great fortune and fame. Meanwhile, their spouses described their fine houses and how beautiful their children became.
     The homecoming queen, who once had been lean, now weighed in at one-ninety-six. The jocks who were there had all lost their hair and the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks.
     No one had heard about the class nerd who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon. Or, poor little Jane who's always been plain, she married a shipping tycoon.
     The boy we'd decreed "most apt to succeed" was serving ten years in the pen. While the one voted "least" was now a priest. Just shows you can be wrong now and then.
     They awarded a prize to one of the guys who seemed to have aged the least. Another was given to the grad who had driven the farthest to attend the feast.
     They took a class picture, a curious mixture of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties. Tall, short or skinny, the style was the mini. You never saw so many thighs.
     At our next get-together, no one cared whether they impressed their classmates or not. The mood was  informal, a whole lot more normal. By this time, we'd all gone to pot.
     It was held out-of-doors, at the lake shores. We ate hamburgers, cole slaw and beans. Then, most of us lay around in the shade in our comfortable T-shirts and jeans.
     By the fortieth year, it was abundantly clear we were definitely over the hill. Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed and be home in time for their pill.
     And now I can't wait as they've set the date. Our sixtieth is coming I'm told. It should be a ball, they've rented a hall at the Shady Rest Home for the old.
     Repairs have been made on my old hearing aid. My pacemaker's been  turned up on high. My wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled and I've bought a new wig and glass eye.
     I'm feeling quite hearty, I'm ready to party. I'll dance until dawn's early light. It'll be lots of fun and I hope at least one other person can make it that night.
    P.S. I hope who you designate as the reader can "hold it together" much better than I.
K-----K
     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Patricia Kane, 85, Seminole, FL. Spent most of her life in Boone prior to a move to Florida in 1992. She was preceeded in death by her husband, Dr. Thomas Edward Kane. Two daughters and a son survive........Gerald Anderson, 88, Marshalltown. Born in Boone. BHS-48. U.S. Army vet. Taken as a prisoner of war in 1951 and later released. ISU grad. Worked for Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids and Fisher Controls in Marshalltown. Two sisters and three brothers survive........Jerry Sande, 66, Boone. ISU grad. In recent years, Jerry moved to Boone and  resided with his partner, Leo Kriz. Survivors include a brother and sister, his former spouse and his partner, Leo..........Alice Fagen Giles, 85, Ogden. Born in Boone County. Married Raymond Vogler in 1953. They farmed near Pilot Mound until moving to Ogden. Raymond passed away in 1980 and Alice later married LeRoy Giles. That marriage ended in divorce. Alice worked for Ogden Manor, Evangelical Free Church Home, Dutch Oven, Casey's, Walmart and the Closet Exchange. A son, Dean Vogler, of Ogden and a daughter survive.........Karen Rasmussen, 78, Boone.
K-----K
     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments.......
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.