Mt. Brook Party  April 16, 2005

At Birmingham Country Club

M.D. Smith Comments for intermission

(Version of 4-13-05)

 

 

 

I am so happy to be involved with this reunion and all leading up to it.  It’s put me in phone, mail and email contact with so many of you.  That in itself, has been worth the work I have put in to help make this happen.

 

Of course we have other committee members and helpers for both Mt. Brook and Crestline and I will recognize them in just a couple of minutes. 

 

The web site has a great deal of personal stories and memories. 

 

I had forgotten a lot of them, never heard a few and enjoyed reading them all.   There is so much good stuff on www.mtbrook55.com that I have put the entire web site on a CD for every class of ’55 member of either school to take home with them as well as TEACHERS.  This was part of your registration fee.  On this CD are a lot of photos that never made it to the web site, or there are the LARGE versions in very high quality that you can print out and make much better prints of than what’s on the website, which are all reduced to fit the screen.  You will find not only a ton of photos, but WORD files and much more. Of course the website, as of Mid-March is there.  It took me a while to burn 55 CD’s and if I don’t have enough, just leave me your name and address and I will mail you one.  Those not attending can get one for $10.

You know some of the great memories I have heard make me smile a bit. One story you may not remember was when

 

“Mrs. Cumbee was trying to make use of her psychology course she had taken. She started her class one morning by saying, "Everyone who thinks you're stupid, stand up!"

 

After a few seconds, Mardis Howle stood up. The teacher said, Do you think you're stupid, Mardis?"

 

"No, ma'am," he said, "but I hate to see you standing there all by yourself!"”

 

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We are all here on the occasion of our 50th reunion from the 8th grade at Mt. Brook and Crestline School.  Some here are quite a bit younger than us, and a couple may be older than us, but most of us are in our early 60’s.   If you are like me, I don’t like it a bit that my mind is willing but my body is not what is used to be.  The jokes about “seniors” that used to be so funny, are not quite as funny to me anymore, but I certainly understand and still like them. 

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A man is telling his neighbor, "I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it is state of the art."

"Really," answers the neighbor. "What kind is it?"

"Twelve thirty." Was the reply.

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Morris, an 82 year?old man goes to the Doctor to get a physical. A few days later the doctor sees Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young lady on his arm. A couple of days later the doctor sees Morris and says, "You're really doing great, aren't you?"

Morris replies, "Just doing what you said, Doctor: 'Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.'"

"I didn't say that. I said you got a heart murmur. Be careful."

 

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And this list I came across about

Some of the artists from the '60s are revising their hits with new lyrics to  accommodate us Aging Baby Boomers:

1. Herman's Hermits "MRS. BROWN, YOU'VE GOT A LOVELY WALKER"

2. The Bee Gees "HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HIP"

3. Bobby Darin "SPLISH, SPLASH, I WAS HAVIN' A FLASH"

4. Ringo Starr "I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM DEPENDS"

5. Roberta Flack "THE FIRST TIME EVER I FORGOT YOUR FACE"

6. Johnny Nash "I CAN'T SEE CLEARLY NOW"

7. Paul Simon "FIFTY WAYS TO LOSE YOUR LIVER"

8. Commodores "ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES TO THE BATHROOM"

9. Procol Harem "A WHITER SHADE OF HAIR"

10. Leo Sayer "YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE NAPPING"

11. The Temptations "PAPA'S GOT A KIDNEY STONE"

12. ABBA "DENTURE QUEEN"

13. Elvis "HEARTBREAK SURGEONS"

14. Dylan "LIKE A KIDNEY STONE"

15. Queen "WE WERE THE CHAMPIONS"

16. Beatles "WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY MEDS"

17. Dion "LIMPAROUND SUE"

18. The Rolling Stones "LIMPING-JACK FLASH"


19. Tony Orlando "KNOCK THREE TIMES ON THE CEILING IF YOU HEAR ME FALL"

20. Helen Reddy "I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME SNORE"

21. Willie Nelson "ON THE THRONE AGAIN"

22. John Denver "ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH (FIBER)"

23.Lesley Gore "IT'S MY PROCEDURE AND I'LL CRY IF I WANT TO"

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WE all had Ms. Frances Poor for Science Class. (She may be here this evening and I wish she and the other teachers will stand up at this time Barbara Kent Rush - Jane Anderson Smith, Ms Hanes sec.)   

 

I had been told of several questions Ms Poor had on tests and in class, and some of the not quite correct answers.

For example:

 

She asked Margaret McCall to Name the four seasons,
and she said: “Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.”

 

On a test, one question was: How can you delay milk turning sour?
Peter Barber said: “Keep it in the cow.”

 

And Bobby Smith answered to this question:   What happens to your body as you age?
He said: “When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.”

