The "Class of '57"--close to reality?

I was just thinking today of the fact that so many of my 1964 High School classmates have had great adversities, some have had life cut short by illness, tragedy, or unfulfilled expectations.   I suppose at graduation time, a time of celebration and joyous release from twelve years of school, would be no place to bring up the statistics of what is probably typical of what the graduates could expect in their lives.  But when I think of my own 1964 High School classmates, the song by the Statler Brothers, "Class Of '57."  (see lyrics below), comes to mind. 

In my H.S. class there were about 20 graduates and about 100 in the whole H.S.  I believe it was in March before graduation, David shot himself in his head in his bedroom.  There seemed to be no explanation for his disturbing suicide.  A couple of girls became unwed mothers and/or got married young and one that I know of had an abortion.  Carol's 15 year-old son was killed in a snowmobile accident.  Jean's husband died of a heart attack at about age 62.  I remember that he was a star basketball player, a wonderful student, and he went into banking.  Beth died about age 62 of a long battle with rheumatoid arthritis.  Gordy had alcohol problems and died about the same age.    Mike who was a year older and a math and science whiz was struck with lightning and died.  Larry,  a couple of years older than I, was the ND State Historian died young--not sure what reason.  Steve who had become a world traveler and had "read everything", was a flamenco guitar player, died in his early 50s due to alcoholism, possibly suicide, and was estranged from his wife.  The last I remember he was living with and taking care of his 90 year-old mother who, outlived him.  Another popular basketball player, Ron, a couple of grades ahead of me in H.S. died due to alcoholism, possibly suicide.  He and his wife who met in H.S. were divorced and she since remarried.  At one reunion about five years ago I noticed that  one classmate of mine had become so heavy that she could hardly walk.  Another a grade or two ahead of me walked with a cane due to something debilitating, arthritis perhaps.  Ole died, I don't know any details.  A few classmates were divorced and some continue to suffer from the affects abusive home situations (although I had no idea about this at the time.)  One who I can think of lives here in town and seems to have smoked herself into a cackly version of herself and doesn't drive a car--perhaps alcohol problems too?   And, of course, most of those I knew from H.S. I never heard from again and whose fate I don't know.  

This is getting to be kind of a negative post.  I want to point out that the majority of my classmates became upright citizens and probably for the most part are still alive and healthy.  On the bright side, our H.S. Principal, Thilda Vangstad, died at age 104.  We thought she was really old when she was our principal with her snow white hair but she was only in her early 60s at the time.  Incidentally, she and her identical twin sister Lena, also a retired teacher, were at one time the oldest twins in the world for a few months until Thilda died.  Lena reached age 105.  At our 2005 reunion everyone was talking about their 104th birthday coming up and signed a gigantic card for them as they were unable to attend.  Only one teacher is still living, the librarian, who is in her mid 90s now.

Lyrics to The Class of '57

Tommy's selling used cars

Nancy's fixing hair

Harvey runs a grocery store

And Margaret doesn't care.

Jerry drives a truck for Sears

And Charlotte's on the make

And Paul sells life insurance

And part time real estate.

Helen is a hostess

Frank works at the mill

Janet teaches grade school

And prob'ly always will.

Bob works for the city

And Jack's in lab research

And Peggy plays organ

At the Presbyterian Church.

And the class of '57 has dreams

We all thought we'd change the world

With our great works and deeds

Or maybe we just thought the world

Would change to fit our needs.

The class of '57 had dreams.

Betty runs a trailer park

Jan sells Tupperware

Randy's on an insane war

And Mary's on welfare.

Charlie took a job with Ford

And Joe took Freddie's wife

Charlotte took a millionaire

And Freddie took his life.

John is big in cattle

Ray is deep in debt

Where Marvis family wound up

Is anybody's bet.

Linda married Sonny

And Brenda married me

And the class of all of us

Is just a part of history.

And the class of '57 has dreams

But living life day to day

Is never like it seems

Things get complicated when

You get past eighteen.

But the class of '57 had its dreams.

Oh, the class of '57 had dreams...
Lyrics www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/the_statler_brothers/

How to fold a top sheet for easier bed-making

I wish I had known this method of folding and unfolding a top sheet years ago--works like a charm!  It is especially useful to do when making a bigger bed.  When folding the sheet, fold it up (bottom folded up to the top), left side to the to the right, bottom up to the top, left side to the right, etc. until you get it folded into a square about a foot across with the last fold to the right. 

First, you will need to put the fitted sheet on the bed.  I don't bother to fold the bottom (fitted) sheet but just locate the top (short side) and roll it up.  The wrinkles will stretch out once it is on the bed. 


