September 15, 2012

There are still good people . . .

I am lost without my iPad!

I am lost without my iPad!

If you’re like me, you are completely dependent on your electronic gadgets — computers, smartphones, tablets, etc. So you can imagine what angst I felt when I realized that I had left my iPad in a restaurant. And it wasn’t a fine dining restaurant either — it was a Subway restaurant in the heart of downtown Honolulu, where all kinds of people congregate. And I mean ALL kinds of people.

If you’re like me, you’re overscheduled and run from one thing to the next, hardly stopping to catch your breath. I was in the middle of a busy Saturday, in between organ student lessons and practicing at another church (St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Honolulu) where I am playing a special service tomorrow.

My husband and I had a short half hour to catch lunch together, and since I was going to go back to my own church for lessons and then to St. Andrew’s, I took my iPad with me because it had the phone number of someone important who would open the Cathedral for me since it was closing at 3 pm.

So it wasn’t until after my practice session (some 3 hours since we left the restaurant) that I could look up their telephone number to find out if my iPad was still there.

YES !!! Someone had turned it in to the store management, and they were expecting my call.

There are still good people left in this world.

Posted by on September 15, 2012 in Burbank High School and tagged .

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September 9, 2012

Giving the gift of life

Karen Parrish Rapport just gave blood.

Karen Parrish Rapport just gave blood.

Karen hasn't changed a bit since Burbank High!

Karen hasn’t changed a bit since Burbank High!

When I saw this picture of Karen Parrish Rapport on her FaceBook page, she looked so gorgeous that I asked her permission to repost it on this blog. Karen had just finished giving blood and had bandages on BOTH arms, because she donated platelets.

Why give blood? I got this information from the American Red Cross website:

You don’t need a special reason to give blood. You just need your own reason.

• Some of us give blood because we were asked by a friend.

• Some know that a family member or a friend might need blood some day.

• Some believe it is the right thing we do.

Whatever your reason, the need is constant and your contribution is important for a healthy and reliable blood supply. And you’ll feel good knowing you’ve helped change a life.

Those of you who have followed Karen’s FaceBook page know that she and her family have endured many challenges and heartaches this past summer, with the illness of their daughter and the loss of a grandchild. Karen’s husband, Chick, wrote “We have been brought to the edge of life and death more than once with family we dearly love.” They are most grateful for all the love and prayers that have been extended to them.

Please consider giving blood. You never know when you or a friend or relative might need it.

Posted by on September 9, 2012 in Burbank High School and tagged , , , .

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August 28, 2012

Mini-Reunion, September 8, 2012

Dave LeSueur, Class of '67

Dave LeSueur, Class of ’67

Some of you may remember Dave LeSueur, from Burbank High’s Class of ’67. He sent along the following:

As you know, I am being inducted into the BHS Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 8. Another basketball player (from the class of ’65), John Gaball, is also being inducted. So I am hosting a reception/get together on Saturday, September 8, from noon until 3 p.m. at Burbank High honoring the basketball teams of 1965 (Gaball’s team) and 1967 (my team). The event is not just for the players but also for any friends, relatives, well-wishers, and former groupies who want to come. Basically, it’s an excuse to get together with people who, understandably, are not interested in coming to the ceremony that night but would still like to visit with friends from that era. All classes are invited. 

The reception honoring the ’65 and ’67 basketball teams will be held Saturday, Sept. 8, noon to 3 p.m., in the BHS art room and, if needed, the dance room. (The two rooms are right across the hall from each other.) It will be very informal—i.e., wear whatever you like.

The evening ceremony is being held in the BHS gym. There is a “meet and greet” at 5:30 pm with the ceremony starting at 6:00 pm.

John Gaball (Class of ’65) and Coach Jack Loutensock will also be honored. If you are in the Southern California area, take advantage of this opportunity to see some Burbank High faces!

 

Posted by on August 28, 2012 in Burbank High School and tagged , , , .

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July 31, 2012

Olympic dreams

Cathy Ferguson was Burbank High's Olympian.

Cathy Ferguson was Burbank High’s Olympian.

If your family is like mine, when it’s time for the Olympics, either winter or summer, we are glued to the TV set. The rest of the year we never watch sports on television, but when the Olympics are on, we are junkies.

Did you remember that Burbank High had an Olympic medalist? According to the Burbank High Centennial book, “no athlete has brought more fame and pride to Burbank High than two-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Cathy Ferguson (BHS’66). While just a junior at BHS, Cathy won gold in the 100 meter backstroke and the 400 medley relay at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.” Cathy’s exceptional career included 5 world records, 10 American records and national titles.

