INTRODUCTION: What you're reading below was originally written as a Facebook Note on my author page there.
However, I also wanted to put it into this format so that it will also be able to be read by people who aren't members of FB...
Today just happens to be the birthday of one of my high school principals.
It
also happens to be the birthday of one of Anderson's neatest people,
Paul Bickel, as well as that of a longtime friend and co-worker of my
mom's, Martha Lee (both she and my mom now passed on).
The
reason I refer to Charley Mock as "one of" them is that he was the head
principal during my freshman and sophomore years at Markleville High
School. When we consolidated with Pendleton High School to form
Pendleton Heights High School, he became an assistant principal.
It's hard to believe that enough time has passed to where he and I have reached our current ages!
When I listen to oldies stations such as
WERK 104.9 FM
I'm taken back to those days again.
If
I had been told back then where I'd be in life today, I believe that I
would have a very hard time believing it...Speaking of radio stations,
I'm happy to report that
WEEM
91.7 FM
is still going strong!!!
I
can remember back when it was a closed-circuit high school station that
was broadcast only through PHHS' public address system for a limited
amount of hours per day. The call letters stood for With Encouragement
from Ernest Miller (who became our head principal at the new high
school). Joe and Jan Moore (the June and Johnny Cash of speech
teachers) were the ones who put their know-how into it in order to
launch it, but even they couldn't have done this without the
encouragement of Ernest Miller!!!Now, I can pick it up in AJ's Groovy
Igloo just as I can WERK -- and for a greater distance as well!!!
Speaking
of which...on my way back to Anderson from a recent road-trip, I
stopped by PHHS for a little bit. Even if what I saw going on hadn't
been going on, I probably would have stopped there, anyway, as I find it
wise to make stops to keep my radiator from overheating enough to
totally kill my motor before I can get it replaced.
However, I stopped longer than I actually needed to for that purpose, as our band was practicing for Band Day.
I'm
still perplexed why I haven't found any mention of them in relation to
Band Day in the local news when they were so good (and I'm not just a
prejudiced member of the PHHS Class Of 1971!) that they really should
have placed in the competition.
All I know is that I heard them that day and really loved what I heard!!!
I thought that they were really great way back when, but they have improved incredibly with the passing years!!!
Anyway, I'm now trying to kill several birds with one stone:
1.
Wish my former principal (and others who were born on this day in
various years) a very happy birthday and a great year ahead.
2.
Put something interesting on my Author Page by sharing this as well as
sharing the last (to date) entry I made in my main blog three days ago
that will keep you up a bit with me:
and
-- (almost) last but not least -- share a page that will, surely, prove
useful to residents of Madison County, Indiana (where we DO have plenty
of bridges --with some of them bearing the name of former County
Commissioner, Paul Wilson, who also used to be on WEEM way back at the
beginning...):
3. This page was founded by Kevin A. Powell, and it's called:
Stolen From Madison County, Indiana
Please share it around!!!
Since I said (almost), I will close with a very important fourth bit of info...
Since I said (almost), I will close with a very important fourth bit of info...
4.
Please go to the following links to find out more about women who are
being forced to live in the Dark Ages (or worse) here in our
"supposedly" enlightened 21st. Century...
Rose Kamunge
Snoopy Puckett
who took the ball and ran with it...
The
point is that we can all do something to make life better (or worse)
than what we left it. As was pointed out by Clarence The Angel to
George Bailey in my very favorite movie of all times, It's A Wonderful
Life, each life touches another life in some way or another!!!
This
is my Author Page here at Facebook, and I would like to think that I'm
using my God-given talents in this area to make the world better for my
having passed here instead of worse. I pray this is so!!!
I
KNOW that it's so with our wonderful local personmark, Larry Eugene
"The CanMan" Van Ness who is about to get to the 10,000,000th tab he's
saved for Ronald McDonald House since he started doing this back in
2003. I can't say enough nice about him!!!
On that note,
I'm about to shut up beyond sharing one more link with you. This link
will talk about some writers (me included), a couple of recording
artists, and an adorable 67 year old man who collects cans and tabs, but
put yourself in this picture as well and celebrate where you've been
planted to bloom...
As another Anderson personmark (the late, great Jane Toner Scott) used to close her wonderful newspaper column...
...that's all for now...
Thanks, again, for reading!