 

Ricky Paskowitz was asked in class, : What does "varicose" mean?    and he said: “Nearby.”

 

Finally, I heard that Mardee Howser was asked in her Crestline science class, 

Q: What does the word "benign" mean?'
and she said: “Benign is what you will be after you be eight.”

 

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One of our classmates who I will keep confidential said about getting older,

“I've sure gotten old. I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees. Fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have poor circulation, hardly feel my hands and feet anymore.


Can't remember if I'm 64 or 82. Have lost all my friends. But, thank God, I still have my Alabama driver's license!

 

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Now here are the members of the two reunion committees that I’d like to personally thank for their many hours spent making this all come together. If you all  will please come forward as I call all your names. 

 

Winston Martin Carl  - - -

Betty Timberlake Knight - - - 

Margaret McCall Harper - - -

Carolyn Wilson Long  - - -

and  Ann King.

 

Ladies, here is a rose of appreciation for each of you. Now, a nice round of applause for your committee members.

 

Also thanks to Emily Hassinger McCall, Carolyn Wilson Long and Dee Foster King for the parties they gave prior to the big night here at the BCC.  Also, John Elliott is responsible for collecting the magnolias.  Marilyn Browdy gave us a discount for the Mt. Brook box lunches.

 

 

Anyone else? _________________________________________

 

 

Enjoy the tables, the posters and the memorabilia here tonight, including the music. It’s all from our years in grammar school, mostly from 1949 to 1955 with most being from the 54-55 era.  If you want a set of the main 3 CD’s, give me your name and address  and $20 and I will make you a set.   Extra copies of the digital web site and photo CD is also available.

 

I do have one compilation of the best of the 3 CD’s to give away tonight.

 

Who is from the greatest distance to be here tonight?

 

Who has the most children and grandchildren counting step kids? Shout out numbers to me.

 

Who will re-tell a short story for us in less than 2 minutes. Something you put on your bio or sent to the web site that has been posted. You will get a CD for your efforts.

 

Mardis, what about the story of the ladder from 3rd to 1st floor?

 

Reminder: TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS, DIGITAL AND FILM AND SEND ME COPIES OF THEM FOR A BIG WEB SITE “AFTER PARTY SECTION”. PLEASE IDENTIFY ALL PEOPLE IN THE PHOTOS FOR ME. WE SEEM TO HAVE CHANGED A LITTLE BIT SINCE 1955.

 

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Laughter is a stress reducer and helps keep you young. I need all the laughter I can get. A few parting funnies:

 

The other day I was in the local auto part store. A lady came in and asked for a seven ten cap. 

 

We all looked at each other and said, "What's a seven ten cap?"

 

She said "You know, it's right on the engine. Mine got lost some how and I need a new one."

 

"What kind of a car is it on," they asked? Now I'm thinking maybe an old Datsun Seven Ten but no, she said it's a Buick.

 

"OK lady, how big is it?" She makes a circle with her hands about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

 

"What does it do?," we asked. She said, "I don't know, but its always been there."

 

One of us gave her a note pad and asked her if she could draw a picture of it. So she makes a circle about 3 ˝ inches in diameter and in the center she writes 710.

 

The guys behind the counter are looking at it upside down as she writes  it...and they just fall down behind the counter laughing so hard in hysterics.

 

One guy said, "I think you want an oil cap."

 

She said, "Seven Ten cap, oil cap, I don't care what you call it, I just need one, and I don't see what is so darned funny about it."

 

For those of you who still don’t get it, if you read "710" upside down.... it spells OIL!!

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Yesterday was the April 15th deadline for filing your taxes.   I don’t know about you, but this year I finally decided to send in the short form. It only has two sentences on it.

 

1.    How much did you make ? (Blank Space)

2.    Send it to us.

 

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Lastly, here’s a story about two of our graduates:

A Mt. Brook School graduate walked by a travel agency and saw a sign for a $99 cruise. He walked in and said he wanted to buy the cruise. The agent took his credit card, charged the cruise and then gave it back to him. Then he grabbed a baseball bat and hit the customer over the head, knocking him out. The agent then wrapped the customer up in a sheet and tossed him out the back window, into the river behind the business and he floated downstream.

Just a few minutes later, a Crestline graduate entered the agency and said he wanted to buy the $99 cruise. The agent took his credit card, charged the cruise and then gave it back to him. Then he pulled out the baseball bat and hit the customer over the head knocking him out. The agent then wrapped the customer up in a sheet and tossed him out the back window into the river and he floated downstream.

30 minutes later, the two "cruise" passengers were floating side by side and they both woke up. The Mt. Brook graduate asked "I wonder if they are serving meals on this cruise?" The Crestline graduate replied "They didn't last year."

 

Enjoy the rest of your evening dancing and having fun.