Losing a Classmate - A Tribute to Rowena

I didn’t know her very well. I think she sat either in front of or behind me in high school home room. With Facebook and LinkedIn a lot of people reconnected with classmates of old. So Rowena was on Facebook and her presence was known. There were daily if not more entries made by her. You always knew what she was thinking about and was a kind soul. Then last year she experienced a medical issue and never recovered. But she remained so upbeat throughout all of the setbacks. It was disconcerting to know that she was in so much discomfort. And when the Facebook entries stopped and were taken over by her best friends sharing updates, it was obvious that something had happened. Finally the obituary arrived and there was a celebration of her life this month. Rowena touched the lives of so many people. I miss her Facebook updates. Rest in peace Rowena. 

Five Top High School Students

I went to an all girls Catholic high school. What was odd about it was that the all boys high school was just down the street. Soon after I graduated the schools were combined - which always made sense since we shared a lot of activities and attended the sports venues as one high school.  I’m a follower on the instagram and LinkedIn pages, and found once again this year something that sticks out like a sore thumb. The top five senior students were showcased now that graduation time is here. And as was the same as last year, they are all girls - not one boy to be found. You would think that it was an all girls high school again based on that. And the intended majors are biology, chemistry, engineering, and psychology - with the majority going to the University of Florida. When I was in high school I was on the college bound track and thought in general our education was good even though I struggled. Having had little success with science and math I never dreamed I would end up in nursing because I was so interested in history and art. But it was the seventies and nursing seems like a great opportunity to find employment. How things have changed and yet they really haven’t. I’m proud to see that the top five students are young women. But - what is happening with the boys? 

A Grade and High School Classmate

Last year I was thinking of a classmate from nursing school and checked her out on the internet. Unfortunately I found an obituary. She had just passed away and it was a shock. For whatever reason I was thinking about a grade school classmate the other day. I remember her because of her red hair and freckles and that she was very noticeable and wondered whatever came of her. I wasn’t friends with her - she was in some of my home rooms. She also went to the first year of high school with us and then transferred out as a sophomore to a public school. When I found her I stumbled upon another obituary! She had also just passed away last month right before Christmas. It was rather jarring. I put her obituary on Facebook where several people and classmates shared their condolences. Apparently she had five siblings, became a physician, and lead an interesting life. It seems we are now being reminded routinely of people in our lives who are no longer with us. It used to be the “older people” - but we are now the older people. I hope that when I think of people from the past that they don’t all end up being eulogized. It’s an odd feeling. 

The Top Five Students

I went to an all girls high school. The all boys high school was just down the street. We shared a few things like cheering on the boys sports teams and maybe some language classes, but not much more than that. It was what it was at the time and we didn’t think much about it. Not long afterwards the schools combined. Our school was demolished. I’m sure there were merits to having separate schools but I really can’t think of any now. As with everything else these days just about every place and subject matter is on Facebook, instagram, LinkedIn and every other social media outlet. So I follow the old high school along on linkedin to see if anything or anyone pops up of interest. Now that it is graduation season the high ranking scholastic students are being highlighted. Obviously that includes the valedictorian and the salutatorian. But this year they also list the top five. When I saw the photo it was so obvious that things have changed over the years. I thought I was looking at my old all girls high school photos because all of the five were girls - with the top student going to MIT with a major in physics. But this was now a combined high school and there wasn’t one male student in the pack. What happened to the boys? That seems to be a question a lot of people are asking these days. 

