Dennis Flachsbart

Linda, it is not the same, but we recently did a garage renovation and were able to discard

about 25-30% of that were out of date or unusued.  As I went through the items and junk,

I asked myself, when it the last time I used this?

Good Luck

Denny

Linda Bristow (Elias)

David and Dennis:

Thank you for your help.   One thing I know for sure is that I want a house on one floor.  I have 23 steps at this house.  I've looked all over Texas, Oregon, and Illinois.   If I can just find one that I like, it would help to see what stuff I can put in it.

Pretty much, I use everything I've got.  After the kids grew up I had them take their things with them.  I 'weeded' out the linen closet, books, and all drawers and closets. 

I must be a greedy person!  My house is still loaded!

I will try to grow up now instead of ....out!

Thank you.

Linda

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

These two Oakland School pictures were on Facebook.  The top picture from 1951 was posted by Mel Theobald. The bottom picture from 1958 was posted by Kenneth Davis. Many of these kids went on to be our classmates and graduated with us.   I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I did.

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL AND PLEASE CELBRATE THE NEWLY ACCLAIMED JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY!

Sandy, thank you for posting these photos on the website. There are two or more Facebook sites dedicated to the history of Bloomington/Normal, which in the beginning were full of great information, but seem to have exhausted themselves. My fear is that Raiders64 has done the same. You may have hit on the next thing that can bring all this back to life. When I posted that 2nd grade photo with Mrs. Warren's class, I couldn't identify everyone, but those I could will forever be etched into my memory.

How about a new challenge? Anyone, from whatever grade school they attended, dig into their scrapbooks and start posting all those class pictures. I'll start with a few I have from Oakland School and would love to see what other classmates have from Bent, Sheridan, Irving, Washington, and all the others.

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

Mel, thank you for posting more pictures. I found Becky Foret in the 1958 picture.  We were pretty close friends in high school.  I think her Dad was transferred in our Sophmore or Junior year.  And I lost track of her until she called me, many many years ago.  We had such a nice visit on the phone and talked a long time.  I think, at that time, she was in California.

I would love to see some grade school pictures from Bent School.  I don't think I have mine.

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Sandra J.:  I'm with you.  I would love to see Washington Elementary photos of my 4th and 5th grade.  I have never seen them.

Boo:   Do you have those?

Love y'all!

Linda

David Long

Never Squat With Your Spurs On!

Will Rogers, who died in a 1935 plane crash in Alaska, flying with Wiley Post, was one of the Greatest political country/cowboy sages this country has ever known.

 Some of his sayings:

1. Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.

2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.

3. There are two theories to arguing with a woman.

Neither works.

4. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

5. Always drink upstream from the herd.

6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it

and put it back into your pocket.

8. There are three kinds of men:

·         The ones that learn by reading.

·         The few who learn by observation.

·     The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence

and find out for themselves.

9. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

10. If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.

11. Lettin' the cat outta’ the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back.

12. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.

The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

           ABOUT GROWING OLDER...

First
~ Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

Second
~ The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Third
~ Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me;

I want people to know 'why' I look this way. I've traveled a long way, and some of the roads weren't paved.

Fourth
~ When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.

Fifth
~ You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

Sixth
~ I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

Seventh
~ One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it's such a nice change from being young.

Eighth
~ One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.

Ninth
~ Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable and relaxed.

Tenth
~ Long ago, when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it's called golf.

And, finally

~ If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you're old.

Karen Sue (Suzi) Denton (Merritt)

In today's Pantagraph Linda Rathbun's obituary is in today's paper.

She went to Emerson school with several of our classmates.

Suzi

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Today is the last day for the first half of 2022.  It sure has passed quickly.  I feel like time passes faster than it used to be when I was much younger.

Here's to the last 6 months of 2022!

Linda

Jack Keefe

Wishing all classmates of 1964 a safe and happy 4th of July. The picture is from Miller Park, as most of you will likely recognize from the iconic bridge. It was taken July 4, 2007. 

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Jack, I haven't seen many of your photographs, but this one is a masterpiece.

For anyone who doesn't already know it, Jack has been writing the "Time Flies" insert for the Pantagraph for decades. That's right...decades!!! Because the column was recently discontinuted, he is doing his own version, which he calls "Back in the Day." It is fascinating. So if you want to read it for free, let him know. He publishes it as an email on a weekly basis. I'm giving it  on Yelp!!! (I couldn't find any stars in the font selection. LOL)

Jack Keefe

Thanks for the kudos, Mel. The paper didn't kill my old column, exactly, but editors turned it over to the staff to write in-house. They said there was no money to pay me, so I was a budget casualty. 