When you put the top sheet on the bed, stand on the right side of the bed facing the head of the bed.  Unfold the sheet to the left, down, and to the left.  Now place the still partly folded sheet at the head of the bed with the left side at the middle of the head of the bed and the right side hanging down about 12-18 inches (or however much you want it to hang down) off the right side of the bed.  Continue to unfold to the left and down until it covers the whole bed.  You will only need to go to the other side of the bed to pull down the last corner down to the foot of the bed.  You will probably need to  practice a bit but it's worth learning how to do.

Lunar Eclipse

I got up Sat. morning (Dec. 10, 2011) about 6:30 AM to see the eclipse of the moon. It was about 17 degrees F. outside, eerily quiet, but so calm that it didn't seem very cold outside, even without my coat. Despite the bright moonshine, the Big Dipper and other stars were visible and the full moon was on the rise in the west. About 6:45 the earth's shadow had taken a bite out of the top third of it and it had become noticeably darker outside. The shadow proceeded to obscure more and more of the moon but by the time the full eclipse occurred about 7:30, it had almost set behind the neighbor's house and trees so I didn't get a full view of it. Also by then the sun was beginning to come up. 

Supposedly at full eclipse the moon would have a corona of red around it. I had just been reading in the Bible about the "moon turning to blood," perhaps a way to explain some strange phenomena at the end of the world. I suppose the moon could turn red due to volcanic ash or other pollutants in the air in the same way that colorful sunsets are caused by dust in the air.

Another eclipse of the moon is not supposed to happen until 2014. When I was probably about ten or twelve years old we were at the lake in northern Minnesota and my Grandma Bertha who was in her late 70s was visiting us and went out in the cold night to sit on the beach and see the eclipse of the moon. She wanted to be sure to see it as she thought she wouldn't see one again in her lifetime.

When I was eight years old we visited this same grandmother in Minneapolis when there was an eclipse of the sun.  I looked up solar eclipses and found that there was a total eclipse visible in North America June 30, 1954, and I suspect that this was the one as we would have visited there in the summer and I would have been eight then.  My dad was interested in these things as he was a science teacher.  He had some special dark lenses with which to view it and said this was probably the only time he would see a total eclipse of the sun in his lifetime, a fact that also greatly impressed upon me how rare they were. However in later years I recall viewing a couple of partial eclipses of the sun by making a pinhole lens in a cardboard box that projected the eclipse upside down on the opposite side of the box.  This was done to prevent eye damage by direct viewing of the sun.


From the book A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain I have heard the story of the main character who uses his knowledge of an eclipse to his advantage.  I should actually read the book as I have it here at home somewhere.  Sounds like a great story. 

Wikipedia Explains: The novel explains the tale of Hank Morgan, a 19th-century resident of Hartford, Connecticut who, after a blow to the head, awakens to find himself inexplicably transported back in time to early medieval England at the time of the legendary King Arthur.
The story begins as a first person narrative in Warwick Castle, where a man details his recollection of a tale told to by an "interested stranger" who is personified as a knight through his simple language and familiarity with ancient armor.^[2]

After a brief tale of Sir Launcelot of Camelot and his role in slaying two giants from the third-person narrative, the man named Hank Morgan enters and, after being given whiskey by the narrator, he is persuaded to reveal more of his story. Described through first-person narrative as a man familiar with the firearms and machinery trade, Hank is a man who had reached the level of superintendent due to his proficiency in firearms manufacturing, with two thousand subordinates. He describes the beginning of his tale by illustrating details of a disagreement with his subordinates, during which he sustained a head injury from a "crusher" to the head caused by a man named "Hercules" using a crowbar.^[3] After passing out from the blow, Hank describes waking up underneath an oak tree in a rural area of Camelot where a knight questions him for trespassing upon his land, and after establishing rapport, leads him towards Camelot castle.^[4] Upon recognizing that he has time-traveled to the sixth century, Hank realizes that he is the de facto smartest person on Earth, and with his knowledge he should soon be running things.

Hank is ridiculed at King Arthur's court for his strange appearance and dress and is sentenced by King Arthur's court (particularly the magician Merlin) to burn at the stake on 22 June. By a stroke of luck, the date of the burning coincides with a historical solar eclipse in the year 528, of which Hank had learned in his earlier life. While in prison, he sends the boy Clarence to inform the King that he will blot out the sun if he is executed. Hank believes the current date to be 20 June; however, it is actually the 21st when he makes his threat, the day that the eclipse will occur at 12:03 p.m. When the King decides to burn him, the eclipse catches Hank by surprise. But he quickly uses it to his advantage and convinces the people that he caused the eclipse. He makes a bargain with the King, is released, and becomes the second most powerful person in the kingdom.