Cathy Ferguson was a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Cathy Ferguson (middle) was a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

While doing research for this post, I found a fascinating article called “One Olympic dream that’s come full circle,” which told the story of Cathy and the competition with her rival, Sharon Finneran. They both became Olympic teammates and won medals: Cathy got two golds and Sharon came home with a silver. They thought that after Tokyo, their paths would never cross again, but forty-four years later (2008)  it turns out their daughters were both competing for spots on the Olympic diving team. And so the rivalry was re-ignited.

Cathy was in the news just a couple of days ago, when she spoke to the Southern Sierra Boys and Girls Club and gave this simple message:

“Anybody can do it,” Ferguson said. “You have to work hard and find people who can help you.”

Cathy’s brother, John Ferguson, was in our Class of 1968!

You can relive the moment that Cathy won the Gold medal here:

Posted by on July 31, 2012 in Burbank High School and tagged , , , , .

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July 20, 2012

Farewell, Burbank?

This is the house I moved into when I was six years old.

This is the house I moved into when I was six years old.

When I was six years old, my family moved from a house on Fairmount Road to a two-bedroom home on Sunset Canyon Drive. As our family grew, so did the house, ending up with seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. After I graduated from Burbank High School and went to live in the dorms at USC, I still came home every weekend to do my laundry. Later, after graduate school, I moved to Hawaii but still returned to the family home several times a year.

All that may be changing, because last June, my mother passed away after having lived in the house for 54 years. (My father died in 1999.) After the horrendous task of cleaning out 54 years of memorabilia and household goods, the house was put on the market and sold, ironically, one year to the day after my mother died. As it turns out, my husband and I are traveling to Southern California for a conference this week, and all of my siblings will be in town. We will meet the new owners on Sunday.

I know a lot of my fellow Burbank High grads have had to go through a similar process — closing up a family home in Burbank. Yes, we all have to move on, but I can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness as I say goodbye to my family home. Even though I still have family in the area, I wonder when I’ll come back to Burbank again.

As I look over the current addresses of my fellow Class of 1968 alumni, only a handful still live in Burbank. Like me, most of you moved away years ago. We’d sure like to hear from those who are still in Burbank — please contact me (by clicking on the tab above) and I will be happy to publish your news. If ever you have a reason to return, share that with us, too!

This blog is our vehicle for staying in touch with each other. Anyone for a 45th reunion next year? And our 50th is not too far off!

Posted by on July 20, 2012 in Burbank High School and tagged , , , , .

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June 30, 2012

We DO get around!

Crilly Butler at Stonehenge

Crilly Butler at Stonehenge

In answer to my request for vacation pictures, and in an effort to find out where the Class of 1968 has traveled all over the world,  Crilly Butler sent these great pictures of himself in opposite corners of the world, at Stonehenge and in Japan.

Crilly writes: “This was taken during our visit there in 2003. We traveled through England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales for about three weeks. When we returned to London in 2005, we escaped being killed in the subway terrorist bombings by about 20 minutes. Thank goodness my wife overslept that morning!”

Stonehenge dates from prehistoric times and has attracted visitors from earliest times. Here’s my Stonehenge story: My husband and I traveled to Salisbury, England, and hoped to visit this prehistoric site about 9 miles away. Alas, our time was very tight and I saw a picture postcard of Stonehenge in the Salisbury Cathedral bookstore. At the time I remember saying, “I bet seeing this postcard is the closest we are going to get to Stonehenge!” And I was right! So close, and yet so far away!

Here's Crilly at Asakasuka Jinja in Japan.

Here’s Crilly at Asakasuka Jinja in Japan.

The other picture Crilly sent was of Asakasuka Jinja, a Shinto shrine located in Tokyo. If you remember from a previous post, Crilly’s wife is Japanese and they visit Japan every other year or so. Crilly says, “we met and were married there in a traditional Shinto ceremony in 1983. All her family (I consider them to be my family too) and our Japanese friends are scattered throughout the four main Japanese islands, so we always try and do some traveling there before we return to her home town in a rural, mountainous part of the main island.”

Keep those cards and letters coming, folks, and don’t forget to send pictures!

Posted by on June 30, 2012 in Burbank High School and tagged , , , , , .

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June 29, 2012

My Three Sons’ Don Grady (1944-2012)

Donald Agrati, "Don Grady" was a BHS'62 grad.

Donald Agrati, “Don Grady” was a BHS’62 grad.

Yesterday we learned of the death of Don Grady aka “Robbie Douglas,” the big brother on the television comedy, “My Three Sons.” It was one of the most popular and beloved TV shows during the 60s, and if you were like me, you enjoyed every episode. I think one of my first crushes was on “Robbie Douglas,” a heartthrob if there ever was one.