And while I have the floor here, so to speak -- don't forget the upcoming get-together August 6 at Cheeks. It's always a good time. 

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Jack:

Wow!   Everyone at my office enjoyed your 4th of July photo!

Love ya, Linda

Jack Keefe

Thank you, Linda -- both for the compliment and for sharing the picture.

David Long

While this may jinx it,

It appears that we have found a suitable accomdation in Chicago!

Scheduled close date - July 18th

Scheduled Occupancy date - August 15

Yes, moving to Chicago just in time for the Winter Snows!

What are we thinking?

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Hey Dave, GREAT NEWS!!! Don't worry, you'll still have the Dog Days of August and 3 beautiful months of fall weather. In fact, October is my favorite month of the year in Chicago...weatherwise. When you said "Chicago", I'm assuming in the "area". Please let me know the details. There is always room for more Raiders64 members here. Bring it on, Dusty. We're waiting for you.

David Long

ADULT TRIVIA

Things I never knew, have now laughed at, and decided to share.  Enjoy!

If you yelled for 8 years,

7 months and 6 days you

would have produced

enough sound energy to

heat one cup of coffee.

(Hardly seems worth it.)

If you farted consistently for

6 years and 9 months, enough

gas is produced to create the

energy of an atomic bomb.

(Now that's more like it!)

(I already have 2 bombs)

The human heart creates

enough pressure when it

pumps out to the body to

squirt blood 30 feet.

(O.M.G.!)

A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.

(O.M.G.!!!)

A cockroach will live nine days

without its head before it starves

to death. (Creepy)

(I'm still not over the pig.)

Banging your head against a

wall uses 150 calories an hour.

(Don't try this at home; maybe at work.)

The male praying mantis cannot

copulate while its head is

attached to its body.

The female initiates sex by

ripping the male's head off.

(Honey, I'm home . What the...?)

The flea can jump 350 times its

body length. It's like a human

jumping the length of a football

field.

(30 minutes. Lucky pig! Can you imagine?)

The catfish has over 27,000

taste buds.

(What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond?)

Some lions mate over 50 times

a day.

(I still can't believe that pig ...quality over quantity.)

Butterflies taste with their feet.

(Something I always wanted to know.)

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.

(Hmmmmmm.......)

Right-handed people live, on

average, nine years longer than

left-handed people.

(If you're ambidextrous, do you split the difference?

Elephants are the only animals

that cannot jump.

(Okay, so that would be a good thing.)

A cat's urine glows under a

black light.

(I wonder how much the government paid to

figure that out.)

An ostrich's eye is bigger than

its brain.

(I know some people like that.)

Starfish have no brains.

(I know some people like that, too.)

Polar bears are left-handed.

(If they switch, they'll live a lot longer.)

Humans and dolphins are the

only species that have sex for

pleasure.

(What about that pig? Do the dolphins

know about the pig?)

Now that you've smiled at

least once, it's your turn to

spread these crazy facts

and send this to someone

you want to bring a smile to,

maybe even a chuckle.

In other words, send it to

everyone!

(and still, you gotta love that pig!)

Linda Bristow (Elias)

David Long:

Thank you for those facts!

Linda

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Where is everyone?  Vacation?  I hope you all show up for the August mini-reunion?

Linda

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Any of you with a knee replacement.............have you ever had it buckle under causing you to fall?

Linda Elias

Linda Bristow (Elias)

The good news is that I get the stitches removed from my face tomorrow.  The bad news is that I never know when the knee replacement is going to buckle.  Who says life isn't exciting!

Linda

Marvin Theobald

IMPORTANT REMINDER

Mini-reunion 6:00 Saturday August 6 at Cheeks. Hope to see lots of happy faces and hear lots of stories of memories of the old days at BHS.

Marvin Theobald

Linda - It seems that you have had a pretty tough time recently. Hope the injuries from your fall were minimal and that you can make those new knees behave. Stitches in the face sound like you had a pretty painful experience. Just to attempt at giving you something to laugh about - did the stitches get combined with a face lift? At our age I'm sure we could all benefit from one. Seriously - I hope you are able to avoid any further mishaps. Best wishes.

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Marvin:  I laughed so hard.  Thank you for that!  Actually the stitches are in the wrong place for a face life, butt lift, etc!!!!

3 stitches  just above right eye brow.   2 stitches on bridge of my nose.

Only my right knee has been replaced.  Every so often the darn thing buckles.  But, at least I can walk!  I'm very fortunate.  It just doesn't work  as well as my God-given knee did.

Thanks again for making me laught!

Love ya, Linda

Dennis Flachsbart

Linda, I have had both hips replaced with great resutls.  Keep doing what your doctor tells you

and work on strength and flexibility and I think you will be fine.