Watching NFHS Grandson Baseball Game

We went to a few little league games on Capitol Hill to watch our grandson play. Then he and the family moved away to central Virginia around middle school and we haven’t seen any since. We did get to a state wrestling tournament near Virginia Beach. We are connected to his high school on Facebook so we know when there is something scheduled. I noticed earlier in the week that there was a varsity boys baseball game on Friday at six PM. It said that it would be streaming so I waited for the time to start and nothing happened. Then I thought about other ways to get at this game. I checked out the NFHS network on line and saw that you can get a subscription for a month for $10.99. So I signed up to see at least this game. I had it on my iPad and it was really slow motion. There was no commentary and the scoreboard didn’t change. Then I thought I would try my phone instead. The video was much better, but there still was no commentary and the scoreboard didn’t change. We saw our grandson make a hit and get to first base. Then I decided it might be easier to watch it on the TV so I mirrored it on to our Apple TV - and it worked nicely. I rarely sat behind the home plate for any game when my brother was a pitcher, so it seemed odd to be in that position. My husband began providing the commentary. Our grandson played third base, and then was the catcher. He batted a run in. He has also occasionally pitched. You could call him a very versatile baseball player and overall decent athlete. He enjoys not only baseball, but wrestling and cross country. This is his last year in high school so it was worth the $10.99 to watch the game. I texted him the link and a few photos we took off of the TV. It was a fun way to spend a Friday evening. We still don’t know who won since we didn’t get to watch from the start, but it didn’t matter. 

Graduation Art

Someone in our family is graduating from high school this month. He is the grandson that we lived down the street from on Capitol Hill. While I was working at the Library of congress, my husband would babysit - either at the house or after school. He would also drive him and his mom anywhere in town as the need arose. So we technically got to see this young man grow from about three to eleven years, until the family moved to central Virginia. Even then, his new home was four hours away so we still had and have a part in his life. But thanks to the pandemic we haven’t seen him in over a year like so many others. So I wanted to do something different for this upcoming milestone event and turned to digital art. I scoured all the photos of him and tried to pick one out for every year of his life. Then the portrait of his seventeen years was painted from infant to young man. It included all the events that typically occur in most kids lives - sports, holidays, broken arms, cooking, vacations, and things that are peculiar to him. That includes jumping fires for Persian new year as a well as Christmas. Not knowing which color pallet would be best, several options were made from the black and white prelim to the two color and multicolor ideas. I was really pleased with the way it turned out, ending up to include a path that connects the newborn to the young man. It was called “sketches 2003 - 2021.” Now all I needed to do was figure out the best way to share it. Stay tuned! 

LinkedIn High School Contact

Connections sometimes come out of the blue. LinkedIn is a great place for business and work colleagues as well as anyone that you may want to stay in touch with on a social media platform. Although I rarely use it, Facebook is more for friends and family whereas LinkedIn is of a less personal nature. So it was with great interest when I received a notification when a high school connection left a message. Our older sisters were really more connected than we were, but the back and forth conversation was interesting too. The goal was to reconnect the older sisters, but in the meantime share collective experiences over the last fifty years! She lives in California and I am in Virginia. She still has family in Virginia - in fact one of them owns a winery in Culpeper - where the Library of Congress has a satellite Packard campus for storing old nitrate films and all things Hollywood. Her family member also does work at a Smithsonian museum, all of which are so familiar to us having lived on Capitol Hill for thirteen years. She and her sister may visit their aunt in Virginia some time. Even though we didn’t really know each other it’s nostalgic to reminisce with people who have passed through your life. There is something to be said about social media platforms. That is one of the advantages. 

 

The 45RPM Record Collection From the Sixties and Seventies

I usually don't go through my old things at the home I grew up in Florida. I pretty much took everything of significance when I moved away in the 70's. But there is one closet that has not yet been cleaned out and a few items remain. It's like going back through time. My dad's 35 mm camera from the 50's; a telescope; my brother's Lionel train set. My grandson has a hobby collecting vinyl records and I remembered I still had a box of 45's in a red box with a red plastic handle. Unfortunately I never kept the dust jacket covers, but they are all in pretty good shape. They were even "catalogued" and numbered. We listened to them at slumber parties, parties at home, and before going to bed. Most of them are classics and a few I don't really remember why I got them - I couldn't tell which side was the main title! Our larger collection of LP's - which included all the Monkees and Beatles tunes - were just dumped within the last year. So at least I can surprise our grandson with Grandma's old record collection. It certainly will give him an idea about the kind of music we listened to. It feels just like yesterday.