But did you know that Don Grady was also a Burbank High School graduate? No, he wasn’t in our class — he graduated in the class of 1962 and was named “Most Talented.” According to the obituary in the New York Times, Grady was “an aspiring musician in high school who played ukulele, drums, accordion and clarinet when he was called to audition for the part of Robbie Douglas, one of three sons of the wistful, pipe-smoking widower Steve Douglas, played by Fred MacMurray.” Grady got the part, but said, “My acting abilities probably helped, but I still believe the reason I got the part was because the cleft in my chin looked like Fred’s.”

If you don’t already know about it, check out Linda Mustion’s blog about deceased Burbank High alumni, arranged by class year. It is by no means a complete list, but does contain some useful information. You can see Linda’s post about Don Grady by clicking here.

Don Grady was named "Most Talented"

Don Grady was named “Most Talented”

Posted by on June 29, 2012 in Burbank High School and tagged , , , , , .

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June 13, 2012

Raine in Africa

No sooner had I put out the call for your vacation pics and Steve Raine came through with a picture of himself in Tanzania. Behind him is the Oldupai Gorge in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where Drs. Louis and Mary Leakey (and after them, son, Richard) made incredible fossil and bone discoveries about early man. Steve said he wanted to come here ever since elementary school. He also writes on his blog, ” OlduVAI is an understandable mispronunciation by German scientists.”

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But hey, you don’t have to be in some exotic, foreign destination to send us a photo to show where the Class of 1968 has dispersed throughout the world. Peoria, Illinois, anyone?

It occurred to me that in case you wanted to send us a digital image to post on this blog, that it is not apparent how to do so. Use the Contact Us tab above to let me know that you have a picture to send, then I will take it from there.

Posted by on June 13, 2012 in Burbank High School and tagged , , , , .

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June 12, 2012

Where in the world?

In my local newspaper, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser has a regular feature called “Signs of Hawaiian Life in the Universe,” where readers are welcomed to submit their photos of wherever they spot something Hawaiian in unusual places. Such would be the case when we were in Paris, France, and we walked by a restaurant called the Waikiki Cafe.

I guess it might be pretty difficult to do something with things Burbank, but hey, I thought of something maybe similar. And that is for you guys to send in your vacation pictures. We could call it “Signs of Burbank High 1968 Grads in . . . (fill in the blank)”

It just so happens that I am vacationing with my family in Germany, so I am submitting the first such picture. We are attending the BachFest Leipzig, which is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Over the course of ten days, there are 123 musical concerts, talks, and other musical events with world-class performances every day. This is our second BachFest and we always have a great time.

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On FaceBook recently, Donna Canzoneri Wray and Merrily Thorne Prescott were in Chicago celebrating Donna’s birthday.

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How about it Class of 68? Send in your vacation photos so we can see where in the world all the Burbank High grads are.

Posted by on June 12, 2012 in Burbank High School and tagged , , , , .

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June 4, 2012

Raine ‘N Blessings

Steve Raine, 1969.

Steve Raine

It’s all my fault! I’m the reason that Steve Raine took out boxes and boxes of memorabilia from his garage to dig up old photos of himself and his wife, Beauty (aka Mary). They just celebrated the 42nd anniversary of their first meeting, and will soon celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. You see, some time ago, I asked Steve to share with our classmates how he and his wife met, and he said he was too busy at the time, but would write something when things were a little less hectic.

Then as he started to put things together, he thought “Why not put it on the BLOG, too?” He and his wife, both Presbyterian ministers in central California (Coalinga, CA), have a great blog called Raine ‘N Blessings.  If you click here, you’ll find the post about how he first saw Mary at the bank and was struck by her energy. Later, at a church picnic, he was looking all over for her, only to find her asleep in the car. He says, “Without disturbing her, I walked back to the picnic, shaking my head and mumbling to myself, ‘Oh, this is so not going to happen.’ ”

Reverends Steve and Mary Raine

Reverends Steve and Mary Raine

Steve’s next post was about how I sent him on a treasure hunt to the garage to dig up old photos, and in the process, found two sets of his late father’s false teeth! Thanks so much for looking, Steve, because these pictures are just priceless! His latest post has some great photos of their wedding, which took place in her parents’ backyard.

I also loved the post about Steve’s battle of the bulge — and he’s winning! He shares his secrets here.

Pray hard!

Pray hard!

Steve and Mary are both graduates of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Mary is the solo pastor of Coalinga First Presbyterian Church, and Steve is a Presbytery minister-at-large.

Thanks for sharing!

At the Air Force Academy Chapel

At the Air Force Academy Chapel in Colorado

A recent photo of Steve Raine

A recent photo of Steve Raine

Posted by on June 4, 2012 in Burbank High School and tagged , , .

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